Vickilicious Knits

Sweater Events

2009-06-27T18:55:00.003-04:00

I know I've read before about these "events" that occur in the creation of a sweater. Casting on, waist shaping, working the neckline, and so on.

I think, apart from casting on and casting off, there are few sweater events I enjoy more than splitting the sleeves from the body of a top-down raglan. It feels like such definite and specific progress, and it breaks the seemingly interminable increase rows into much more manageable sections.

I've been slowly knitting here and there on my Featherweight Cardigan all month, and I finally finished the increases and split the sleeves the other night while watching Madama Butterfly on TV.

I switched from M1 increases to kf&b, which I'm happy about. I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying knitting with laceweight yarn, even if it's slow-going at times. I expect there will be quite a few more laceweight tops showing up in these parts soon.

Whispering Along

2009-06-16T16:26:00.002-04:00

As much as it feels like I haven't been knitting, I've been making quiet progress on my Whisper Cardigan.

I'm about to finish the second sleeve, and I have to say, this is going much faster than I thought it would. I'm encouraged that one day soon it will simply slide off the needles finished like a sigh.

The fabric created is so lovely. Using a fingering weight yarn makes it feel substantial, but still airy and light. I think this is going to be really pleasant to wear.

I think this is true love.

One Glorious Inch

2009-06-13T10:28:00.001-04:00

I got out of lab early on Wednesday, and I was determined to parlay my unexpected free time into relaxation. I probably would have benefited more from catching up on work and preparing myself for the rest of the week... but I opted for napping, watching a wonderful documentary with my mom, and knitting.

Yes, you read that correctly, knitting! I cast on for the Featherweight Cardigan and knit the first few rows, a whole inch. Working with laceweight yarn on size 6 needles makes for beautiful, airy fabric, and I am fanatical about this color.

The merino/silk blend feels lovely in my hands, which are so happy to be at this again. I have a feeling this is going to become one of my all-time favorite projects, and I'm looking forward to enjoying every stitch!

An abundance of light but nary a stitch

2009-06-08T00:04:00.003-04:00

In the winter, I complain that my knitting photos are thin on the ground because there is insufficient light or lousy weather. Here I am surrounded with gorgeous spring light and ample opportunity to photograph knits... and I've been too busy.

The end of this past semester was incredibly demanding. I spoke at a science & art symposium, which required weeks of preparation. I postponed my thesis and graduation until the fall. I took a trip to Boston. I got a new sailboat (early graduation gift from my parents) and I have been pretty obsessed with getting it ready to take out on the water (and learning to sail). I attended a conference for a week in Los Angeles (didn't even bring a knitting project - what is wrong with me?!). It's just gone on.

And now that I'm back, I've been taking an Organic Chemistry class at the university down the road. It's a 6-week intensive course with lab, meeting all day every Monday through Thursday, with hours and hours of homework, reading, and lab reports every evening. It is no exaggeration when I say I've had barely any time for anything else. Oh, but I'm trying to stay on top of work projects and my art history thesis too. It is exhausting.

The thing is, I haven't lost interest in knitting. Or in knit-blogging. The scarce few minutes a day I spend looking through knitting blogs are some of my most pleasant moments, and I daydream about picking back up needles and yarn.

Like many knitters, I am currently obsessed with two Hannah Fettig lightweight cardigans. First, the Whisper Cardigan from the spring 2009 Interweave Knits, which I've cast on in this surprisingly lovely Knit Picks Palette in Twig:

This yarn has a history, as I originally bought it to make my ex-boyfriend a Henry scarf. I decided the color was not right next to his greenish-brown coat and when I thought about it next to his neck, I opted for softer Knit Picks Gloss instead. Then we broke up, so I had 800+ yards of both yarns sitting in my stash cabinet kind of mocking me.

I decided I would quite like a slinky little fly-away cardigan to wear over spring and summer dresses, and I love the way this project is going so far. I'm just about to start the second sleeve, but I've been totally remiss in taking any progress photos so far. I hope I'm not lying when I say, "Soon."

This project got me all amped up for using thin yarns to make cardigans, so I went on a rash of queuing sweater-type projects using the laceweight I'd previously designated for various shawls. Making and attempting to wear my Flower Basket Shawl was an interesting lesson for me. While I can always go for a good scarf or rectangular wrap, I feel really awkward in a triangular shawl. I'm not ready to say they're not my style yet, but they may not be.

Part of my attraction to knitting is this idea that you can create whatever you can imagine. I often open my closet and dream about all the types of garments I'd like to have floating out of it, which is how I know I really need to learn to sew. Whenever I put on a sleeveless dress, I open the right half of my armoire (where I store the sweaters, shrugs etc), and I wish some light-weight, airy colorful little cardigans with 3/4 sleeves would spring into being. Fortunately, I can knit them! And this is wonderful!

I wound one skein of Knit Picks Gloss Lace in Aegean, in preparation for the Featherweight Cardigan, my second obsession-sweater of this summer. I've already bought and swooned over the pattern (such elegant construction), and I can't wait to make it.

I finished another project, too, and predictably, not made time for FO shots.

This brings the total to-photograph and to-post list for FOs up to:
- three hats
- two pairs of socks
- two shrugs
- one scarf

The list for WIPs is staggering and ridiculous, so I'm gonna leave that one alone until I catch up around here. I even have an indigo-dyeing project and articles on mordants and natural dyeing from, well, a year ago. Yikes.

I'm going to try to make some time for knitting in this coming week if at all possible. I really, really miss it!

Oh hello there, I'm home.

2009-04-10T00:37:00.002-04:00

I keep forgetting to come back over here to say hello, and I've been back from Italy over a week already!

Since I last wrote, I've finished two pairs of socks and started three more. I still have to photograph the two (yes, two) hats I finished before I left. I have other new projects to talk about too! This is to say, I've been a good knitter, but a bad blogger, and I will attempt to remedy that this weekend.

In the past 10 days, I've been to the opera twice (wheee!), I've made a major decision about my academic career, and I've gotten incredibly obsessed with the data I'm analyzing for a talk I'm giving later this month.

I've also been photographing flowers in the April sun, enjoying time relaxing with my parents and pets, and getting back into the swing of life in the good old USA.

So, I will take some photos and be back with the beginning of a parade of FOs soon!

Un altro viaggio

2009-03-12T05:45:00.002-04:00

I think I completely neglected to mention that I am going back to Italy! And I leave today!

My research group has been invited to study an ancient mosaic in the Herculaneum, and we'll be conducting additional research in Pompeii. From there, I travel to Venice for art history thesis research in manuscript collections and libraries. I will be spending a total of 20 days in Italy, the rest of March. I am ridiculously excited.

I finished two projects this past week, which I am dying to show you. I am close to finishing my pink socks, and I do hope to find some time to knit on planes, trains, and in what little downtime I may have while I am in Italy.

I hope you have a lovely March, and I will see you with FOs in April. Arrivederci!

How the time flies

2009-03-03T02:14:00.003-05:00

I realize, with much chagrin, that I am becoming one of those once-a-month-or-so bloggers around here. I have never been busier with work or school, and it's all coming to a head as I finish my second thesis (and with it, two master's degrees) this semester. I haven't had much time to knit, let alone think or breathe, and as such, my projects languish.

I discovered a huge error that I made in my Sunshine sweater, which necessitated frogging the entire thing and starting over. I'd just split off for the sleeves and was working my way down the body when the math wasn't really adding up. I was supposed to have fewer stitches on the front than the back, yet I had many more. I asked the Obscuriosity KAL group on Ravelry for help, and the designer figured out that instead of increasing at the beginning and end of a RS row just two times (as is clearly indicated in the pattern), I kept doing so on every RS row, all the way along. Obviously this created many additional stitches and the wrong shape to my neckline, whoops.

I also just plain ran out of February to finish the January Sockdown challenge socks I was knitting (my pink ones). I have not yet turned the heel on the second sock, though I do love the way the first finished sock looks. I expect to have those done sometime soon.

And no, I have not touched the pile of my now long, long overdue Christmas knits, nor did I write down the modifications I made to one item that is part of what must be a matching pair.

I am very much looking forward to organizing my projects and having a big finishing party, but I fear that day is much further away than I'd like. Ah well, one stitch at a time!

Also Blue

2009-02-06T17:36:00.000-05:00

In contrast with my ever-so-pink socks, I am also going through quite a bit of a blue phase as well. I'm obsessed with navy and deeper, richer blues in ways I've never been before.

I started a Sunshine sweater, a beautifully-detailed top-down raglan designed by the lovely Auntie Amanda.

I remember when Amanda submitted this design to a Craftster "One Stitch to Rule Them All" challenge (where I submitted my Garter Lace Tote) and I thought I'd never be able to make something that complex and stylish.

I'm pretty chuffed that I'm making it through with nary a worry. This is a wonderful pattern and easy to customize for a perfect fit. I just split off the sleeves and am making my way down the body. I can't wait to finish this sweater!

It wouldn't be me if I didn't also cast on for a new pair of socks. These are Eleanor socks, a pattern I've made once before (with not such great success).

This yarn is quite a treat. The varying shades of blue are combining so nicely, and I love working with it.

I'm working the eyelets the same this time, so I think I should be really happy with these socks.

Meanwhile, I'm relishing the blues.

Pink

2009-02-04T19:14:00.002-05:00

When I was a child, my favorite color, without question, was pink. Everything I owned was some shade between the palest blush and the most scorching vibrant hot pink the 1980s could produce.

Over time, this enthusiasm waned, and I started to hate pink. I'd say "I'm just not a pink person," even as I admired delicate pink flowers or bold swathes of magenta in paintings. Quietly, I'd slip it into my clothing choices, thinking it was just another color, until the other day I looked in the mirror and saw pink pearls with a pink blouse (and pink camisole and underwear underneath).

I realized I have definitely returned to pink, in all its delicate and delectable shades.

The yarn for these socks is unabashedly feminine and pink, tempered with a creamy white that makes it so very pleasant to work with. The heavenly soft merino of Dream in Color Smooshy is making the entire experience one of great sensory delights, and I'm thrilled with how these socks are coming along.

I never thought I'd be so happy making something so... pink.

FO - Une Cabled Legwarmers

2009-01-17T16:09:00.000-05:00

For a while now, I've been trying to bring legwarmers back.

These make me so glad I did.

Pattern: Une Cabled Legwarmers, free pattern from Berroco (here on Ravelry)
Size: one size
Yarn: Knit Picks Sierra (now Cadena) super-bulky, Natural color, 70% Peruvian Highland Wool / 30% Superfine Alpaca; I used 3 100-gram skeins and part of a 4th, totaling approximately 350 yards
Needles: size 10 (6.0 mm) and size 8 (5.0 mm) straights
Modifications: Changed pattern so it didn't have the attached clogs, started by casting on 52 stitches and working 7 rounds of 1x1 ribbing at ankle

Started: January 5, 2009
Finished: January 14, 2009

I started knitting in part because I wanted so badly to make myself a pair of legwarmers. They are such a perfect item for frigid cold weather like we've been experiencing lately, and they make it that I can actually stay warmer wearing skirts and dress shoes than if I wore pants.

This pattern is fast, fun, and intuitive. You knit them flat on straights, which I think makes it go a little faster, and it avoided issues with ladders like I usually get when working at a large gauge in the round.

One seam up the back et voilà, legwarmers!

I was nervous about the cables, but they were much easier than I anticipated. I love the plaited look of them, and they were actually really fun to do.

In this yarn, they are so squishy and sculptural, and they make an elegant, but strong statement.

I feel as though I should write a love letter to this yarn. I bought it several years ago to make a capelet that looked disastrous on me. When I found this pattern, I was thrilled, as it was a much more suitable use of such warm, snuggly, thick, and crazy soft yarn.

This is actually a slightly heavier yarn than the pattern called for, but it was a nominal difference which makes them roomy enough on my ankles to pull down over my shoes, but still fitted enough to stay up at my calves and knees. The top ribbing is just long enough to pull over my knees on really cold days, but perfect if I fold them over as shown.

These are so cozy that I don't just wear them when I want to be stylishly warm out in public. In fact most often, I wear them around the house with slippers.

My legs have never been happier.

2008 Knits in Review

2009-01-04T16:48:00.001-05:00

I didn't mean to come off so negative in my last post. Once I finally found a few minutes to make these mosaics, I realized I've actually been quite involved in knitting this year.

I think most of my knitting attention went to socks, and I finished nine pairs, all for myself.

1. Komet Socks, 2. Shock the Monkey Socks, 3. Bella Catena Italiana, 4. Eleanor Socks, 5. Spring Twists, 6. Kaaffe Fassett Socks, 7. Seduction Socks, 8. Toe-Up Eye of Partridge Heel Socks, 9. Hedera Socks

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

With the exception of the Hedera socks, all were knit toe-up and with a short-row heel. I think I've found a formula that really works for me. Sock Knitters Anonymous definitely played a huge part in my sock obsession (or is it the other way around?), though I may ease up on my participation a touch to focus on other projects.

In non-sock knitting, I did a bit more than I realized.

1. Flower Basket Shawl, 2. Green Jellyfish Shrug, 3. Cropped Raglan Sweater for Elise, 4. Molly Ringwald, 5. Bella Paquita, 6. Tempting, 7. Butterfly Hat, 8. Sun Ray Shawl, 9. Naturally-Dyed Yarns

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

(I haven't even posted about that green shrug, yikes.)

Still, it felt like I was knitting so much more. I may have gotten carried away with the mosaic maker, but I compiled one final collection: Knits That Might Have Been. All the things I started and didn't finish, the projects to which I devoted several days and then frogged, things I got 80% through and then put aside... there's a lot of these.

1. Odessa Hat (IP), 2. Billy's Birthday Hat (IP), 3. Cobblestone Pullover for Dad (IP), 4. Dad's Slip-Stitch Socks (IP), 5. Calorimetry (IP), 6. Springtide Socks (IP), 7. Scrolls Socks (IP), 8. Lace Ribbon Scarf (IP), 9. One-Tone Shrug (IP), 10. Spiral Boot Socks (IP), 11. Holly Jacket (IP), 12. A Knitted Gnome (IP), 13. Kolenya Mitts (IP), 14. Lelah Top (IP), 15. Esther Socks (F), 16. July Mystery Socks (F), 17. Aleita Shell (F), 18. Brigit Socks (F), 19. Pretty Petals Socks (F), 20. Entrelac Socks (F), 21. Pomatomus Socks (F)

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

(IP) = in progress still
(F) = frogged

And if I'm being honest, there are even more that I haven't photographed, including 3 or 4 unfinished Christmas gifts.

I expect that many of the projects from this third mosaic will comprise the early FOs of 2009. Otherwise they will join the ever-increasing pile of languishing knits from 2007 and 2006 (have I really been knitting that long already?).

This leads me to my goal for 2009: The Year of Finishing Things I Start.

What this means and how I plan to accomplish it will be fleshed out soon, including a parade of WIPs and discussion of what makes me abandon a project.

I look forward to a more productive and relaxing year of knitting in 2009. This time without the sarcasm, Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T19:35:00.002-05:00

Oh dear, I have been so remiss. I really didn't mean to disappear over the holidays, but things got insane in my personal and academic life, and something had to give. Sadly, it was knitting.

I didn't finish any of the handmade gifts I was working on this Christmas. I didn't even start most of them. Since they were mostly for my immediate family, who saw firsthand the stress I was under, there was no issue giving them cards with an image of the pattern and yarn I was planning for them, to be given at some point before next Christmas.

I didn't finish most of what I planned for this year. Looking at my knitting resolutions, it's tempting to be discouraged.

I didn't knit a pair of socks every month, I didn't dye my own yarn again, I didn't learn the techniques I planned (though I made some progress with the Christmas gifts I did start), and I let scores of WIPs languish. I didn't post the mini-pattern I meant to, I didn't write posts on mordanting and dyeing (those will come soon, though, since I have to write about them for lab reports due next week), and I didn't even mention the rank horror that was indigo dyeing.

The only area where I succeeded this year was not buying any more yarn (except for gifts), and here I slipped up a touch too. I didn't even have time to round up all the things I knit in 2008 and make one of those sexy mosaics I keep seeing on all my favorite blogs.

I've decided, though, to be okay with that. Knitting isn't a chore - it's something I do to relax and unwind. To the extent that I enjoy learning new things, using nice materials, and creating beautiful objects, knitting is a very satisfying diversion. I will work harder to keep this in mind in 2009.

As such, I do have goals for 2009. I have plans, ideas, visions, and dreams. To begin, I will catch up with 2008 knits, and we'll go from there.

I hope you all had safe and happy holidays, and I look forward to getting back in touch soon!

But what about December birthdays?

2008-12-06T22:08:00.003-05:00

I prepared a ridiculous schedule for Christmas gift-knitting (which will probably have to get pared down a little), but I forgot all about December birthdays. I imagine those who have birthdays in the weeks before or after Christmas get a little slighted, so I try really hard not to neglect Sagittarius and Capricorn friends.

It happens that one of these birthdays is tomorrow, December 7th, and I want to have a gift to give this person when I see her on the 8th. I didn't even think about it until a few days ago, so I quickly looked around my stash and found this sparkly green yarn. When I thought about the project for which I'd intended this yarn, I realized it would make a perfect gift. How serendipitous!

The gift I'm knitting should be a fast one, and I hope to post photos and a little pattern soon.

FO - Komet Socks

2008-11-30T16:36:00.000-05:00

I neglected to even mention that I was working on these, but I finished a pair of Komet socks this week.

These are like no socks I've knit before.

Pattern: Komet Socks by Stephanie van der Linden, originally published on the Socken-Kreativ-Liste Yahoo Group, but now available free on Ravelry
Size: lady's size 9 with 9-inch foot circumference and 9.5-inch foot length
Yarn: Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Color 4-ply /4-fädig fingering weight, color 1900, 75% wool / 25% polyamide (nylon); I used less than 2 100-gram skeins
Needles: size 1.5 (2.5mm) Knit Picks nickel-plated DPNs
Modifications: Inverted pattern to toe-up, with short-row heel

Started: October 5, 2008
Finished: November 25, 2008

This isn't exactly a formal theory, but I think a knitter is either a lace person or a cable person. I would have considered myself firmly in the lace camp, as I gravitate toward open, flat patterns with simple repeats.

Then I got hooked on these socks, which have both cables and lace, and I couldn't decide which section I enjoyed more. Fortunately they were worked simultaneously, so I got to indulge in both. While I have cabled in the past, I didn't really love it the way I love lace, but this time the cables clicked for me. The maneuvers finally made sense, and I looked forward to the crossings, which thankfully only occurred every 14 rows.

By the time I got past the heel on the first sock, I'd memorized the pattern, and I really enjoyed working from memory. This was, though, one of my first times working a pattern purely from a chart, without writing it out for myself, and it went a lot more smoothly than I expected.

The yarn was delightful, as I've come to expect from Regia. I bought a lot of colors of this particular yarn from WEBS close-outs, and it's a truly fantastic go-to yarn. This color seemed an anomaly among my typical choices, in that it is so subdued, with such subtle variations within a gentle range of tones. It ended up being a perfect counterpoint to the architectural quality of the cables and lace pattern, providing visual interest and delicate movement without distracting at all from the stitching.

I hope it's not immodest to say I think these socks are beautiful.

I would definitely recommend this pattern. It was very intuitive, enjoyable, and I think the outcome is great. The fit on these socks is fabulous, and all in all I just couldn't be happier with them. It figures that I waited until the rainiest, darkest day of November to photograph them, but they are much nicer in person.

Now that I've gotten my (probably) last selfish project off the needles, I must concentrate in earnest on gift knitting for the rest of the year. I'll just have to admire my feet while I do it!

Knitting Experience (meme)

2008-11-19T14:30:00.000-05:00

I saw this over on Gypsy Coins & Peacock Feathers and thought it was an interesting list.

Bold = Have already tried this
Italicized = Plan to try this
Unemphasized = Have no desire to try this

- Afghan
- I-cord
- Garter stitch
- Knitting with metal wire
- Shawl
- Stockinette Stitch
- Socks: Top-down
- Socks: Toe-up
- Knitting with camel yarn
- Mittens: Cuff-up
- Mittens: Tip down
- Hat
- Knitting with silk
- Moebius band knitting (I've done it accidentally)
- Participating in a KAL
- Sweater
- Drop stitch patterns
- Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
- Slip stitch patterns
- Knitting with banana fiber yarn
- Domino knitting (I had to look this up, but sure)
- Twisted stitch patterns
- Knitting with bamboo yarn
- Two end knitting (this one is weird)
- Charity knitting
- Knitting with soy yarn
- Cardigan
- Toy/doll clothing (does our dachshund count as a toy?)
- Knitting with circular needles
- Baby items
- Knitting with your own handspun (I have never spun, and I'm not sure I want to)
- Slippers
- Graffiti knitting
- Continental knitting (I'm really happy with English though)
- Designing knitted garments (patterns coming soon)
- Cable stitch patterns
- Lace patterns
- Publishing a knitting book
- Scarf
- Teaching a child to knit
- American/English knitting
- Knitting to make money
- Buttonholes
- Knitting with alpaca
- Fair Isle
- Norwegian knitting
- Dying with plant colors (it was awesome)
- Knitting items for a wedding
- Household items
- Knitting socks on two circulars
- Olympic knitting
- Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
- Knitting with dpn’s
- Holiday-related knitting
- Teaching a male how to knit
- Bobbles
- Knitting for a living
- Knitting with cotton
- Knitting smocking
- Dyeing yarn (need to do more of this)
- Steeks
- Knitting art (seems like I should)
- Fulling/felting
- Knitting with wool
- Textured knitting
- Kitchener BO
- Purses/bags
- Knitting with beads (I'm doing this soon!)
- Swatching
- Long tail CO
- Entrelac
- Knitting and purling backwards (will have to if I want to try entrelac again)
- Machine Knitting
- Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegated yarn
- Stuffed toys
- Knitting with cashmere
- Darning
- Jewelry
- Knitting with synthetic yarn
- Writing a pattern
- Gloves
- Intarsia
- Knitting with linen
- Knitting for preemies
- Tubular CO
- Freeform knitting
- Short rows
- Cuffs/fingerless mitts/armwarmers
- Pillows
- Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
- Rug
- Knitting on a loom (when I was a child)
- Thrummed knitting (honestly, I get irrationally creeped out).
- Knitting a gift
- Knitting for pets
- Shrug/bolero/poncho
- Knitting with dog/cat hair (maybe)
- Hair accessories
- Knitting in public
- Double knitting

It turns out I have a lot more experience than I might have thought, and I'm pretty open to trying new things. I'm looking forward to adding more techniques to my repertoire in my next few projects.

How about you?

Gift Knitting

2008-11-12T23:55:00.001-05:00

This year I've decided to replace my usual flurry of selfish knitting with handmade Christmas gifts.

I've made a rather ambitious schedule for myself, and while this is mostly a to-do list, it may inspire you in your own gift-knitting as well:

- for DAD - slip-stitch socks, Cobblestone Pullover, finish Oiled Wool gloves from last year
- for MOM - Baby Cables and Big Ones Too, Odessa hat (yay shiny beads!)
- for my BROTHER - oiled wool Broad Street Mitts, finish his birthday hat
- for a FRIEND - matching hat and fingerless glove set

I may also be able to tack on:

- for my GRANDMOTHER - tabi socks
- for an AUNT - lace picture mats (may do something else instead)
- for our DACHSHUND - a custom-sized cabled dog sweater (kind of a gift for my mom)
- for our KITTIES - catnip-filled mice

For the rest of my family and friends, I think I'm going to go with batches of these cookies, which are insanely delicious, or some other baked treat.

What are your gift plans?

A Hat Saga

2008-11-11T02:23:00.000-05:00

Much like the sock sagas of days gone by, I am not having an easy time coming up with a basic hat for my brother's birthday.

His request was simple. He sent me a photo of a hat he wanted, and we brainstormed. The original was wool, but he is a fishing boat captain, so I knew this hat would get damp and need to be washed frequently. We picked Cotton-Ease to make it machine washable, and I suggested gray, black and blue. I found a simple hat pattern online and thought I could whip it out in a few days for his birthday on November 3rd.

The first hat did indeed zip along (you must see where we're going with the "first" thing, right?). I figured out how to strand my knitting to make a diamond pattern that I thought was pretty spiffy.

The trouble was, the band of stranded stitches made this hat tight. Before blocking, it fit snugly on my head, and my brother has a much bigger head, with thick curly hair to boot.

I tried to maintain hope, soaking it and stretching it like crazy while it was wet, then periodically throughout blocking. Because there were so very many ends, I decided I'd have my brother try it on before I finished it completely, and as I feared, it was much too tight. It also seemed too long, so I made mental notes on modifications and resigned myself to knitting a second hat.

At his suggestion, I changed the pattern a bit, though I prefer the first. I moved up a needle size and knit it flat so that I could do proper intarsia, thinking it would all stretch uniformly. I resisted casting on extra stitches, as this pattern was supposed to fit a man's head and I was sure it was just the stranded bits making it too tight.

With many, many more ends to weave in, I stretched it around my brother's head before I even sewed it up, and it barely went all the way around. He looked at me grimly and said "Better get going on a third."

I am still hopeful that once it's seamed, it can stretch more than it did in that cursory fitting, but I worry that it's still going to be too small. I don't think I have enough gray yarn left and because I cut so many pieces for the intarsia bits, I don't think I can reuse hat #2's yarn.

Technique-wise, I have no idea what I would do differently besides casting on more stitches. I preferred stranding to intarsia, but I didn't exactly love either one.

Sigh. Good thing hats go quickly, right?

FO - Flower Basket Shawl

2008-11-09T22:20:00.001-05:00

I thought I would barely eke out this shawl when I only had 20 days to knit it. Then I had a break-up and moved over 100 miles away, so I thought I'd never get it done.

Perseverance and a long train commute can do wonders.

Pattern: Flower Basket Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark, from Interweave Knits Fall 2004 and available for purchase from Fiber Trends (here on Ravelry)
Size: approximately 63-inch wide triangular shawl, 31.5-inch long at center point
Yarn: Colourmart Silk 32/120NM DK weight 8-ply, color moss green, 100% silk; I used about half my cone, totaling approximately 80 grams/2.8 oz or 328.6 yards/300.5 meters.
Needles: size 7 (4.5mm) Knit Picks Options nickel-plated circular needle
Modifications: Changed yarn weight, added two repeats of Lower Flower Basket chart

Started: October 5, 2008
Finished: October 24, 2008

I think even if I weren't driven to finish this shawl for an October 25 wedding, it would have gone pretty quickly.

The lace was intuitive and easy to memorize within rows. It still amazes me that such lovely shapes can be created with simple yarn-overs and decreases.

The pattern calls for holding lace-weight yarn double, but I decided I'd rather use a single strand of DK for neater lines. That gave me the opportunity to use this delicious silk, which made the whole project feel special.

I did get to wear it to the wedding, and I must thank my friends for unwittingly taking FO shots which I unscrupulously borrowed.

Note to self: learn how to wear shawls.

As you can see, the size is okay, but not quite as large as I would have liked. I thought part of it might have been issues with blocking, seeing as the only surface available the night before the wedding was my mattress, leaning against the wall in a hallway. I blocked it vertically, without measuring, trying to just stretch like mad, and I think I could have done a little better with that.

Still it was passable, and I am suitably charmed by turning a green blob in a sink into an adult-size shawl (or shawlette, whatever).

The yarn was as luminous and lovely as I thought it would be. It was a tad splitty, I suspect because it is actually a lot of very thin singles plied but not really spun together. I've never knit with pure silk before, so this might be a common experience, but it certainly wasn't enough to deter me.

The color is a fantastic, delicate spring green that makes me happy every time I see it. I think it is now listed as "pistaccio" on Colourmart's site (their spelling), but there are so many delectable shades of silk there you really can't go wrong.

The whole cone, of which I used about half, cost $20 including shipping, so I will definitely be able to make something else with it too. That's a pretty great value for such a special-feeling project.

I would enthusiastically recommend this pattern for beginner and experienced lace knitters alike. While I wish I'd made my shawl bigger, I am still happy with the finished project and look forward to many more lace shawls in my future.

Previous Entries on this Project:
- Lacemaking
- Another new home

Oh hi, I'm the one who lives here.

2008-11-08T23:50:00.003-05:00

I have an interesting predicament where, for the first time since starting this blog, I have more knitting than blogging to show for myself.

My crazy long commute has been good for knitting progress, but bad because I leave before the sun and come home well after it's set. The days when I am home, it keeps raining (and even snowing!) which again, good for knitting, bad for photography.

I have at least one FO to show, one almost-FO, and quite a few new WIPs. Let's hope for some decent light because they are feeling unloved.

I also decided I was finally ready to knit for other people: socks and a Cobblestone Pullover for my Dad, an adorable sweater for my Mom, fingerless gloves for my brother, a Christmas gift for my best friend, socks for my grandmother, and a handful of other little things. I'd better get at it!

Lacemaking

2008-10-24T01:20:00.003-04:00

I mentioned that I've been working on a project that was getting a bit emotional. This is about where I'd left it when I moved out:

What makes it even more emotional is that it's a lace shawl that I was making to wear to a wedding this Saturday.

I invested all my nerves and emotions and more than a few long train rides into knitting this silly blob of lace. This evening I happily bound it off, in a sense closing that chapter.

I'm going to block it later tonight and wear it to the wedding on Saturday. I can't wait to see how it comes out.

Another new home

2008-10-17T02:10:00.003-04:00

For me knitting is a way of finding order in the world. It helps me maintain control and focus my emotions and energy on something predictable, finite, and productive. If I do everything the way I'm supposed to, I can have the results I desire (or even better).

Each tiny little stitch harnesses my joys, anxieties, trepidations, and scattered thoughts, and when I look back at pieces I've knit, I am transported to the time in my life when I was making them. These loops and bumps record my experience, and they are invested with what I brought to them.

I have a project that I stopped in the middle of a row, and I'm reluctant to even pick it back up again because it was what I was working on last week when I realized my living arrangement (and as a consequence my relationship) wasn't going to work out.

On Monday, my cat and I moved from Connecticut to my parents' house in New Jersey. My boyfriend and I are taking a break after dating for four years and living together the last three. In my heart, I knew this time was coming, and I am sure it is the right thing to do, but it still really hurts.

This weekend will find my mother and I packing all my belongings (most still not unpacked from the last move) into a U-Haul, and it will be done. I have no idea what the future holds (apart from a wedding we're going to the next weekend), and I have so much schoolwork and thesis stuff to catch up on that I don't really have time to process my thoughts and feelings.

This may be overly personal to share on my knitting blog, but I felt like it would be dishonest to show photos of stitches and projects without giving the emotional context behind them. It happens that my commute will get even longer, so we'll have lots of stitches to mull over in the coming weeks and months. And maybe somewhere in there, things will start to make sense again.

FO - Shock the Monkey Socks

2008-10-12T13:22:00.004-04:00

I thought it was time to give the world's most popular sock pattern a try.

Boy my feet are getting happier and happier by the day.

Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A., from the winter 2006 Knitty (here on Ravelry)
Size: lady's size 9 with 9-inch foot circumference and 9.5-inch foot length
Yarn: Zwerner Garn Opal Neon 4-ply fingering weight, color 1937 dye lot #1, 75% wool / 25% polyamide; I used about 3/4 of a skein, totaling approximately 74 grams/2.64 oz or 347.5 yards*/318 meters.
Needles: Knit Picks 6" nickel-plated double-pointed needles, set of 5 size 1.5 (2.5 mm)
Modifications: Worked toe-up, with short row heel, 1x1 twisted ribbing and stretchy bind-off

Started: September 24, 2008
Finished: October 3, 2008

* Incidentally, this is the exact same yardage I used for my Bella Catena Italiana socks. Spooky.

When I saw how many people have knit Monkey socks before me, raving about how great the pattern is, I wondered if it could ever live up to the hype. I am so happy that not only did it meet my expectations, it completely surpassed them.

I decided to make these toe-up, even though that would mean flipping the chart upside-down. While there are patterns for toe-up Monkeys, I really did want to try the original chart as designed. I rather enjoy the look of the pattern done toe-up, as it makes little V's and upward-pointing triangles. Somehow that seems optimistic.

The lace pattern is about as intuitive as I've ever seen and addictive as all get-out. I had previously said that Bella Catena Italiana were the fastest socks I'd ever knit, but these Monkeys were decidedly speedier. I mean, 10 days?? Insanity!

I think I was just into the groove, and I was visiting my parents, so sock-knitting seemed to be a great companion to talking story, watching the debates, and whining about my thesis. Mostly though, I'm going to go with the addictiveness of the pattern, which begged me "just one more repeat, just a few more rows..."

I'm sure others have deconstructed the glory that is the Monkey chart before, but I think so much of its beauty comes in the plain rows. Each patterned row is followed by a rather plain sequence of knits and purls that absorb the increases and decreases. Within an eleven row repeat, there are basically only 4 rows with patterning, 3 which are knit completely plain, and 4 which are so simple they may as well be plain. This is a lot of fast and easy knitting, but with a great pay-off, as the lace becomes structural, textured, and really quite lovely.

The fit on these is fabulous, and I think I'm either really lucky with the ratio of pattern repeats to my foot's length, or I've figured out exactly where to start the short-row heels on socks. My boyfriend recently took a jab at me, saying that all I ever knit is socks for myself, and while he's right (and I felt appropriately selfish), I worry that I may not be able to get this kind of fit and comfort knitting for someone else, if I don't have them around to try it on as I go. I guess I'll have to give it a shot and see.

Back when I bought this yarn, I said:

This yarn is so cheerful and bright. It is positively electric with happiness, glowing with warmth and intense color. I feel as though it would be impossible to have a bad day when wearing socks knit in such a merry yarn.

I worried about how it may work into a pattern, and yes, the colors are pretty crazy, but I'm happy with the wacky stripes. As I knit, I realized that the colors formed a primary rainbow of red, coral, orange, yellow, and a gorgeous teal blue bouncing back and forth. As they laid side by side, they looked less neon to me than in the skein, but they still didn't look muddy or cancel out each others' saturation, which is an enjoyable thing about such pure color.

The put-up with Opal is nice and generous at 465 yards - with 7 repeats on the foot and 8 on the leg, I still have a quarter of the ball left. It felt nice to knit with, sturdy and well-spun, and they are wonderfully comfortable to wear.

I even like the way these socks look on the inside.

I had named these socks after one of my all-time favorite songs, "Shock the Monkey" by Peter Gabriel. Cause yknow, neon, electric, shock...? Really, I think it was because I knew one day I would want to gratuitously link to this video on my blog. Hehehe.

I feel silly saying I highly recommend this pattern, since really, doesn't it recommend itself? But I do, and I enjoyed it immensely, and I'd be surprised if I didn't knit another pair. They were fun, the fastest socks I've ever knit, and even in such a crazy yarn, I think they look pretty smashing. Happy feet indeed.

Previous Entries on this Project:
Ahem, none. Kind of sneaked on and off the needles.

FO - Bella Catena Italiana Socks

2008-10-09T17:54:00.000-04:00

I finished these orange socks the other day, and my feet are so very happy!

Pattern: Bella Catena Italiana by Terry L. Ross (here on Ravelry)
Size: lady's size 9 with 9-inch foot circumference and 9.5-inch foot length
Yarn: Mondial Extrafine 8-ply DK weight*, color 804 Orange dye lot #57, 100% Extrafine Merino; I used almost 2 skeins, totaling approximately 91 grams/3.168 oz or 347.5 yards/318 meters.
Needles: Knit Picks 6" nickel-plated double-pointed needles, set of 5 size 2 (2.75 mm)
Modifications: Worked toe-up, with short row heel, 1x1 ribbing and stretchy bind-off

Started: September 8, 2008
Finished: September 26, 2008

* This yarn is listed as DK weight in Ravelry, but I found it to be straight up fingering weight.

I don't think I've ever knit a pair of socks as quickly as these, for which I suspect I have my new train commuting time to thank.

It is also immensely soothing to have reached the point in sock knitting where I can work them by habit: cast on 12 stitches with figure-8, increase the toes, work the pattern stitch up to a set point on my foot, use the equations I've memorized to work the short-row heel, and coast on up the leg to finish with ribbing and a stretchy bind-off.

I think the ease of this process makes toe-up sock knitting vastly more enjoyable than cuff-down, as the trickier structural parts (which in my preferred short-row heel method are really quite easy) get out of the way early and allow for a nice expanse of the fun stitching which drew me to the particular pattern in the first place. I don't have to worry about running out of yarn, picking up stitches, gusset and toe shaping, or Kitchener (which oddly, I don't mind at all). I should be careful to avoid proselytizing, but I suspect I am a full-on toe-up devotee and at this point I struggle to imagine knitting a sock any other way.

As for this particular pattern, I absolutely love it. The lace is fun, intuitive, and a really big impact for simple maneuvering. The name means "beautiful Italian chain," and I found myself driven to continue in the 4-row repeats, striving to add one more link - okay and maybe another - before I reached my train or subway stop.

I could have made the legs longer, as I actually had a good deal of yarn leftover, but I am happy with where they hit on my legs. The lace is stretchy, but not overly so, and the fit is really comfortable without being loose or snug.

The length of the foot is exactly right and the toes and heel feel fantastic. Actually, it doesn't feel like I am wearing socks (apart from the warmth and coziness), which I guess is a pretty high compliment.

The yarn is absolutely exquisite. It is incredibly soft and decadent to touch. I think it is more customarily used for fine-gauge tops or accessories, which I imagine would give it an insanely lovely drape and feel. It has a nice spin to it, though, which makes it plump and resilient, and this is part of why I was confident that it would hold up to being socks just as well.

The color is a nice kind of orange, saturated without being garish and subtle without being muted. I knit these socks as part of the Sock Knitters Anonymous orange socks challenge for September, and I later added them to the Solid Socks group's September pool as well. (By the way, the Solid Socks group is really lovely, and I just discovered they are doing monthly color KALs in solid and semi-solid sock yarns all year.) Seeing so many orange socks all over Ravelry has me thinking more and more about colors, and I am happy to come out of the experience as much in love with orange as ever.

I would definitely recommend this pattern for beginning and experienced sock knitters alike, as the lace is easy, quickly memorized, yet consistently enjoyable. I had such a great time knitting these socks that I have renewed my resolution to knit 12 pairs this year. We'll talk more about that soon though.

Previous Entries on this Project:
- Second Sock... Speed-Up?
- Orange Socks

Second Sock... Speed-Up?

2008-09-27T23:25:00.004-04:00

There are many knitting myths to which I do not subscribe. The most predominant has got to be the greatly bemoaned "Second Sock Syndrome."

While a cute name and oft-sympathized malady, I find my behavior to be exactly the opposite of that described by the lethargy which sets in upon completion of the first sock, especially the supposed reluctance to cast on and then complete the second sock of the pair.

Instead, the closer I get to finishing the first sock, the more antsy I am to cast on the second. Once I have worked out the amount of pattern repeats for the foot, the stitches on the heel, and the length of the leg, I cannot wait to breeze through the second sock on an autopilot-like level of gleeful enjoyment.

I'm calling it the Second Sock Speed-Up, and I will champion its cause. All the drudgery and monotony of the first sock is removed by being half-finished with the pair. Each stitch toward the second sock is faster and ultimately easier because you've done it before and there are no surprises or confusing bits left, just smooth sailing.

Which is to say... stay tuned. I have something nice to show you.

Orange Socks

2008-09-13T16:21:00.005-04:00

Though I have many other things to show and talk about, most of my knitting is still packed in boxes from the move. I did manage to fish out some orange yarn and my size 2 DPNs to start the September Sock Knitters Anonymous Sockdown orange socks challenge.

I had planned to use this yarn for a pair of Snicket socks (Ravelry link), but I could not figure out how to do the cables without a cable needle and I was feeling tremendously impatient. I searched around Ravelry for a simpler sock that would be knit over 60 stitches and found the lovely Bella Catena Italiana pattern (here on Ravelry).

The name means "Beautiful Italian Chain" and it is knit in an Italian virgin wool, so it seems fitting upon a return from Italy. These socks are moving pretty quickly and I think I may just finish a Sockdown challenge in one month this time.

(On a technical note, I am having some mystifying issues between Blogger and the FTP upload to my server. When I look at this site, I'm seeing a post that I've deleted in Blogger, as well as physically deleted from my server... yet I can't get it to go away, hence the duplication. It's also doing flukey things with comments.

If this blog goes silent for a while, please check my sidebar or Blogger profile for notes on what's going on.)