FO: Desperation Tea Cosy

I started the second sleeve of my Henley Perfected, and just as I was finishing the 60th row of stockinette, I realized that I hadn't switched to the larger needle when I was supposed to, some 55 rows back. Ugh. There's been a lot of knitting going on in the past few weeks, and very little of it has been retained.

So I figured I needed a small, quick project to refocus my mind and hopefully shake off the bout of bad knitting that's been plaguing me this month. Here's my aptly named Desperation Tea Cosy:



Project: Cashmere Tea Cozy, from Last Minute Knitted Gifts

Yarn: Elann Peruvian Highland Wool, grape, 1.4 skeins

Needle: 5.0 mm bamboo straight

It hasn't seen action yet, but I imagine it will function just fine as a tea cozy. It could easily do double duty as a beanie too; I stuck it on my head for fun, and aside from the dorkiness of the gathered ends, it fits very well!

So simple, yet so easily confused

I've been knitting away at the sleeve cap on my Henley Perfected, a few rows a day over the past week, and getting progressively concerned over the size of the cap. Self, I say, there is absolutely something wrong. This sleeve cap is nearly the length of the damn sleeve. I must have read and re-read those pattern instructions 14 or 15 times, and it was only on the last read-through that I actually got it right. I'm too irritated with myself to post what I read versus what is actually written; suffice it to say, I ripped back SIXTY ROWS tonight and reknit the sleeve cap.



I'm glad I've gotten all of this practice on the sleeve, because even though it's a very simple leaf lace pattern, I've still managed to royally screw it up in at least two places.

Cast on: Henley Perfected

I've been looking for a relatively loose pullover to wear over a camisole with jeans, and I think I've found it: Henley Perfected from the Winter 2007 edition of Interweave Knits.



I was reasonably sure that I would get gauge with the yarn and the needle, so I started with a sleeve. That way, I could measure after 3 or 4 inches of knitting, ensure that I was on the right track, and not spend any precious knitting time on a gauge swatch. Luckily my very small gamble has paid off; my unwashed gauge is spot on, and this is a superwash wool that shouldn't shrink or grow significantly.

The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in a semi-solid cranberry. I'm knitting the 39" size, which should give me about 2" of positive ease at the bust, and I'll have to make adjustments for a smaller waist and hip measurement.

Hopefully I can get it done before summer hits. I think this will be a good three-season garment, and it would be nice to be able to wear it a few times before the fall.

FO: Kaylee Blue

Project: Kaylee by Monkey Toes (pattern not currently available)

Yarn: Opal 6-ply, shades of blue

Needle: 2.25 mm (US size 1) 32" fixed circular

I knit 12 pattern repeats in total, and went with 12 rows of 2x2 ribbing for the cuff. On the first sock I bound off in the ribbing pattern, and the second sock was a sewn bind-off. I have trouble getting the first sock on, so the stretchier sewn bind-off is definitely the better choice for me.

These are super comfy socks with a bit of heft to them, and the lace provides some ventilation without sacrificing any warmth. I really like the pairing of the self-patterning yarn with the simple lace.

March roundup and April goals

March was pretty nuts with work stuff and exams, but I still managed to get quite a lot done.

Finished projects
Both the Daffodil socks and Ms. Marigold are finished. Yay!

Projects in progress
I'm partway through the second Kaylee sock, and I've also started Hedera. After I got my swift, I wound the Shelridge Farms yarn into a cake, ready to cast on for Elfine's Socks.

Stash knit down progress
360 metres to finish Ms Marigold, 160 metres for Kaylee, 50 metres to finish off the Daffodil socks, 30 metres to start Hedera. 600 metres for March!

And I spent $21 on sock yarn, which means that I have fallen down on the yarn purchase ban two months in a row. Note the lack of guilt. :)

April goals
For April, I seem to have a bit of a sock thing going. It's funny that it's taken me this long to jump onto the bandwagon, but now that I have, I'm totally committed to having a drawer full of handknit socks. And after the success of Ms Marigold, I'm hooked on making more wardrobe pieces and have decided to cast on for Henley Perfected from the Winter 2007 IK.

This month's goals are:

1. Finish the second Kaylee sock.
2. Finish both Hedera socks.
3. Knit both sleeves for Henley Perfected.
4. Finish the first Elfine sock.
5. Start and finish a felted box.
6. Start and knit 2 skeins into a log cabin blanket for the cats.

Oh dear

88 Stitches is having a month-long sale on various Cascade yarns, including the 6 hanks of Pastaza that I have been craving to make the Cozy V-neck Sweater from Fitted Knits. And if I happened to pick up 4 skeins of 220, I could make the Back-to-school U-neck Vest as well...

FO: Ms Marigold

Project: Ms Marigold, size 34

Yarn: 3.5 skeins of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Tweed, rust colourway

Needle: 3.75 mm Denise circular, 3.25 mm bamboo circular, G crochet hook

Techniques: picking up and knitting a neckband, crochet edging.

Mods: Added two rows of increases for some very slight waist shaping. Went with just a simple single crochet around the armholes, which finishes the edge nicely without bringing too much attention to it.

Try on your garment with its intended outfit! When I just fitted the vest over a t-shirt, I was really disappointed with the width of the back; it looked too narrow, and the armholes looked weird no matter what kind of edging I attempted. However, when I tried the vest on over a white long-sleeved work blouse, I was very pleased with the result. Now I see that the back and armholes are constructed so that the fabric of the shirt doesn't bunch up underneath.

I haven't blocked it yet, but on review, I probably should have knit the 36" size. The fabric is pretty stretchy, but the V is a bit wider than I would like it to be.

I spent a week procrastinating on weaving in the ends and sewing up the bottom of the neckline. It took less than an hour to finish this thing. Duh.

The Silky Tweed is a great yarn to work with, but unfortunately it's been discontinued. I wouldn't mind knitting another one of these in a semi-solid wool to wear casually with a pair of jeans. An excellent project all around!

Cast on: Hedera

Aha, now here's a pattern that I can drop onto an index card and have no problem knitting on the train!



Hedera from the Spring 06 issue of Knitty is a simple 4-row repeat and produces a lovely lace sock that will excel in a semi-solid colourway, such as this Dream in Color Smooshy.

Instead of the twisted rib called for in the pattern, I started with 10 rows of the regular 1x1 rib.

Looky!

The swift is an early birthday present to me from me, thanks to my Elann credit (you know, the one where you spend a zillion dollars and they give you some fun money to spend so that you'll buy another zillion dollars worth of yarn, and get some more fun money, and the cycle never ends...). I love it! I've had the ball winder for a few years, but now, oh, the joy of having two lovely pieces working in tandem!

The Dream in Color Smooshy has been caked up, as well as one skein of the Shelridge Farm Soft Touch Ultra. Winding from the swift makes for a much more compact yarn cake than winding it by hand.

Now I'm going to have to work on knitting faster so I get to play with the swift more often!

Cast on: Kaylee Blue

What a fun pattern! I cast on for Kaylee last night and finished the second pattern repeat at lunch today. I pretty much have to have the pattern printout in front of me when I knit it, though, so this one doesn't make for a very good commute knitting project.



I'm using a sport weight, 6-ply Opal yarn on a US size 1 needle. It's giving me a nice, sturdy fabric, and 56 stitches appears to be the perfect number.

I have officially gone over to the dark side

I woke up this morning just before 5 AM, and because I couldn't shut my mind off and go back to sleep right away, I got up and bound off the waistband ribbing on Ms Marigold:



I LOVE my sleep. I stay in bed until the last possible moment and rush about every morning because I had to spend just another 9 more minutes curled up in the comfy warmth of my down quilt. And yet somehow I have turned into a person who will get up an hour earlier than the alarm just to finish a few more rows on a project. Insanity.

Anyway, now I've hit a slight problem. I own two sets of Denise interchangeable needles, a bunch of bamboo straights and variously sized sock circulars and DPNs. I haven't actually lacked lacked for a needle size in ages, but the pattern calls for size 3 circulars to knit the neckband, and it turns out that's the only size I don't own!

Damn. I put in an Elann order as a birthday present for myself YESTERDAY, and if I'd bothered to check my needle sizes before this, I could have easily dropped a 36" circular into my order. What to do, what to do...I could catch a bus up to Three Bags Full on my lunch hour and pick one up...I could drop in at Michael's this evening and see if they've got the right size...I could hit Knitopia tomorrow and run the risk of falling into another pile of yarn...

FO: Daffodil Socks

The Daffodil socks are done!



Project: Basic toe-up sock.

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Multi, Daffodil colourway, probably 2/3 of a skein.

Needle: Knitpicks 32" fixed circular, size 0 (2 mm).

My basic toe-up sock goes like this: 24 stitch magic cast on, increase 4 stitches every other row to 64 stitches. 44 rows of stockinette, then 8 wraps on each side. 15 rows of stockinette on the ankle, then 10 rows of 2x2 ribbing, sewn bind off.

I have dorky duck feet: 8.5 inches in length, but a wacky 4 inches across at the widest part. These measurements give me a nice sock that are perfect for wearing at home.

Gah

I should have gone one step further when thinking about waist increases on Ms Marigold. I had 142 stitches on the needle after doing one increase row, realized that I had enough body length, and started the 2x2 ribbing. Except I forgot that for 2x2 ribbing to work, I needed a multiple of 4 on the needles, not a multiple of 2. Oops.

It took less than 5 minutes to knit that 2x2 rib, and I know that I'm going to tink it back, add another increase row, and restart the rib. Still.

Just a couple more minutes...

You get to this point, and even though you need to get dressed and put the laundry on and get more coffee and really, really THIS TIME put the knitting down and review that last bit about calculating the cost of capital...

The sock inventory development plan

After last month's sock yarn extravaganza, I have enough in the stash for at least 15 pairs of matching socks, and probably enough in leftovers to make an additional 2 pairs. I'm itching to knit it all up, but you know what they say: if you fail to plan, then plan to fail.

I've been pondering a sock inventory development plan, which admittedly is not much of a plan. Its initial, sole point was that I should knit plain patterns on the train and lacy patterns at home. I reasoned that my brain is way too small to memorize a stitch pattern, as evidenced by my Monkey sock experience. However, as I was happily knitting away on my Daffodil sock this evening, I noticed something useful about my work bag. There's a slim pocket on the outside of the bag, into which can slip very nicely an index card, onto which I could very easily write out the relevant stitch pattern. Genius!

A few weeks ago, in the early stages of plan development, I realized that I needed more than one size 0 circular needle if I was going to have more than one fingering weight sock project in progress. Yay for mail packages which arrive with fortuitous timing!



That's a second size 0 circular, and a size 1 just for kicks!

I really love the KnitPicks fixed circulars. They have a nice feel to them, and the cables are super flexible for magic looping.

Um, and in the interest of full disclosure, I suppose I must admit to this:



Knit Picks Essential in Meteor Twist. How can you say no to $6 socks??

It's likely that the Daffodil sock will be complete as early as this Friday, depending on how the work week goes. My exam is next Monday, so I'll probably be casting on for Kaylee on Tuesday night. And my next course doesn't ramp up until the end of the month, so I'll have a few weeks of prime knitting time to get some projects onto the needles. Yay!

Rethinking the yarn purchase ban

I didn't set out to rationalize my way out of the ban, but I've been thinking lately about optimal ways to use up my stash, and I've concluded that a complete ban on purchases just isn't a good idea. (Also, obviously, totally unrealistic, as evidenced by the recent whirlwind spree at Three Bags Full.) I want to reduce the stash, yes, but I also have some specific goals that I want to achieve in my crafting life:

1. Explore my fashion forward sensibilities (i.e. make cute clothes for myself).

A girl can only have so many scarves, beanies and fingerless mitts. Sooner or later, one must venture into the wide, exhilarating world of pullovers and cardigans, but when a girl seems to have accumulated a stash that is mostly comprised of felting yarn and one to two-skein project quantities, said girl is just going to have to buckle under and start purchasing sweater quantities of yarn, regardless of the damage it may do to the overall size of the stash.

2. Expand my skill set.

Hm. This may not be as strong an argument as I originally thought. I had been thinking that skill set expansion meant things like lace knitting, which generally calls for fine gauge yarns, of which I have precious few. However, there seems to be a trend lately to knit lace in aran and worsted weights for a sturdier garment, and I do have plenty of stash choices for this type of activity.

3. Build an inventory of giftable items.

Mostly I'm thinking baby clothes, and really I'm thinking about myself again. Remember when young women had hope chests? I'd like to start one for baby items for myself and my friends, as we are just hitting the point in our lives where there is likely to be a mini-explosion of kidlets in the next few years. I don't have that many yarns that would be suitable for infant and toddler wear, although the felting yarns would be awesome for toys.

By no means is the above meant to justify future free roaming of my credit card. I'm thinking of it in terms of a more enlightened, holistic approach to stash reduction: I'll buy yarn when I have specific projects in mind, and not let the stash overtake the queue.

March goals

March goals are:

1. Finish Ms. Marigold.
2. Finish the Daffodil socks.
3. Cast on for Elfine's Socks using Shelridge Farm Soft Touch Ultra.
4. Cast on for Kaylee using Opal.
5. Cast on for a felted log cabin blanket for the cats.
6. Determine the Christmas knitting list and allocate a project for each month - stashed yarn only.
7. Stick to the yarn purchase ban!

Fun fact: of the 27 kilometres of yarn currently in my stash, I purchased nearly 6 kilometres specifically for felting projects. What kind of insanity was I experiencing?

February roundup

What a month.

First, of course, I knit and then frogged the Foliage hat. That hurt. I've got some Rio de la Plata that will probably work a lot better, but I'm still stinging from the initial defeat.

In the midst of the crazy, I rediscovered my knitting mojo, in large part thanks to Ravelry and two swaps that I completed with fellow Rav members. Hurrah for worldwide knitting power! I received two skeins of Lorna's Laces, a yarn I've never used before, and started on a pair of simple stockinette ankle socks for train knitting. The first is complete!



This week, I received this awesome, gigantic skein of Zen Yarn Garden:



It's seriously huge. And in addition, my swapper sent me an adorable ball of Rowan Kidsilk Night in a pale pink called Ballerina:



Crazy, right? People are too kind.

The Secret Project was in fact a French Market bag, and has been gifted to M for her birthday. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the finished object. It felted super quickly in my front-load washer, and is a bit bigger than I had intended for it to be. I hope she likes it!

I swatched and cast on for Ms Marigold this week, and finished Part A in my first session. This is seriously addictive knitting. I even got up early one morning and knit for an hour so that I could make some progress before exam prep hits, um, now. I love this tweedy yarn; it feels wonderful, and it makes my stitches look nice and neat. I got to row 16 on the back section before I had to put it down:



I sort of fell down on my last two goals. I didn't cast on for Elfine because I'm waiting for another sock circular to show up in the mail. And I must admit that I got sucked in by Elann's Sneak Peek page for their 4-ply sock yarn, and ordered a couple of balls for myself along with the samplers that I got for M's birthday package. Does it mitigate my crime if I say I only spent $6 on myself? :)

---

February stash knitdown totals: 200 metres on the French Market Bag, 100 metres on the Daffodil socks, 100 metres on the Foliage hat, 60 metres on Ms Marigold, 30 metres on a plain garter stitch dishcloth. 490 metres!

I have conveniently decided to ignore stash enhancements for the purposes of the knitdown. Heh.

Taking a moment from exam prep

A few months ago, I picked up a bunch of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Tweed at a closeout sale. I have enough skeins in a lovely rust colour to make this deep V-neck sleeveless tank, but swatched in the dark brown because I'm always wary of yardage. Here's the washed and dried swatch:



I got gauge exactly: 20 stitches and 28 rows on 3.75 mm needles. I'm a little concerned, though, after reading reviews of the yarn that indicate that it will stretch with wear, and that it doesn't have much memory. The plan is to knit for the 34" bust and adjust for a shorter torso.

Casting on for this will be my reward tonight after studying for the next 5 hours and then going for my scheduled 7-mile run. Yay!

Stash busting part deux: the damage

Mmmm. Sock yarn.

I now fully understand the allure of socks. It's the ultimate one skein project! I picked up some of this lovely green Dream in Color Smooshy. I love it when the name of the yarn totally fits the feel. It's onomatopoeia for touch! This yarn really is the epitome of smooshy:



I've been fascinated by the variegated colourways offered by Cherry Tree Hill, so I tossed some of the Jewels into my basket as well:



And of course, one must support local artists. Here's some Indigo Moon in the enchanting Northern Steppe:



The store had Lorna's Laces on sale, so I got some sportweight yarn in Manzanite for a pair of socks:



You'd think I'd be done at this point. After all, I now have enough sock yarn to last me until the end of the year. Uh, no. I took a deep breath and picked up 8 skeins of the Shepherd Sport in Cranberry so that I would have more than enough for Henley Perfected:



So, yeah. I also bought the Spring 2008 Interweave Knits and Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters. I may have to step up my output rate...