Monday, February 27, 2006

A mystery no more...and it should look familiar.

Here it is. The knit I didn't tell you I was making, except to attempt a bit of suspense by putting it in my sidebar and calling it "a mystery project" (you'll note there's a new one). My Rebecca Wrap Sweater with Eyelets:



Pattern: Wrap Sweater with Eyelets from Rebecca No 29
Yarn: hmmm, six (?) skeins of GGH Soft Kid
Color: #058
Needles: Addi turbos size 7
Size: 38"
Changes: I increased the back so that it would actually fit. And when I say I, I mean Wendy. Unfortunately, it was so long ago I don't remember how. The only other change is I didn't knit the one row of purls for the neckline.

I am very happy with the way this sweater turned out. I really like the stitch pattern though it is very simple. Once you get past the Rebeccaness of the pattern (there are a couple places where the numbers simply don't add up) its an easy knit.



I do feel this is a bit anticlimactic for a number of reasons however. Firstly, this sweater was started a year ago. In fact, it is the first sweater I ever started. Five sweaters later, I finally finished it. Secondly, this is another "I like it, but I won't wear it." Which is fine. I really just wanted this done and out of my UFO hat box. Plus, Wendy will stop giving me a hard time about it now :).

I dubbed last week the week of finishing, and now I have the fruits of my labor. I didn't get a chance to photograph everything on forms so more pictures are forthcoming. I do however have a shot of the finished Noro wrist warmers):



There's nothing very special about these wrist warmers, except that they don't match, but since they are for my mom while she is typing at home they just need to be functional.











She has long hands and fingers like I do so hopefully they'll fit. Even if they don't it'll be a quick fix. I got both of these from the one leftover ball from my Clapotis. I love using up extra skeins particularly when I love the yarn so much. Speaking of, have we all seen the new Silk Garden lite? It's DK weight and its really just a matter of time before you see a purchase here. It'll probably be green or blue too.

Nicole and I got together this weekend for a last push to finish a couple of projects. Check out her finished Vest Everest. It's very awesome.

I have to say getting all of that done and out of the way of new projects is great but a little...I don't know what the word is. Disconcerting? I feel like I need to get a few more projects on the needles since I am far from a monogamous knitter. New projects does mean that now I can tear into my stash, a good thing since I haven't stopped buy yarn and it's gotten even bigger.

Hope your week's off to a good start!

Friday, February 24, 2006

I was good...and then bad.

Stitches West was last weekend in Santa Clara. Wendy and I went. She was teaching and I was along for the ride. I don't know if there was actually less to see this year or if it was just my second year and all the glitz has worn off for me, but after 25 min I was pretty much done.

Here's my illegal shot of a tiny little corner of the huge space. Try not to steal any of the fuzy, dark pattern ideas :)



I went with the intention, not of buying yarn or patterns as I have plenty of both, but to try to find a knitting bag. My favorite purse is big enough to hold a small project in a plastic bag with all of the rest of the garbage I persist in carrying, but I am enough of a knitter now that I should have a bag devoted to it (I have a whole section of my studio apartment dedicated so this shouldn't have been a stretch for me).

As I was wandering I came across dozens of knitting bags. Most of them reminded me of carpet bags. Which are cute, but not at all my style. Beyond that I saw there were silk della Q bags. Lovely, but again not my style. Then I happened upon the Jordana Paige booth. And met Jordana, who is lovely by the way. These were much more my style. Mostly because they look nothing like knitting bags. Maybe it's just that I'm picky, but the color choices not the styles were what threw me off.

It was either this pink hounds tooth side bag:



or the purse in muted tones:





I loved the idea of a brown, but in person this brown is very flat. Maybe it was the fluorescents. Maybe I'm too just picky. Or maybe it's just that its a $90 investment and I want it to be a good one. Better to wait it out. So, I was good at stitches.

Oh, but then. then. You remember how I promised I wouldn't buy anymore yarn? And that I wouldn't buy it off eBay. And that it would definitely absolutely not be blue or green...


It's Rowan Calmer in color 480 Peacock. I couldn't help it! 10 balls including shipping for $75. What would you have done? Well, you may have sensibly looked at yourself (?..) and said "Self, you already have at least five sweaters worth of blue or green yarn and you've already knit two sweaters in green. You don't need more yarn, let alone blue/green yarn."

I did in fact say this to myself but the call of the deal. It is alluring. So, I put in my maximum bid. 63.01 (without the $12 shipping) and wouldn't you know I got it. Clearly the Gods like me in blue/green and want all my friends in the same colors. But now that I have it I will absolutely not start this until I've finished the finishing pile. We'll see how long that lasts.

Saturday, February 18, 2006

Some new shots of some old stuff

I finally took a few of my old projects into school because I wanted to photograph them on an actual dressform rather than just on my bed. And I have to say, seeing them on a form really makes me like all of them more. Sigh. I guess even in knitting I still visualize the clothes on the mannequin and not on myself. Fortunately, I now have dressforms at my disposal. Without further ado, and for the second time around...

My Minisweater from Glampyre.com.




Loosely based Rebecca "Cropped" sweater



Lelah from Craftster.org




Circular Shrug from Craftster.org



Admittedly, the photos aren't great. The sink in the background is all class. But the form does what it supposed to. It's best for the Circular Shrug I think since its hard to visualize the collar and body shape without the form. Though now that I look at it its not centered on the mannequin but there you are.

I've decided this is the week of finishing. As in all those things in my side bar that say "need seaming" and those wrist warmers I don't care about. All these things must get finished. They're holding me back in getting started on all the other projects in the side bar. Plus, my hat box with my UFOs wont close anymore. I'm off to knit a neck band... Have a great weekend!



Tuesday, February 14, 2006

So close...and yet

Have you seen Nanny Mcphee? It's great. It's an awesome kids film. One I think parents might enjoy too. Well, maybe not enjoy, but definitely tolerate. It is pretty sweet but then I'd watch Emma Thompson read the Patriot Act so I'm a little biased. And Mr. Darcy. How could I forget him. And yes I know that isn't Colin Firth's real name and it's not even his name in this movie. But I'm afraid he will always be Mark Darcy to me. I just love happy movies with a little obvious romance tossed in. Predictability only puts me off in movies that are supposed to be suspenseful....Oh knitting. Right. You'd be here for knitting not movie reviews....well I have some right here as a matter of fact:






The pieces of my Apricot are complete. Unfortunately, I've never seamed a set in sleeve. So, I've got my trusty Vogue Knitting and I'm trying to work it out. For some reason though I just can't get it to look right. I've gotten to the point with this sweater where I'm so frustrated I'm just going to put it down for a day or two and then try again. If I can't get it to work I'm going to hit up Wendy for a little help. She's my (and quite a few other people's) knitting doctor.

In reality, (read not my head) this pattern is pretty easy once you get past what I like to call the Rebeccaness of it. Some of the instructions are not very clear and I had to go on a bit of intuition with it. It turns out my intuition is as dyslexic as the rest of me and I did it backwards. Remember when looking at a chart that you are knitting from right to left and should read the chart accordingly. In the end I've knit almost this entire sweater twice. I still want to finish it though which lets me know just how much I like it. I feel like it's one I'll actually wear so all the frustration is worth it.

Here are the buttons I found for it. I think they're a pretty good match.


Sorry for the fuzzy pic. I'm never going to be a photographer.

In other knitting news my Orangina is coming along. I've also just started the Simple Wrap from Debbie Bliss Alpaca Two because of course almost finishing a project is grounds for starting another.



I've also sent the hats off to their new owners. I think they're pretty happy with them. It's always nice to give gifts that are appreciated. I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day. It's a holiday I usually hate not because I'm bitter, which I am, but because it seems too commercial, too much pressure, too many expectations. But I actually had a fabulous non-v-day related evening with one of my oldest friends. Yep, my best Valentine's dayin a really long time. Hope yours was excellent.

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

I have a problem.

I swore I wouldn't. I really planned on sticking to my plan. Three finished projects and then I could buy yarn. Seems easy right? I've got Clapotis down. I'm so close on my Apricot Sweater. I'm getting along with my Orangina. But something got me last Friday. I couldn't help it. I'm an addict and eBay is an enabler. I bought yarn and a new pattern book.


Here's my list of excuses. First, I bought them from a British store which you would think with the exchange rate would be more expensive but no. I got the Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk 2 book and 9 balls of DB Alpaca Silk Dk including shipping from across the pond for about $60. So it was a deal. Second,... well it was really the deal that made me do it. But it is official that I'm not allowed back on eBay until I've gotten through this new purchase.

The real problem with this purchase isn't actually the time frame, since I really am very close to done and the shipping was much faster than expected. Its that I yet again bought blue/green or green/blue, depending on how you look at it, yarn. I was in that manic "it's a great deal and I love that color" swirl of an expiring Buy It Now phenom. But if I were to magically knit up all the projects in my stash I would have at least five new blue or green sweaters. Then again, you should knit what you love, right?

Monday, February 06, 2006

Movies, starting again and almost there.

I saw an amazing movie series this week. La Meglio Gioventu (The Best of Youth). Its an Italian film (I've heard it was a mini-series, but I don't know if that's true) about a family, specifically these two brothers. It follows them through about forty years of their lives and is just beautiful. It also deals with social/political issues in the time of the story. If you enjoy classic Italian break your heart and make you laugh films, and you can commit to two 3hr films, it really is worth it.

On to knitting news:

I started on my Orangina again. Here's a shot of the very beginning.



I'm hoping the second time is the charm. I don't have any pictures of the last one but I was knitting the medium. It turns out that the sizing as you go up is a bit off. The gauge is 6st/in and you're supposed to cast on 121st for the medium. But 121/6 is about 20. Giving you a 40inch bust + or - the seaming. Basically, it was really too big on me. But the small really does (at least in the math) give you a 36 inch bust. And I'm right there at 38". Solution? I'm knitting the front half in medium and the back half in small. I know this may give me some issues in the ribbing and the armholes, but I'm prepared for that.



As for my Apricot Sweater, I'm still working on it. I have one sleeve and possibly re-knitting the back to go. I'm still debating about re-knitting the back. Its a lot of work and I'm not sure it will actually bother me. I guess I'll decided when I finish the rest of it. And since I've gotten this far without posting pics of it...I'm going to hold off posting until its finished. Plus, this week I'm going to try to remember to take some of my sweaters into school so I can photograph them on a dressform.

Finally, the verdict is back on the hats I have to finish too. Turns out my friends head is bigger than his roommates so I'm glad I stopped knitting them! Re-knitting is never pleasant. So, if all goes according to plan I'll have a bunch FO for you in my next post! It may be a few days, but its a goal.

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Hmmm, posting too often...

I've been diligently working on my hats trying to churn them out as quickly as possible. Then I saw one of the guys tonight and had him try one on. It fit perfectly, but he swears up and down his head is bigger than all three of his roommates. I told him I found that hard to believe. He said it wasn't hard at all. Then we both burst out laughing cause we both have filthy minds.

The upshot of all this is I gave him one and told him to have all the others try it on and let me know. So, in the meantime I've been working on the Apricot Sweater a bit and trying different things for my left over ball of Silk Garden from Clapotis. I finally settled on wrist warmers.



They're totally basic just a plain ribbed tube with a smaller tube for the thumb. I think they will work well. Actually, I think they will go to my mother along with Clapotis. She was complaining earlier about how cold her hands get at the computer. Plus, they match and I like that. I swear I'll have pics of Apricot next time.

Wont You Comment? California Knit Bloggers Project Spectrum