The Man-Sweater Knitalong

So, my best Jess and I decided it was time to knit ourselves a sweater. A while back, Knit Picks had some of their Wool of the Andes on sale for $1.59 a ball. An auspicious time to undertake a project that (in my case....cuz I'm bigger) will take upwards of 15 balls of yarn. But what to knit?

I probably own, no lie, over fifty knitting books—and do I really need to count all of the magazines I have? Over the years I've seen scores of sweaters that I'd love to knit, would look great on me, or include a technique that just looks like it would be cool to learn. So, choosing a sweater to knit should be a piece of cake, non?

Non. Too many choices! Also, in the spirit of true -alongatude, we needed a pattern that Jess and I could both sport. For those of you who don't know us, Jess and I don't so very much have the same body type. I weigh an entire 2nd grader more than she does. We are the Amazon and the Pict. (We should have t-shirts or something.)

So, after a fair amount of ruminating...by which I mean "Whaddya want ta knit?" "Uh... I dunno?" We settled on Ann Budd's Cambridge Jacket from Interweave Summer 2006. We ceremoniously and with great fanfare dubbed it a Man Sweater Knitalong and commenced to ordering our yarn.

Jess went with Iron Ore (a pretty rusty red color) and I bought Blueberry (tealish). We both decided that in addition to making ourselves a sweater, we would try to move outside of our color comfort level a bit. As an interesting side note, the cardigan that Jess knit for the Olympics, which is her only adult sweater to-date, was a green with some blue to it. Meanwhile, I was knitting in nothing but cinnamon, brown, and red for MONTHS. Apparently she and I chose to move out of our own comfort levels.... and into each others. Go figure.

This sweater also has the advantage of a technique that neither of us has tried before: the sewn-in zipper. I am totally not counting "finishing a knitted sweater for myself" as a technique I've never tried before. I have knit my little people scads of sweaters....same technique, less staying power....or something.

Currently, my ManSweaterKnitalong-o-Meter is at approximately 25%. I'm less than an inch away from shaping for the armholes on the back. I've used nearly three balls of the 15 I ordered. I think I will have enough yarn, but that it will be close enough to make me sweat.


P.S. I really want to make the Icarus Shawl, from this same issue. I will, however, be re-christening it the "Daedalus Shawl" cuz dude.... do I really want my wings to melt from crashing into the sun, and then to plummet down into the sea and drown? Meanwhile Dad is circling around at a reasonable altitude saying "JEEZ! Why don't teenagers listen?" No thank you. Daedalus Shawl for me, please.

Well, aren't I a lamer then?

I don't know why I haven't been blogging more consistently. Too much other stuff going on, I guess. I am getting some knitting done, I'm happy to report.

I'm trying to decide how to make this blog coincide with my Ravelry—I definitely plan to continue this blog, but some of the information on it is going to become redundant. Do I need a running tally of projects in both places? I think I may quit using the percentages in the sidebar completely on this blog, because Ravelry does it so seamlessly. I will probably continue to update my Recent Work list though. Hey, I need all the encouragement I can get. Look Virginia! She really does finish things! Not just cast them on!

Okay, enough omphaloskepsis and on to the pictures!


Last month I blogged about the Nasty Acryl socks that I'm knitting for Iris. I have a serious hate on for that yarn. But! I persevered, and the socks are finished.

The socks are finished, the yarn is no longer lurking in my stash and that's one more Christmas/Yule present finished. Good times.



In a moment of weakness (Hey, I went to Angel Hair Yarn, Co. with Koren and no-longer blogless Cindy) I bought yet more sock yarn, and cast on a sock for me that is delightedly NOT acrylic.


Self-striping yarn makes me happy. I am a simple woman. I am seriously considering flouting my OCD ways and deliberately making these socks wackily-fraternal. We'll see if I can make myself do it when the time comes.

In other news, have you checked out Knitpicks new funknatious wooden needles? How cool are they? I just acquired some double-pointed sock needles, so a report on how they knit will be forthcoming. (P.S. the DPN sock needles come 6 in a set. How awesome is that?)

I See No Reason to Mention or Comment Upon a Month and a Half of Silence

So. Summer.

Yeah.

But also socks!

These Rags are, whatchacall, Glad.

Or to be more precise, they are what Laurie Andersson calls Glad. I started these puppies back in April of '06, but then I got bored and wandered off. You know, like you do.


But then, I got bored with something else, and wandered right back again (if by "right" you mean a year and a half later. And I do.)

I've modified the pattern slightly—ignored the beadwork and continued the lace pattern into the feet. I'm pretty happy with them, but discovered the inevitable consequence of losing 30+ pounds between casting on socks and kitchenering them. They's a twee baggy.

In other socks, I'm using up some of the old sock yarn stash (wait, am I allowed to call sock yarn stash?). I'm making a pair of wee socklets for Jess' Chi-town Princess. Showing barbaric cruelty, many, many acryls were harmed in the creation of this sock yarn. I cannot discuss it here. No, it is too barbaric. I am merely honoring the spirits of the many acryls slain in the processing of this yarn by knitting it up. Surely it would be crueler to let the yarn go to waste?

Summer is for Socks!

From now until the Autumnal Equinox it's all socks all the time here at Chez Woolly Discipline. Well, all socks, and Man-Sweater Knitalongs, and Mystery Stoles all the time. If you wanted to get technical about it. Which you didn't. But I did.

Anyway, the Glad Raggs socks are nearing completion — not so very far to go on the second sock. I had a minor disaster involving a torrential downpour at Dollywood. My extremely cool portable sock carrier that my best Jess made me has a lining that is not what you call "colorfast". So, once the socks are complete, I'll be experimenting with dyeing. Should be fun, and I'm not really fashed about it — the original color wasn't all that exciting to begin with. So, no wukkas.

Now, lest my total number of SIPs (socks in progress) accidentally ever dip below two, I went ahead and cast on a new sock. The Waving Lace Socks from Favorite Socks. I'm using Knitpicks Palette in Fawn on size 2 needles. Good Times.

(The Canada sock? What Canada sock?)

Sewing Queues, Mystery Stoles, Man Sweaters and RAVELRY!

Wow, I am lame in my non-postitude.

I haven't gotten much sewing done lately. I'm nearly done with a Yule gift for mumblemumble, and I've got a dress for Jess' Chi-Town Princess cut out and ready to go. Next in line is a shorts and T-shirt outfit for Morgan. Dig those crazy lime-green crabs.


In knitting news...well, I have lots of knitting news. Melanie is designing a third Mystery Stole and the group is crazy active. There are fifty-three million knitters already signed up, and there is a world shortage of JaeggerSpun Zephyr. I am exaggerating. A little. I'm pretty excited about all of this. The 2nd stole is absotively gorgeous (I never even cast on, although I did join the group) so I have high hopes for this one. In the spirit of stretching my skill set, I'm planning to knit this one with beads. Exciting stuff.

Jess and I are planning a wee tiny two person Man-Sweater-Along. There's a grand cardigan designed by Ann Budd in one of last year's Interweave Knits (I'll be more specific in an upcoming post). While Knitpicks had their Wool O' The Andes on sale for a buck fifty-nine, she and I both bought enough to make ourselves this sweater. More skill set enhancement with this one — it has a zipper. Neither of us have ever installed a zipper into knitwear before, but she and I both sew and have both done zippers in garment making. We'll figure it out.

Oh, and let me also casually mention.... I got my invite to Ravelry! Dudes. It's groovy. Totally worth the hype, and wicked fun to play in. Jess (different Jess) and Casey have my deep admiration and respect. I hear tell that Casey has quit his "real" job and they've decided to make a go of running Ravelry full-time. I am so impressed with the both of them. That's courage, people. Pure chutzpuh.

Community Quilting

My local (and regional) crafting group, Crafts of the Wise (or CoW for short) has been working on a community quilt for our religious organization to raffle for a fundraiser. We started it two years ago, and I think its time to finish that bad-boy.

This post is not about that quilt.

Our friend the (blogless) Cindy decided that my niece Sarah needed a quilt for graduation. She put together some scrap blocks set on point and passed them out to Sarah's friends, family, teachers, ROTC peeps (do they still call them peeps?)....

Anyway, Jess and I each donated a block, and the three of us got together last week to start putting the top together. It wasn't quite finished yet by the time they left here, but a lot of good work got done, and dudes, we had fun. (The embroidery was done by Jess, by the way.)


There was a party for Sarah that I didn't get to go to (had to work) but I'm given to understand that she really liked it, and was amazed that so many people signed it without her finding out.

So, the moral of this story is: Cindy rocks, and crafting together is fun!

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

While this post will not actually mention, show or even link to Soleil, please know that I am still working on it. In fact, we are on the waist now, and about to begin the increases to the bust.

I have been doing some clearing up of some small projects.

I made Rowan a vest what with dinosaurs on when he was two. I also cut out a pair of shorts, but never made them. Until, you know, now.

The good news is, my boy-o is quite a bit taller now (three years later) but not so much bigger in the tummy. The durned things still fit. Go figure.

In other news, I finished the Kitty hat out of Stitch N' Bitch that Rhi conned me into knitting for her. The child can totally knit, and I should have made her do it herself...but I'm a sucker for a kid that begs for hand knits, what can I say?

Here's my beautiful baby girl looking, as she says "Shwah!" I gather from context that this is meant to be positive. I used to speak 13, but there has apparently been a dialectical shift in the intervening 2 decades.

And now for something completely different....

The Larch.

Okay, not quite that different. BUT! I have bloggy content for you that may shock and consternate my more delicate readers. What I am about to show you, is completely finished. I began it this week. And.

Its not knitting.

I know. I was shocked too.

Behold, the monkey shirt.

My Mr. Reno-berry is in dire need of some summer play clothes, and my stash is in some dire need of ... well, ever being used. Pretty much a win-win situation.

I sat down to sew on Tuesday, and had it all finished but the buttons and buttonholes. Then I remembered that I have a brand new sewing machine, and I don't so much know how to make buttonholes on it. I decided at that point that Learning New Things could totally wait until Wednesday.

Wednesday rolled around and after a trip to Wal-Mart (would you believe that in all that stash I have, like NO boy fabric? What the heck?) I sat down to learn button-holering. I love my new machine. I really, really do. Four fancy-schmancy relatively painless buttonholes later, and my boy has a new shirt.

Things I've learned:

• Lesson One: Just because you've been sewing for 15 years, don't think that you can get away with just looking at the pictures on a pattern you've never sewn before. It might bite you on your tuckus.
• Lesson Two: Listening to the husband read a story to the kidlings while sewing is very pleasant, but combined with lesson number one while sewing in a collar? Let's just say that more tuckus biting occurred and leave it at that, shall we?
• Lesson Three: My dude is seriously cute.

Book Review: Favorite Socks

Interweave Press has gathered 25 sock patterns together in their spring release "Favorite Socks: 25 Timeless Designs from Interweave." Edited by Ann Budd and Anne Merrow, this book delivers exactly what its title implies: a collection of 17 previously published (and 6 brand new) sock patterns.

Let me first say that this is a very pretty book. If I were being totally honest, and I am, I spend far more time looking at knitting books than I do actually knitting. Its a bit of a hobby in and of itself, so the over-all aesthetic quality of a knitting book is important to me. This one is nice.

The pages lie neatly open on the hidden inner spiral. This is common to Interweave's newer books (think Ann Budd's "Handy Pattern" books). I love this feature, because its really hard to knit and hold a book open at the same time. Also, the photography is lovely. Some pictures are old friends that you'll recognize from your collection, but others are refreshingly new.

If you are the sort of knitter that has had a subscription to Interweave from the beginning (rare) and who can positively lay her hands on every issue (rarer) and who furthermore knows exactly in which issue the specific sock pattern she is looking for is located (I hate you) then you certainly do not need this book. Okay, well there are 6 new patterns.

But, if you are like me, and you've subscribed for the past several years, and the issue with Evelyn Clark's "Flower Basket Shawl" is still in your knitting basket with the Knitpick's Alpaca Cloud, and the one with the Icarus Shawl has completely disappeared (because it knows you want to knit it)....

If you are like me, you'll want this book.

On Cotton Tanks

I'm about half of a row shy of completing the lace section of Soleil. I'm working four repeats instead of three, so that that the top will be a little longer. I'm not sure yet whether or not I'll add more length into the waist shaping. Conceptually, that seems like a very straight-forward and obvious kind of adjustment to make. I'm still not entirely sure how to translate that into actual string though.

I feel that my skill as a knitter is continuing to expand, and learning how to be the boss of my knitting (as EZ would say) is an important step for me. One of my knitterly goals for 2007 is to learn more about design and pattern alteration.

Anyway, I'm enjoying knitting it so far. The Sinfonia is a pretty alright yarn, although its just enough splitty that you have to watch while you're knitting it, lest you look down and notice that three rows down you only PSSO'd half the yarn, and the other half is dangling there PiSSingOff. Cheeky yarn -- but soft! And the royal blue I'm working with is a beautiful color. I bet pictures would help, but I'm in bed (BLOGGING IN BED!) and can't be arsed to borrow the daughter's camera.

Speaking of cotton, I'm itchy to get my hands on some of Elann's Lara. The pictures are just that pretty. I think that it would be about perfect for Deborah Newton's "Josephine Top" (scroll down) in the new Interweave Knits. Its not quite a tank, but close. I'm thinking that this may be my treat for finishing up Soleil.

Summer Sock Knitalong Might Cure the Summertime Blues

I'm such a joiner.

But hey, its not like I wasn't gonna knit socks this summer anyway, right? Sign ups are from now through May 26, and the knitting time frame runs from Litha to Mabon. Er, I mean from Summer Solstice to the Autumnal Equinox. Yeah, that's the ticket. Three months of socky fun. More information can be found by clicking the pretty button.


Go on, click the button. You know you want to. All the cool kids are doing it.


And now: Thursdays are for Making Lists! (List, list, oh list!)

Calceo in Progresseo:

• Not-So-Very-Glad Raggs
• Eyelets of My Very Own Design
• Blame Canada!

Calceo in Provisio:

• Horcrux
• New England
• Hippopatomus
• Queen of Cups
• etc...

Knitting Ennui (there ain't no cure for the summertime blues)

I've been having a knitting slump lately. I have things on the needles that I don't want to knit. I am having serious second thoughts about the Canada sock (or at least about the needle size for the fair isle bit), I'm tired of the Glad Raggs socks, acrylic cables are stupid and

WAAAAH!

Okay, enough of that.

What I need is some fiber therapy. New yarn, new projects, new UFOs... er, okay not that last.

Since its a full 86 degrees F here in middle TN on this lovely Beltane day, I've decided to knit me a tank. I've had my eye on Soleil ever since it was published back in '05. The construction is sensible (and very similar to my Green Tank, but less stupid).

I'm pondering my yarn choices. I think that Elann's Lara would be pretty, and about $17 before shipping. Not bad atall. I was considering Knitpicks' Shine, but the gauge isn't quite right and it would end up rather more expensive. I did some more pondering and then remembered that Omega Sinfonia (available at Hobbidy Lobbidy) is about the same gauge. Did the math — it will be $20. Yes: sales tax, No: shipping.... once you factor in the "hey, Its already here!" part of the deal, I think I have a winner.

I'm going to hit HL after lunch, and if they have a color that makes me squeeful, I'll go ahead and buy it. If no, then home I come to order Lara. I'm thinking Brick Red.

EDIT: Turns out Sinfonia is $4.99 a whack now, not $3.99 like I remembered. I went ahead and got it though, because instant gratification won out over the couple of bucks I would have saved going through Elann.com.

Being an account of how I was intentionally being artistic, and not just pants at using the digital camera, and also joined another knit-a-long

*shifty look*

Be it known that the pictures of my newest sock in progress are in black & white through a misguided attempt at being "artistic". The fact that I am helpless at using Rhiannon's camera is in no way related, and I'm ashamed of you for even thinking it.

So.

I've joined another knit-a-long.

Shut up.

Yes, I know I haven't yet finished the April 2006 sock project from the 6 Sock Knit-a-long. Although in my defense, I'm turning the heel in the second sock practically as we speak, and really, if you're going to be so critical, you can just stop reading now.

Yahoogroups is a dangerous place, and persons with low thresholds of will power against Join-a-long-itis ought to be warned to stay away. Consider this a public service announcement.

The new sock in question is Canada from Nancy Bush’s Knitting on the Road. I’m enjoying it immensely, and am privately calling it Mt. Everest because I’m knitting it for the same reason that one might conceivably climb the aforementioned mountain. Because Its There.

Clearly, the only logical explanation.

Something of an Update

My eldest child ran off with her camera, so I come to you once again without pictures. Although, truth to tell, I don't have a lot to take pictures of anyway.

I've hit something of a knitting slump. Everything I'm knitting is boring, and I'm leary of starting new projects, because I don't want another go with the UFO pile from hell. That said, I have started a few new things. Bardic Olympics for our Ostara Gathering was weekend before last, so I quickly put together a cute little pink lace hat. It's got a spring skater-punk vibe going on.

My very astute 5 year old little man observed that "Pink is a very strong color" and "Pink is not just for girls." The hat, of course, looked absolutely adorable on him. I've decided to make him a green one, as I admire his enlightened attitude, but I fear me that his fellow kindergarteners do not share it. As these things have a way of doing, the project came full circle. My eldest child won a prize at Bardic Olympics (if you just have to know what I'm talking about, drop a comment and I'll explain). Anyway, when you win, you get the option of choosing a hand-crafted item from the prize table, and my Rhi picked the hat I'd knit. Nothing like getting public approval for you hand-knits from a 13 year old.

In other news, she — the 13 year old — conned me into making her a "Kitty" hat from Stitch N' Bitch. Its all done but for one ear flap and the kitty ears. I should work on that today between bouts of housework.

I haven't even picked up the purple cabled sleeve of death in a month. The gauge isn't right, and I don't think I have enough yarn. A wise woman would stop now, before a serious gauge accident occurred. And yes, I know the sweater is meant for a 6 year old, but I just can't do it. I can't knit an entire Alice Starmore (even a child's size) in acrylic. I can't. I'll get some superwash wool and use the acrylic for something else.

Dang, I am a fiber snob, aren't I?

New Template

I've been feeling some spring fever lately, and decided that my blog needed a cleaner look. I'm still not convinced I'm satisfied, so I'll probably continue to tweak it.

I noticed that the pictures in my last post are completely squonked. If the formatting stays an issue, I may be changing right the heck back.

I have done some knitting, and when my daughter and her camera are available to me, I'll show you!

Promised Pictures

I don't have any new content, but this new post will have what the last two did not... pictures!

Seems like I promised pictures of my Toe-Up Dancing socks. For some reason (change in gauge? tension? star charts?) the two socks turned out to be more... fraternal twins. You can tell that they share some basic genetic material, but they aren't whatchacall identical.

I like 'em though.

I had to have the obligatory "sock self portrait yoga" pose. And of course, an "action shot."

And because my husband fancies himself a humorist, a "before" shot.





The end is nigh for the Glad Raggs socks. I think that they are going to be some of the nicest (certainly most complima-cated) socks I've ever knit. As I've mentioned before, I altered the original pattern (which is sadly, no longer available. For reasons of her own, the designer had the file removed from the 6-Sock Knitalong site. I dunno why, I didn't ask.)

And last, but not least, a very purple sleeve. More pictures as the project progresses. (And other words beginning with "P")

Remote Blogging!

Okay, not really remote per se -- I'm actually in my bedroom. IN BED. BLOGGING.

BLOGGING IN BED.

How decadent is that?

The husband got a new laptop earlier this week, and so wireless routers were procured and voila!

Well.

Now that I have that out of my system I can talk about knitting (DUDE. I can totally read FANFICTION in BED!) *ahem* Sorry.

In other news, I've begun knitting Alice Starmore's Galway for Morgan. Aparrently, no one in all the blogosphere has ever knit this before. Else my Google-Fu fail me. See, I was gonna be all clever like and check to see if others of my ilk had attempted this sweater before me. But, that was only clever right up until I could find absolutely bupkiss about it. (Okay, I did fine one, entirely useless reference.) Oh intrawebs how you fail me!

I'm about a goodly 2/3 into one sleeve and so far all is well. Its PURPLE. The child wanted a purple sweater. Perhaps tomorrow when I am less remote (like, you know, in my kitchen) I'll have purple sleevish pictures.

Meanwhile, I'm about to turn the heel on my Glad Raggs sock Numero Two-oh. The end is near, and already my eye is glancing longingly at my new book. (Perhaps a review is in the offing?)

February is Finished (but I'm not)

February is for Finishing was, for me at least, a rousing success. I finished a tank top that I started over a year ago. I think I was dragging my heels on it because I basically thought it would suck. I decided to go ahead and finish it because a) I was in blood so far stepped, twould've been as tedious to turn back as to go o'er, and b) I figured it'd be good experience. This was my first adult sized sweater-ish object. Go me.

I've also finished my Toe Up Dancing Socks (pictures will be forthcoming). These had stalled out because I needed to do the short-row heel and I'd never gotten around to fishing out the directions. And speaking of socks, I'm a 1/4 of the way into my next Glad Ragg sock now. These are some pretty lace socks, slightly modified from one of last year's projects in the 6 Sock Knitalong. These were waiting for the needles that were stuck in the Dancing socks. (Ironically I'm now knitting it using two Knitpicks options size 1 circs. Gauge be damned, these are so much nicer to knit with.)

A funktastick faux-mohair acrylic Poncho monstrousity was summarily pitched early on in the month. What the Sam Hill was I thinking? I ask you?!?

So, even though I still technically have 6 UFOs left, I feel ever so much freer. I really feel like I've accomplished something.

I'll be finished with my other Glad Ragg sock any old time now, and plans are already in the works for a new sweater for Morgan. I've ordered some Knitpicks Shine in sport weight, and plan to make a simple little color work cardigan. Morgan helped me pick out the colors, which was fun in and of itself. More details to come!

The Story So Far

Here's my February is for Finishing update. I'm about 1/3 to 2/5 done with the second Dancing Toe Up sock (more on that in another post). I know I said that March was for Making Mates, but I needed a quickie portable project. Hey, they're my arbitrary rules, and I can bust 'em if I wanna.

• Baby Bib for Sprog
• Dancing Toe-up socks <---- 65%
• Glad Raggs socks <---- 50%
• Flamin' Fingerless Gloves <----- 48%
• Eyelet Socks <---- 50%
• Colinette Afgan Kit <---- omgwtf%
• Kerry Shawl <---- ditto%
• Green tank top
• Faux-Mohair Poncho
• Gryffindor Scarf <---- 20%

Triumph!

What a good girl am I.

I started this tank top last spring, and then gave up on it because I didn't think that it would look good, or even okay, when I was done. But my man convinced me that if nothing else it would be good experience for me — and also boost my confidence — if I went ahead and finished it I think that he secretly suspects that I'm a perfectionist with no real grasp on reality. But I digress.

The pattern originally came out of a Knitters mag from the days of yore (by which I mean "before they commenced to sucking"). I tried to be clever and alter it. Please note the use of the word "tried". By the time that all was said and done I unaltered what I had changed. I also repent me the use of acrylic. Lo! Tho I walk through the shadow of the aisle of Hobby Lobby, I will buy no acrylic. Amen.

• Yarn is Red Heart LusterSheen "Tea Leaf" 2.15 skeins (anybody want .85 skeins of LusterSheen?)
• Needles were size 5 addi turbos
• The tank was knit in the round to the armscyes, where it was separated and knit back and forth

Progress!

I finally finished the Toe-Up Dancing sock that has been languishing pre-heel for nearly 6 months. This is my first pair toe-up, and my first time using a short-row toe and heel. I definitely see that this technique has merit, but I'm gonna have to practice, cuz my first heel looks like poop on toast.

When I first started, I thought that I really didn't like the yarn. It kept twisting up on me, and the fabric felt weird. But when I tried it on, my opinion changed. I think I'm really gonna like these socks. The yarn is Knitpicks Dancing (now discontinued.) The colorway is ... uh ... lemme go look it up ... Square Dance, knit on two circular size 1 inox needles. I have biggly feet, so its a 72 stitch sock, and it fits perfectly. I will be making more toe-up socks in the future. Meanwhile, this sock will be joining Glad Raggs and my Eyelet sock in the back of the queue, waiting for March is for Making Mates. I have second sock syndrome bad, people.

Speaking of toe-up socks, I just finished reading Priscilla Gibson -Roberts' Simple Socks Plain and Fancy. I love this book — it has no patterns atall, its purely a technique book, with the cutest little black and white drawings for illustration. Her short-row technique uses yarn overs. The Dancing socks I'm knitting now use Wendy's wrap technique. I'm interested to try this, on the off-chance that I can execute it with more grace. I make no claims as to the superiority of one technique over the other, I'm just looking for one that I can make not look like a 4 year old knit it. (No offense to knitting 4 year olds intended.) I'll be using Wendy's method again on the second sock of the Dancing pair, and for that matter I had the flu when I knit the first one, so I'll make full comparative report once I have more data.

In other news Sprog's bib is now finished (because February is for Finishing, you know) save for the weaving in of ends and the placement of a button. I'm fairly certain that Sprog's mum doesn't read this blog, but if I'm wrong then... *waves* Hi Erin! Surprise!

I based this off of the bib pattern in Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Curious Knitter's Guide. For the record, I love that book. The yarn is Sugar n' Cream, size 7 Knitpicks Options needles. (Got the set for Christmas! Whee!)

I used a basket-weave texture stitch on the body of the bib, and did the straps in garter-stitch. Easy-peasy. Here's a close-up of the body.



And, in keeping with the color-scheme — I swear I didn't plan this — I've also finished up a baby blanket for a co-worker who's pregnant. I used Lion Brand Homespun and size 11 Knitpicks options needles. I made the pattern up as I went, and if I were ever inspired to try it again I'd do things a bit differently. I used a simple feather and fan stitch, but I didn't add enough repeats. If I were to do this again, I'd either double-strand the yarn or scale down the needle size, and I'd add at least one more repeat. I added a double crochet edging to the side to widen it a bit (and to disguise where I stranded the yarn along the right hand side. All in all I'm not ashamed to give it away, but it's not the very most awe-inspiring thing I've ever knit.

Next friend who gets pregnant is getting booties.

February is For Finishing -- The Counting

I still have the plague, so pictures will have to wait. But here's my tally of Unfinished Objects.

• Baby Bib for Sprog
• Dancing Toe-up socks
• Glad Raggs socks
• Flamin' Fingerless Gloves
• Eyelet Socks
• Colinette Afgan Kit
• Kerry Shawl
• Green tank top
• Faux-Mohair Poncho
• Gryffindor Scarf

I've already decided that the poncho is outta here. It was one of my uFo's last year, and I just don't like it enough to finish it. Also, gods help me, its made of acrylic. Um....no.

The bib for sprog is just about finished (which is good, because Sprog is also just about finished). I just need to weave in ends and add a button and voila!

The observant among you will note that there are three pairs of socks and one pair of gloves on my list. I'm thinking seriously about finishing the "active" item of the pair and then moving on to the Tank Top and Shawl. I think that perhaps March is for Making Mates....if ya know what I mean.

Poetry for Brigid

You can read about the "Second Annual Brigid in Cyberspace Poetry Reading" here and here.

Of course, I heard about it here.

I Said to Poetry
by Alice Walker

I said to Poetry:"I'm finished
with you."
Having to almost die
before some wierd light
comes creeping through
is no fun.

"No thank you, Creation,
no muse need apply.
I'm out for good times--
at the very least,
some painless convention."

Poetry laid back
and played dead
until this morning.
I wasn't sad or anything,
only restless.

Poetry said: "You remember
the desert, and how glad you were
that you have an eye
to see it with? You remember
that, if ever so slightly?"
I said: "I didn't hear that.
Besides, it's five o'clock in the a.m.
I'm not getting up
in the dark
to talk to you."

Poetry said: "But think about the time
you saw the moon
over that small canyon
that you liked so much better
than the grand one--and how suprised you were
that the moonlight was green
and you still had
one good eye
to see it with

Think of that!"

"I'll join the church!" I said,
huffily, turning my face to the wall.
"I'll learn how to pray again!"

"Let me ask you," said Poetry.
"When you pray, what do you think
you'll see?"

Poetry had me.

"There's no paper
in this room," I said.
"And that new pen I bought
makes a funny noise."

"Bullshit," said Poetry.
"Bullshit," said I.

Gearing Up for February

So, I won't be posting much today — I was planning to post my uFo's, but instead I caught Jess' nasty sneezy/fluey bug. So I'm off to sit on my couch, drink warm liquids and knit. I have to work this afternoon, whether I feel well enough or not (which I don't) so I'm going to be girding my loins and screwing my courage to the sticking point.

And stuff.

I'll be back later -- hopefully with more content.

February is For Finishing (and it doesn't hurt to get a head start)

Those of you named Jess, who were reading my blog last year, will remember February Is For Finishing. The idea here is that we shall make solemn oath to Fearlessly number our uFo's, and upon enumeration we shall Finish, Fling or Frog them. This will thereby allow us to begin the spring months with needles unFettered.

So, here are the rules:

• During the first week of February, catalog and post your uFo's. No Fibbing or cheating here! You have to be Fearless. (On a side note: if you still have uFo's left over from last year's list... you might want to reconsider whether or not you actually want to knit them. I'm just sayin'.)
• Do Not (and this is very important) Do Not cast on any new projects during February. Swatches obviously do not count.
• Finish, Fling or Frog as many uFo's as you can. There may be a prize for the knitter who completes the most projects!

And, because no thing-a-long is complete without one....here is a button:


In the spirit of Finishing, I've already gotten a head start, and finished up a few old projects from last year.

Rowan loves his new Pirate Sweater -- he wouldn't have been more pleased if Cap'n Jack Sparrow himself had handed the sweater to him.

The project is made of Wool-Ease Black and Ivory on size 8 needles. For some strange reason, I have extraordinary luck getting gauge with Wool-Ease. Too bad the stuff wears for crap, idn't it? I believe this will be my last "major" project using Wool-Ease. Too many acryls were harmed in the production of this yarn.

Also, I still hate Intarsia. Forever.


In other news, I've finished the "Super Sekrit Project for Someone Who Doesn't Read This Blog." I'm counting on the fact that she doesn't read it (or won't remember come next December) because its going to be a Yule gift.

The observant among you will recognize Knitty's Branching Out...in a somewhat altered form. See, I was going to use up this one skein I had of Knitpick's Merino Style, but it only netted me half of a scarf. So I got my buddy Jess to order me another ball -- sure the dye lots would be different, but they wouldn't be too different right? Wrong. End result was I still had a skein of Knitpicks Merino Style with nothing to do with it, and half of a scarf. Nice. It was my daughter Rhi that offered me the solution. So here's my merino Scarf-cum-Bag (speaking of things that sound dirty but aren't).

The Final Tally

I've dug around my archives (and my knitting bags) and here are the final results for 2006:

drumroll please

In 2006 I completed a total of 9 projects. Given that I am the UFO Queen Herself, I feel pretty alright about that total. It includes, I would like to add, no less than THREE lace shawls. Yessirree bob. A complete listing can be found here.

Now the bad news. Well maybe not bad, per se. But, okay, less spectacular news. In 2006 I began 13 new projects. Not that 13 new projects is bad in and of itself, but my overall UFO count is not whatchacall "shrinking." The complete list can be found here.

Plans are already being made for "February is For Finishing." Details will be posted soon!

Merry New Year!

I have a bit of a tradition around here of setting myself knitterly goals for the coming year. I have some non-knitting related goals as well, the perrenial "lose weight/become more healthy" of course, as well as the ever-popular "become more financially stable." These were both on my list last year — and I will say that I'm in a better place in both arenas. I've lost approximately 30 lbs. (with minimal fat-recidivism) and we are no longer actively hemorrhaging money. So, more of that please for the coming year.

Now on to the (far more interesting) fiber related goals.

Goal the First: May I finish more things than I start*

Goal the Second: To finish or make significant progress towards finishing either Morgan or Rowan's Big Bed Quilt.

Goal the Third: To continue to stretch my skill set — to accomplish more fiddly feats of lace knitting, to begin designing patterns, and:

Goal the Fourth: In keeping with Goal the Third, to learn to spin.















Last year I kept a "started in 2006" and "finished in 2006" running tally. It may come as no surprise to those of you that know me, but that list isn't completely updated. In the next week or so I'll be posting the final tally from 2006. I plan to do the same thing for 2007, but I've decided to include quilting and sewing projects. After all, while this was initially fashioned as a Knitting blog, I do have other crafts, and by golly I'm giving myself credit wherever the heck I can.


*Stolen verbatim from Jess, if you were wondering.

Knitters Without Borders

No time for a proper update — your irregularly scheduled blogging will be back after Christmas.

But for right now, go read this. Now go make a donation. Even if all you can afford is $5 (two cups of bad coffee at a gas station), then give that much. Stephanie makes her case eloquently so I'll say no more here. Go now!

And Happy Christmas.

Flowers For Nanny

Happy Thanksgiving!


Once I actually sat down and worked on Rhiannon's Flower Basket Shawl, it went together very quickly. I really love this pattern, and as this is the second of the three I'll be making, I guess that's just as well. This took longer than the one I made back in January (9 days, people), but I don't have nearly as much dedicated knitting time now as I did back then — so what're ya gonna do? It was still faster than the Ragnarok Shawl.


There is something so very cool about blocking a shawl. Others have written about this marvelous phenomena, so I'm repeating old news here, but blocking lace is just groovy. Steph has likened pre-blocked lace to Ramen noodles — and she does have a point.

I do think that I'll be adding blocking wires to my Christmas wish list this year. I never seem to be able to put quite enough pins across the top of a shawl to make it as straight as my little anal-retentive heart desires.

Project Specs:

• Pattern: Flowerbasket Shawl by Evelyn Clark
• Needles: Size 7 addi turbos
• Yarn: Knitpicks' Palette in Fog

Under Construction

Please pardon my mess -- my blog Template is under construction. I'm in the process of re-vamping my sidebar.

Wish me luck.

The Death of a Dear Companion

I've no pictures of completed works to show you, but I have been a busy girl the past two weeks or so. My beloved and trusty Singer machine, my fiber-companion of some 18 years passed into the veil two weeks ago. By which I mean, in my overly dramatic way, the tension is frelled beyond all hope of my repairing it. I borrowed my bestest Gretta's machine to finish the Halloween costumes. (Y'all did catch that it decided to bite the big one a week before Halloween, right?) Her machine is a simple two stitch machine (it does straight and zig-zag) and yet it ran so much more smoothly and efficiently than mine. I believe that my poor old machine had been ailing for some long time, but I had acclimated myself to its ways, and did not see.

This is the part where I explain that my husband is the most marvelous creature in all this Middle.... Tennessee. (Sorry, I've been having my annual re-watching of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. It makes me talk funny.) Anyway, point being, that when my sewing machine died, my old-man first spent several hours trying to make it be go. He doesn't know from sewing (in fact he's nervous of the whole concept of making things with string) but he does know machines. When that failed utterly, and I was sort of staring blankly in shock and horror at the carcass of my beloved (and filthy! How come I never noticed it was so dirty?) machine, he says to me, he says, "Baby, you've got to have your tools."

I love that man.

I spent the next several days researching my options, and am now the proud and ecstatic owner of a new Brother 6000. I'm a fickle creature I am, as I'm already so enamored of my new machine that I'm like "Singer? Singer who?" Frailty, thy name is seamstress.

Dude. It has 60 stitches.

I'm a happy woman.

Ragnarok

Okay, here are the promised pictures of my Ragnarok shawl. I know this is totally old news, but hey, the pictures are pretty, and I did say that I'd post them.





In other news, I'm on the edging of the Pallette Flower Basket Shawl for Rhi. I'm hoping to have it finished by the end of the weekend. Its a quick knit, and I hope that I'm not too sick of it before I finish the one I'm promised to make for my friend Alisha. Next in queue, however, before I make FBS #3, is the Swallowtail Shawl (also designed by Evelyn Clark).

When I grow up, I'm so totally designing lace shawls and stoles.

Chaos is Come Again

Its finished. Done. Kaput. Through. The End Times are upon us, and I finished the Ragnarok Shawl (formerly known as the 2nd Mystery Shawl).

I have to tell you, I'm glad I did it. I learned a lot, and its a lovely shawl. That said I will NEVER EVER NEVER (I feel very emphatic on this point) NEVER knit the thing again. When I grow up and design shawls they will not have three feet of cast off edge across the top. No indeedy.

Here it is in its pre-blocked, just-off-the-needles, dental floss state. (Please to ignore the funky mattress under the shawl.)

And here it is a-blockin' -- And now that I look at the picture the left hand side is pinned a bit crooked, but I'm not going back to fix it now.

Project Specs:

• Yarn: Knitpicks Shadow 100% Merino, Oregon Coast colorway, 1.65 hanks (approx. 700 yds.)
  
• Needles: Addi Turbo circulars, size 7
• Pattern: Mystery Shawl 2 by Renee
  

And the only reasonable response to finishing such a momentous and large project? Just a little bit of a Flower Basket Shawl. You know, just to take the edge off.

About Daddy

Earlier I explained that my father's death was one of the reasons that I needed a break from this blog for a while. I just ran across a comment that he left in the last post I made before he died.

The various kntting projects look wonderful. I am astounded at your speed and skill. Knitting is not an easy skill, but once mastered it seems to proceed on its own, the inner life taking charge and setting the spirit free to contemplate, pray, adore and dream of many things.

Thanks, Daddy.


Neil Andrew Mogensen
November 29 1937 - May 21 2006

Questions Answered

My lovely Jess leant me her camera, so this post ought to be a little more interesting to look at, at least. I have started working on the Ragnarok Shawl again. I've earned three penguins since I posted last. (Reward sticker for each repeat completed. Look, I need what motivation I can get, okay?)


Elizabeth asked, in the comments, about whether or not the intarsia skull n' cross bones on the Pirate Sweater for Mr. Adorable is centered correctly. Well, as far as I can tell, yes. Now the pattern does have two different charts, depending on size, so my guess is that the person who was having troubles may have been using the wrong chart.

Now, all of that only applies to horizontal placement. If she's referring to vertical centeredness, I'll have to get back to you.

In other news, I've finally gotten pictures of some finished objects. I realized that I also need to bump up both my "started" and "finished" counters. I'll worry about that later though. On to the pictures!

First, socks. Now, these are cool because at no point during the construction of these socks did I refer to a pattern. Nawp, not once. Yeah, I'm that cool. I used Knitpick's Palette in peach on size 3 needles.



I've also finished a Warshcloth of Mason-Dixon Knitting fame. I used Peaches N' Cream, or possibly Sugar N' Cream. Cream was involved anyway.

Knitting, Quilting and Christmas

I haven't accomplished a bloody thing in terms of knitting in FOREVER. I have a fingerless flamin' glove (one glove, mind you -- I do have two hands) nearly finished. I have one (yep, one) Glad Raggs sock done and about half of one (there's that number again) dancing toe up sock done. I still haven't finished the edging on the eternally unfinished MS2 shawl. Grrrr.....

I bet it would be totally counter-productive to cast on a new shawl or a third pair of socks, huh?

On the other hand, now that my sewing room is mostly re-arranged, I've started sewing again. I threw together a dress for Morgan that I cut out for her last year (luckily her growing has all been up this year. It still fits). So that's a project finished, and some RAM freed. I've also made two more Dear Jane blocks, bringing my total up to 38. I decided that I'm going to have to seriously rethink my layout -- I'll post specifically about that later.

I've also started working on some Christmas presents. I am hoping to actually have things finished before, you know, December 25th this year. Wish me luck.