And This is Why We Block Our Knits

Blocking definitely helped.  Much better fit!

Finished! WendyKnits' Summer Mystery Shawl(ette)

Guys!  I finished a thing!  I know that's less of a cause for shock, alarm, or celebration than it would have been, say, four years ago.  But after four weeks of working on Alice almost exclusively it's nice to have something positive to report.

I started the Wendy Knit's Summer Mystery Knit-along on a whim.  I never finish the things, and often don't entirely care for them, but the spirit of along-i-tude swept me up and before I knew it I'd signed up and dug around in the stash.  (It should be noted that this happened right before or about the same time as my recent change in attitude about knitting.  This represents more of my old style and approach than it does what I'm trying to do now.)

Pros:  I could use old-growth stash on this, no problem.  So I got to feel virtuous.  The design included a "Knit According to Your Yarn" option that me use up every last drop of the skein.

That little tail there is straight up all that was left.

Cons: The size and shape I ended up with feels a little "old lady" to me.  (No offense intended to any ladies, old or otherwise.)   I tried it on before blocking and well it's okay.

I don't think I'd wear it like this?  I tried wrapping it up like a cowl.

G+ made me a fashion montage!  Alas, it did not also fix my hair.

That's a little better.

I've got it blocking now, and yoinked (technical term) on it some.  That'll open up the garter stitch, so I'll lose some squashiness (another technical term), but gain some length.

Summer Shawlette

Pattern:  WendyKnits' Summer Mystery Shawl 2014
Yarn:  Plymouth Yarn Happy Feet DK, bought at my local, The Knaughty Knitter
Needle:  Knit Picks Options Interchangeables, Size 7

Update on the Alice-Front

I'm to the bottom ribbing/patterning/hem thing-a-ma-jig.  The pattern has you shape the stockinette body of the sweater as an a-line.  The very bottom is a repeat of the faux-cable that makes up the front of the bodice. Five repeats of this bad-boy and Boom!

Let Us Observe a Moment of Silence

... for the Watergarden fair isle sweater.  Alas, poor knit, we hardly knew ye.

The Watergarden sweater is a men's fair isle sweater from Interweave Knits.  I cast it on back in 2008 out of Knit Picks Palette and got maybe, I dunno, 4-5" done.  And then I set it down and never, ever came back to it.

Long-time friends of the show will note that it has appeared in every single February is for Finishing post since.  And even as recently as this past February I was still protesting that I was gonna knit it someday.

Yeah, no.

There comes a time in every knitter's life when she needs to get a frickin' grip, and y'all that time has come and come again.

What with my new-found resolutions to knit things I'll really wear and a healthy dose of reality checking I realized that EVEN.  EVEN IF. I should ever actually finish the entire mostrosity of a sweater, I would never. ever. wear it.

So, after 6 years of protestation and hand-wringing I ripped that sucker out.

Now I just need to figure out what the heck to do with eleventeen tons of Palette.   A variation on Funky Grandpa perhaps?

Meanwhile, Alice carries on.  I'm a good 4" into the stockinette and am at the stage where the end is both in sight and so very, very far away.

Maybe a beer will help.

Go Ask Alice

Since I had that knitting epiphany I was talking about last week, I've started choosing my projects differently (which only follows after all, otherwise what's the point?)  I guess what I mean is that I am thinking about projects differently.   Time was I'd see a sweater and think "that looks like it would be awesome to knit" -- and don't get me wrong, that's definitely still a consideration.  But now I'm trying to stop and think "would that be awesome to wear?"

A subtle and important difference, methinks.

My current project is (I hope!) going to be both. I'm making Alice in Wonderland by Justyna Lorkowska. The construction is wicked clever. It's a fitted sleeve that's knit top-down. I feel confident that the designer is cleverer than I, but the pattern is well enough written that I'm doing alright.

This is my first stab at knitting an adult garment in fingering weight yarn.  I'm using Knit Picks Stroll Tonal in "Canopy" (it's much more variegated than I was hoping it would be.  I'm trying to be at peace with the occasional bit of pooling-weirdness.)  It's going a lot faster than I was expecting, but I'm still about to the point where I'm longing for a spot of worsted weight.

Project Specs

Needles: Knit Picks Options, size 6
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll Tonal, Canopy
Pattern:  Alice in Wonderland by Justyna Lorkowska
Started: July 22, 2014

A Knitting Epiphany

I've had a bit of an epiphany about my knitting.  I know you're dying to hear about it, so I'll tell you.

I've been a process knitter for pretty much my entire knitting "career" -- I'll pick a project based on how fun it would be to knit, whether I'd learn a new technique, or (and let's do be honest here) if all the cool kids were knitting it.

Now, there's nothing wrong with that.  I've learned a ton from this approach, and I'm sure I'm a better knitter today because of it.

But what have I got to show for it?

Let me give you an example -- we had an "along" in one of my Ravelry groups.  Everyone cast on and knit Zuzu's Petals by Carina Spencer, and I am SUCH A JOINER, so of course I'm all in.  Knitting along is fun! Plus, the pattern looks interesting!

Yeah but...

I pretty much hate it.  It was a waste of good Chroma, and looks weird on me to boot (I look like the world's most rainbowdy gila monster in this picture).  (I should note -- this is not intended to be a slight on the pattern itself.  The pattern is fine, it just wasn't a good match for me and certainly not in that yarn.  What was I thinking?)

Anyway.

Here's a counter example.  Hitchhiker by Martina Behm (and to be fair, also an "along" but a better chosen one for me.)
















Much more my style. I love this pattern and I've knit it twice.

I wore the heck out of this last winter.  It's my colors, and I have a tee-shirt and sweater that match it perfectly.  It's not just some weird thing I knit...it's actually part of my wardrobe.

And therein lies my epiphany.  What if I knit things I want to wear?  What if I considered what I was making in terms of how it would fit into my wardrobe and lifestyle?  What if I remembered that I could be knitting actual clothes.

Y'all, I'm becoming a product knitter.

Meet Harvest and Ardys.  (Ardys isn't blocked yet in this photo, so imagine it slightly more smoothed down and tidy).   I am looking forward to wearing them (as clothes!) this fall and winter.

February is Finished and Olympic Pride

From a strict "February is for Finishing" standpoint, I didn't do so well.  The Oregon Socks are the only things I finished that had been on the needles prior to February.   Ah well, I knew that my finishing would be sparse when I decided to cast on socks for the Olympics.

I finished my Olympic Pride socks on February 15, meaning they took just over a week to knit.  I'm not sure if it was the stripes, the concentration, the Olympic Magic in the air or what, but damn they went fast.

I left on a business trip on the 16th -- the day after I finished Olympic Pride, so I decided what the hell and cast on another pair to knit on the plane.  (Also, it was weird not to have any socks on the needles.)

Meet Olympic Pride II.   I didn't finish them during the Olympics (though I came pretty close -- I was on the heel flap of the second sock).   I did, however, wrap them up on February 28, which means that I knit 4.5 socks during the month of February.  I'd feel a little more badass, but I know that the plane trips contributed significantly to that number.

And then, because it was March 1 and I could (not that it being February had stopped me from casting socks on), I cast on a wee little sweater for my besties' daughter.  It didn't count against my total number of projects on the needles for long though, because I wrapped it up the next day.   Worsted weight baby sweaters are fast, yo.

I'm going out of town again tomorrow, so of course I cast some more socks on.  These are going to be Hermione's Everyday Socks when they grow up.

And lest you think I've forgotten all my old WIPs entirely, I spent the morning working on Multnomah.  I'm into 7 of 10 lace repeats and it's done.

So, that's what I've been up to.  Tons of Finishing ... just not much that "counts" if you're counting February...which I'm obviously not.

(Having just re-read all of that ... and having fixed some egregious mis-used homophone errors,  I realize this post sounds really choppy.   If you've actually read this far, thank you and I'm sorry.  I have been such a sporadic blogger for so long, I figure any post is better than none.   From my perspective, anyway.  I totally get why others might not agree.)

Knitting is Definitely Happening

As I mentioned before, I'm not following my normal "thou shalt not cast on in February" rules.  I really wanted to get in on knitting rainbows during the Olympic Games, so I decided to go for it.  It's my dumb arbitrary rule, and I can break it if I want to.

So!  I finished up my Oregon Socks (they deserve a post of their own.  They traveled all over Idaho and Oregon last summer).

And I promptly cast on my Olympic Pride socks.   I had a couple of balls of Felici Rainbow in my old-growth stash that I dug out for the occasion.

Please note:  I cast these on last Friday

They are practically knitting themselves, holy crap.  The pattern is Traffic Island Socks (a riff off of the ubiquitous Jaywalkers), and it's pretty much perfect.  I've modded them a bit to add afterthought heels, because a classic heel and gusset arrangement jacks up the stripes.

They are pleasing me greatly, and I'm hoping to have them finished before I leave for Connecticut on Sunday.  I'll need something else to knit on the plane, so I guess I'd better plan to cast on another pair of socks....

It's that time of year again

It's February 1st, and that means it is time to knuckle down and start doing some serious heavy duty finishing.  (As inconstant a blogger as I am, you can check the archives and find posts in most years from February.)

This year I am starting the month with 10 projects on the go.  Interestingly, four of them are crochet projects.  I used to be crochet-curious, but now I think you can actually call me bi-craftual.

I'm not entirely sure what my strategy is for the month -- I know I want to finish my Oregon Socks before the Olympics start.  I'm not playing by my usual rules this year, since the Winter Olympics are in Sochi this time.  I'm planning to cast on and knit a pair of rainbow socks, "BECAUSE OF THE GAY," as my dear friend Jess so eloquently put it.

Anyway!

Here's the list:

1. Watergarden Cardigan.  Yeah.  Again.  I know.

2.  Knitting in Red.   This bad boy's been in hibernation since before last February.

3. Ripple Afghan!  I started this handsome fellow December of 2012.  I plan to finish it soon.

4. Sarah's Gnomes.   This will be a (overdue!) gift for my niece Sarah.

5. Emelie.  This is meant to be a short sleeved cardigan.  I'm not sure if it's really destined to be or not.

6.  Circles to Squares Afghan.  When I saw the (then new) Lion Brand Heartland yarn, I fell in love with the colors.

7. Oregon Socks.   My sister and my husband and I went "home" to Oregon last August.  It was lovely and awesome, and so good to go back and reacquaint myself with the land.  These were my travel socks.  I need to finish up sock number 2.

8. Multnomah.   I brought this with me to Oregon too.  And then we went to Multnomah Falls.  I tried to pass it off like I was an awesome planner.  Nope, just lucky.

9.  African Flower Bag.  This is me messing around and trying to use up old stash.

10.  Happypotamus.  Because there is nothing about a crocheted, multi-colored, funky, hippopotamus that is not awesome.  This is the back legs and the octo-butt.  I promise that there is a hippo in there.  Really.

Well, there you have it.  This is what I have on the go as of this morning.   Last year I only had 8, in 2011 I had 25, so I'm calling this year a solid B+/A- going in.  

More to come as I begin to kick finishing ass.

Socks on the Go

I went to San Antonio for a conference last week and took my socks with (as well as two extra projects for "just in case" -- and a good thing too, because I finished the socks the day after I got there, and then managed almost all of the first of a new pair while I was there.)

I knit on the plane.

I knit at lunch.

I took them to the Alamo for a bit of sightseeing.

And when I had a free moment during Day Two, I finished them up.

I'm ridiculously pleased with how well they match up.

Before I left last week, I also finished up my Asymmetry Cowl.

Since I did cast on some new socks in San Antonio, I'm at 7 projects total in the works, but only three pre-date this past February.  Boom!

Victory!

My Granny Halter is complete, and pretty darned cute, if I do say so myself.   The only other thing I might do is get some beads to put at the end of the tie (to give it a little weight and whimsy).

The yarn is Knit Picks Shine Sport, in a whole raft of colors.  I used almost two complete balls of the apple green, and about forty percent of one ball of each of the other colors.  Size 3.75 mm (F) crochet hook.

Attempting to Update

Last post I promised an update on what I'm working on, and then I realized that was easier said than done.

I'm not sure I know what I'm working on.

Ravelry tells me that I have eight current unfinished projects, and I think that's probably pretty accurate.  But I'm sure not working on all of them.

So let me tell you what I've actually laid hands on recently.  That's a more accurate measure, I think.

First, my current sock companion.  This is the second of two, and it keeps not knitting itself while it rides around in my purse, the freeloader.  I started these in March on size 1s.  I might have been the wee-est bit stressed out back in March, as the first sock is knit at the terrifying gauge of 9.5 stitches per inch.  I just hope the second one matches it.

Second, my Granny Halter top is ALMOST finished.  I need to add more to the side, do the other side to match, and then make straps and pray.  I do not promise a modeled shot when I'm done.

I'm also working on this Asymmetry Scarf (Ravelry link).  My intention is to crochet until I'm out of the Lion Brand Homespawn it's done up in and to turn it into a cowl.  It's actually charming me now that I've got it going.  (I am trying to use up old stash.  This definitely qualifies.)

So that's three, out of eight that I'm actually working on.  Two are nearly done, and they're all three over the half-way mark.  Once the Granny Halter is done, I'll pick a different old-old project for my "WIP Wednesdays" (likely the afghan. I seem to be on a crochet bender at the moment).

And I don't promise not to cast more on in the meantime.  So there.

A Wicked Case

This spring I've been struck with a wicked case of startitis.  I predicted it in February — I felt sure that after having been so good all month long that I was due to cast on about a billion things.  And I did.

But I'm trying something new this time, and finishing a great deal of what I'm starting.  It's wacky, but it works.   Long-time readers will remember the Parade of Hats back in 2011 (that was a good Christmas year).  It's like that.  I'm casting on, knitting a while (or crocheting in a few cases) and then whammo! I'm casting back off.  CRAZY.

There are a couple of things at work here, causing all this industry.

Firstly, I'm participating in a Stashdown on Ravelry.  Rules are simple:  don't buy new yarn, love the stash you're with, and oh hey!  You might get some prizes!  I'm in it more for the satisfaction of freeing up some storage space (my outrageous stash has outgrown it's shelf and under-bed containment areas) than the prizes, but it sure doesn't hurt as far as incentives go.

I'm also attributing some of my recent knitting mojo to Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.   I have been re-reading her blog from the beginning, and watching nine years of her hand-knits parade past is pretty damned inspiring.

Gauge is also playing a part.  I've been knitting things like baby sweaters out of worsted or aran weight yarn.  Turns out that if you knit small things with bigger stitches you get done faster.  This is like a revelation to me.  (Just like it was during the Time of Many Hats.  Sometimes I need to learn a lesson over and over again more than once.)

So, without further ado, here's some of what I've been up to.

First up are two tiny baby cardigans.  The yellow is newborn sized, the green is 3-6 month.  I modified this pattern to size it up by casting on 12 extra stitches (one pattern repeat) and distributing them evenly around.   The original is long sleeved, but since the babies in question will be wearing them in the South and in the summer, I thought that short sleeves were rather the way to go.

Next we have my version of the popular Hitchhiker scarf.   I've tried a couple of different things with this yarn (a scarf that was culled from the herd right before February, and then Nutkin socks) but nothing was working.   The Stashdown was having a Hitchhiker Knit Along, and I was in like Flynn.

I've also got several projects still on the go.  I'm planning a "here's what I'm working on" post for later in the week.

Wednesdays are for Works in Progress

If you remember from the end of February (and if you don't, I totally wouldn't blame you, because I had to go look it up myself to be sure) I had four projects still on the needles after my last, wildly successful, bout with February is for Finishing.

I had the Watergarden Cardigan from years ago, my Knitting in Red Shawl, a not-nearly-tacky-enough crochet afghan, and my improvised Granny Halter Top.  So, that's four things, and save an hour or two spent pleasurably with the halter last Friday night, I haven't touched a single one of them since Feb 28.

And see, this is  how I get myself into these problems in the first place.  (If by "these problems" you mean "having 18 things on the needles, more than half of which you haven't touched in three years" ... and I do.)

Once I was released from the enforced finishitude that is February, I instantly cast on a whole whack of projects (as per usual).

I started and frogged two pairs of socks (that was fun, let me tell you.  Gauge and I have a hate-hate relationship)  I've started two MORE pairs of socks (I'm into the second sock on one pair, so that one's likely to stick, thank goodness), some gnome mitts for my niece, two baby sweaters, a Hitchhiker, and, uh... maybe something else?  I don't even remember anymore, it's that ridiculous.  Oh, a hat.  That's right, I made a hat. 

Anyway, I'm all about starting something new, so I'm not worried about it, but I've been craving a bit of structure in my life.  I feel the need for an arbitrary rule or two, just to keep me on track and to give me a goal to work on.

So, to that end, I present to you:  Wednesdays are for Works in Progress.  (Not an original, alliteration, I grant you, as a quick google search will reveal, but it will do.)

I hereby commit, for the duration of the time between now and when I decide it's boring and I don't want to anymore, to only knitting WIPs on Wednesdays.  For our purposes, I'm choosing to define "WIPs" as "stuff what was on needles or hooks on Feb 28."  They are really closer to UFOs than WIPs, but I decided that thUrsdays are for UFOs was pushing it.

First up?  The Granny Halter:

A Better Offer

Dear Koren,

We know that when you first crocheted us up, you were filled with nothing but affection and love for our cute little granny-corners, and our bright happy colors.  We were happy too.  We really were -- we were excited to finally be a part of something, after we hadn't quite made it into that hat you'd started and finished YEARS before.

We wouldn't say that we were bitter, no of course not, maybe just disappointed that after all this time, after you'd finally fished us out of the closet where you'd been keeping us with the other cast-off and abandoned bits and bobs of yarn, after you'd finally started putting us to some kind of use and making us feel loved and wanted, that after all of that you just...

...left us.

Left us lying behind like so many over-sized coasters next to the couch in the living room at chez woolly.


Well, if that's the way it's going to be, sister, then that's just fine.  We know where we aren't wanted.

And we know where we are.  We want you to know we don't miss you at all.

Yours Sincerely,

Your Granny Squares

(With all due respect and apologies to The Yarn Harlot.)

March is For Trying to Make Mates But Making a Mess Instead

So, you guys thought I'd wandered off again didn't you?   Thought I'd spent a week basking in all the finishing I did back in February, and then gone right back to reading fanfiction and eating bon-bons didn't you?

Okay, so that's fair, but look - I've been really busy okay?  And I've been working a lot, and I like fanfiction, alright?

And besides, I didn't really quit knitting at all.   I just quit actually accomplishing anything useful is all.

In fact, in a neat attempt to fulfill the promise of "March is for Making Mates" I'm pretty sure I knit two halves of two different socks that I've either frogged or am going to frog.  So, that's like "making mates" right?  Two frogged half socks?

No?

Well, There's a hat.  What about the hat I knit?

Pictures?

Um, no.   See, because I've been working, and...

Well, reading.

Fanfiction.

Maybe next week.

I Win February

This has been a wildly successful February for me.  (No doubt in part because I got on the finishing train back in January) -- but whatever the reason, I have been a finishing fool.

Let's recap.   On February 1st I had eight projects on needles (and/or hooks):

1. Watergarden Cardigan
2. Fourth Doctor Scarf
3. Knitting in Red
4. Catching Dreams for Baby
5. Mitts for Rowan
6. Drop Stitch Scarf
7. Ripple Afghan 
8. Summer Halter Top

I'm down now to four projects -- two knitting, and two crochet.   I don't remember the last time I only had two knitting projects on the needles.  Probably in 2000, the month I started knitting if I had to guess.  

(I confess that the urge to cast on was hard upon me this week.  It didn't help that my dear husband was all, "Cast on some socks!  You've earned them!")

Anyway, here are the current standings (still in order of age):

1. Watergarden Cardigan
2. Knitting in Red
3. Ripple Afghan
4. Summer Halter Top

Since last we spoke I've finished Catching Dreams for Baby and my Drop Stitch Beauty scarf (both links lead to my project pages on Ravelry).

Catching Dreams for Baby

Drop Stitch Beauty Scarf (accompanied by Left-over Yarn)

I'm close enough on the top that I could have it done by the end of this week (it was a toss up on Tuesday.  Do I focus on the halter?  or the scarf?  I could have finished one or the other but not both.  The scarf won on account of February.  It's cold now.)  

You know I'm going to cast the hell out of some shit now, right?

Finishing Update

Goodness, somehow I managed to let 20 days of February slide past without an update!

Guys, I have done SO. MUCH. FINISHING.  (There's my excuse.  Can't blog!  Too busy knitting!)

On February 2, I finished Rowan's mitts.   I'm inordinately pleased with these babies, and plan to write up the pattern.

these used to be socks

Next, and many days later, I finished my Fourth Doctor Scarf.  This baby was wrapped up on February 12, which means I knit over 600 rows of garter stitch in ten days.  Woo!   This was one of my only two "old" projects still left on the needles.   I'm so pleased to be done with it, I can't even.

my old man is kinda cute

Since the 12th, I've mainly focused on adding blocks to my Dream Catcher Baby Blanket.  I've sitting at 23 of 25 blocks (I started with 13).  My current goal is to have the whole business completed by Sunday night.   I've also started making my summer halter top look like more than just two triangular coasters.

Here's a sneak peak:

over the shoulder boulder holder!  Hooray!