done and [almost] done

BMP Sock #1 is done!

Here it is sitting up in the Ugly Green Chair (is it just me or does every guy have to have an Ugly Chair?!):


And on the sock blocker to give it some shape:



If it looks huge, well, that's because it is! It has a circumference of 10.5" around the cuff, a cuff length of 6.75" and a foot length of 11". And I'm actually a bit worried that it still won't fit. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Technically I still have to work the shooter motif in duplicate stitch before this sock is considered completely complete, but I'm waiting to make sure I have enough CC for the second sock. Once those are done, if I have any white yarn left, I'll add the shooter. Obviously I decided to go with an all-black toe, mostly because I'm really concerned about yardage, but also 'cause it was just easier.

As for the [almost] done bit... I worked like a mad-woman yesterday on my final paper and if I could just force myself to do another hour or two today I should be able to finish it up. Which is basically the goal... and once that is done, then I can cast on for BMP Sock #2! Wish me luck!

I < 3 knit bloggers!

Holy geez, knit bloggers are the best! I know I said I was going to get back down to work, but not even an hour later there was a buzz at our door and it was the postman with this for me:

Four beautiful skeins of Classic Elite Classic Silk. SOOOOOOOO soft and gorgeous. I spent at least 5 minutes just rubbing this against my face. I luv it!

And the close up:


I won these from Knititude. I love that knit bloggers have contests and are so friendly with each other. My 100th post is coming up (I believe that this is #91) and I'm thinking that I might have to have a contest to reciprocate all the good yarny karma I've been receiving lately! Now I just have to find something gorgeous to make with all this wonderful yarn. But first I have a paper to finish. *Siiiiiigh*

Space Invaders!

As you can see, there has been much progress on the BMP socks. Not so much progress has been made on the final paper, however, so after this post I'm going to have to get back down to the business of writing. Ugh. (You know, even when you love the stuff, sometimes you just don't want to write.) I've made some modifications to the socks, such as the heel. I decided that the striped heel would probably be too busy for my brother, so I did it all in black. This was also, in part, a yardage issue. I also decided not to bother with the colour change for the final row of invaders - this was somewhat a money issue. The yarn for these was not cheap (for a grad student - but I think worth it because they will be very strong socks) so I didn't really want to buy a skein of green simply for maybe 4 or 5 yards worth. And I didn't want to be bothered with the messiness of dying it with Kool Aid.

Also, if you look very closely you will notice that the last two rows of Space Invaders in my socks are flipped from what you will see in the original pictures on knitty (check out the first picture at the top especially). This was not done on purpose; rather the charts are actually wrong - or right and she knit her own sample incorrectly! In any case, I didn't notice until I was about to start the last row of them and I wasn't going to frog back all that colourwork, so I left them as is. I don't think it makes that much of a difference, especially not to the recipient!

So now I'm working on the miles and miles and miles of black stockinette on size 0s. My bro has feet that are US shoe size 11 or 12... I can never remember. Or rather, his feet are probably like mine, in that every brand of shoe fits slightly differently. I can wear anything from a woman's 6.5 to 8, depending on who/where/what/when, etc. So I'm going to make them 11 inches long from heel to toe and hope that they'll stretch a wee bit. Which means that I have 8.25" from the back of the heel until the white stripy bit. I'm trying to decide in this time whether or not to make an all black toe, all white or the same as in the original which is striped. Due to yardage concerns, I may choose to do all black again. Plus, I'm not a huge fan of this version of short rows, which consists of yos and SSK3togs in order to accomadate for the colour changes.

Since everyone seems to be doing it, why not me too... I'm going to take a poll: what do you think? Black, White or Original Stripes?

Links, links and more links!

OK, I've got a ton of things (knitting related but not to my knitting) that I want to share, so let's get down to it:

Contests:

Knitting Sutra's Not a Fool for the Pool Contest

The ADD Knitter's Charmed Life Contest

Patterns (free and otherwise):

A picture of the Gatsby Girl Pullover from IK Fall 2006 - previously I had no desire to do this sweater, but this version makes me covet it!

Pattern (no pic, sorry) for a Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf - I'm thinking of doing this in the Red Hat Lace Weight from my SP

Charts for Star Wars Colourwork! Both crochet and knitting charts available... these are too funny... I might have to make myself some Star Wars pillows or something!

A list of every kind of triangular shawl (most available online) you could ever want to make!

Ditto as above but for rectangular shawls

Free pattern for a side buttoned sweater which I'm also coveting


Finally, a short film about the dangers of obsessively knitting while on the side of a very high cliff... it took a long time to load the first time I watched it but it's so worth the wait! (Normally I wouldn't post other people's videos here but this was just too cute.)

Float Weaving Tutorial

Well, here it is, the video tutorial on how to weave your floats into the back of your BMP socks. You might want to check out the pattern, specifically row 42 of the Repeating Space Invaders chart, before watching. You can also check out the designer's version found here but she holds one string in one hand and one in the other... mine is a strictly right handed operation.

Enjoy and let me know if there's anything left unclear!

WIPs report

Since I have been grievously injured by my US 0 needles (for the BMP socks), knitting has been slow going. I'm meeting with a couple of local knitters tonight, though and will most likely work on the honeymoon cami... it's the most portable and is on a size 6 circ... big enough for me to manipulate without causing much further damage! Anywho, since I don't have any new FO's to share, I thought I'd share a progress report.

The BMP socks:
Up until the point of injury these were progressing nicely... I've completed 4 space invader dudes.

And as soon as I'm healed I'm going to try and make a tutorial on how to weave your floats into the back so instead of long strings of yarn across the back (and, if you're me, big gaping holes between colours), it will look like this:
Pretty cool, eh? The designer has her own tutorial here but she does something crazy with one string in the left hand which I couldn't figure out. I'm ambidextrous in lots of ways but knitting isn't really one of them... except that I can teach left handed people to knit english style left handed. Weird, no?

The Honeymoon Cami:
I'm striping this using the phildar cotton my SP sent me from France. I've decided to try 16 rows red to 4 rows blue... although that could change after I'm done 4 rows of blue and see what it actually looks like! My other major modification is 12 rows of seed stitch rather than the lace rib.

And the Red Cross Army Vest:
As you can see I'm adding a hood (as per Dr. OSCBF's request) which is the part that is taking the longest. I'd already worked it once, in full but the hood was too "short"... not in shoulder to top of head length, but in back of head to front of face... it wouldn't even stay on me. Hard to explain, but in any case I'm hoping that this second time will be the charm. I may run out of yarn again, though.

Kniterations Contest

Kniterations is having a contest, in which you can win the world's cutest teapot! (Ok, well it is if you're a knitter and think sheep are cute anyway! So get over there and check it out... and tell her I sent you!!!

P.S. I'm working on the idea for the tutorial, possibly in video form, on how to weave floats into the back of your knitting. However, I have split my left index finger on the size 0 needles and may need some healing time before I can get to it. :(

It's not startitis...

OK, maybe a little, but I needed a simple project that wasn't 100% Icelandic wool. I'm meeting with a new SnB group on Thursday night (yay!) and the BMP socks are too complicated and the Red Cross Army Vest would be too hot to work on in the park in the middle of July. So I started the Honeymoon Cami. I'm going to stripe the Phildar Cotton from my secret pal in red and blue. More red than blue I'm thinking... and I've changed the waistline. I'm going to do seed stitch (or moss stitch depending on who you ask) instead of the lace rib.

The BMP socks are coming along, slowly but surely. There are 3 different space invaders on the first sock.

And my ravelry invite is still far away:

* You signed up on June 25, 2007
* You are #11046 on the list.
* 5013 people are ahead of you in line.
* 6975 people are behind you in line.
* 32% of the list has been invited so far

I heard about it months ago but never got around to signing up, until more recently. That's ok though, 'cause I have a lot of work to do before I should get too deeply involved in something like that... from what I hear in the blogosphere, it's sort of all-consuming. I started writing my last paper today (got a page & a 1/2 in an hour or so and then shut down) and I'm hoping to get it done in the next week or so. I have until the end of the month, but I'd like to have it done sooner rather than later.

Pictures of the BMP sock and Honeymoon cami to come... when there's some better lighting out.

P.S. I added some stuff in the side bar... a couple of patterns that I've worked on and a technique. I'm possibly going to work up a post on the way I work my floats into the back of the colour work too.

I'm not a sock knitter

Seriously. I'm not. (Me thinks the lady doth protest too much!) Somehow, though, that's all I've knit for the last week or so... and now I have this:



A pair of monkeys! (Only 1 pair, I just took two different shots...) I'm pretty pleased with how these turned out... they fit well, they're very warm (I'm wearing them currently, because even though it's 25C / 77F outside right now, my feet are always cold and we have the air conditioner on in the apartment...) and the yarn and pattern compliment each other well. I'll have to practice a bit more to get a nicer grafted toe, but all in all a good result for the first try, I think!

And, from last night and this mornings hard work:


The beginnings of the BMP sock. I think that the monkeys allowed me to believe in the top-down knit sock and now it's just the stranded colour work that I have to get over. I've never done any colour work (striping doesn't count) so that's probably the most challenging thing about this pattern. I've sort of figured out my own way to work the extra strand into the back, instead of just letting it hang loose back there.

Swallowtail Shawl

Managed to finally get a couple of pictures of the Shawl I did for my mom's birthday on lighter backgrounds. Unfortunately it was getting dark out so there was no natural light and I had to use the flash. True colour is somewhat darker - royal blue bordering on navy. In other news, I'm past the heel on the second Monkey sock... no SSS here!

Monkey off my back

Well, I did it. I got Cookie A's Monkey off my back. At least, one of them. I have another to cast on and knit up to have a completed pair, but I feel good having gotten at least one of them done! Now maybe I can focus some of my attention on things that have been languishing... like dishes and laundry and *gulp* school work! I'm not going to let them fall into SSS though... I plan to cast on for the second tonight when I finish cleaning the place up a bit.






What makes this pattern so addicting? Hard to say, really. No doubt it has something to do with the fact that it is so well written, with both charts and written instructions, but for me I think it was the learning process. This was my first cuff-down sock, along with my first non-short row heel and grafted toe. It took some searching to find a good tutorial on how to "graph toe stitches", but I finally realized it was the same as kitchener stitching and followed this great tutorial from Knitty Summer '04.

2 packages in 2 days!

My Secret Pal was the best. You can find her blog here but it is mostly in French, just so you know. I received two final packages this week, one right after another.

The first package was more yummy French yarn + yummy almond nougat:


So far no set plans for any of this but the brain is in motion. The royal blue yarn is 100% bamboo, 2 skeins of 89 yards - ridiculously soft. The tweedy-looking yarn is 52% cotton, 37% linen and 11% bamboo. 4 skeins @ 87 yards each. Plus the nougat, one bar of which has already been consumed.

And package the second:

Knitpicks Telemark (100% Peruvian Wool) in colour "Aubergine" 3 skeins @ 103 yards and 2 skeins of Knitpicks 100% Merino Gossamer, colour "Red Hat". No plans yet for the red hat, but the Aubergine just might do the trick for a scarf pattern that has been brewing in my head for a while. I thought about using it for this scarf, but I don't have quite enough yardage. Beautiful, eh? Check out her other patterns, they're gorgeous. I also picked up this pattern from her and I'm seriously eyeballing this one as well. But I think my to-knit list is long enough for the time being. That and the yarn budget is stretched thin lately. I'm going to try and get through this amazing stash I've accumulated before I buy anything else! (Yes, I know, the dreaded yarn diet...)

Speaking of de-stashing:

The first Monkey sock. I'm past the heel and I have to say that this is a truly addicting pattern. And that's coming from someone who is a self-proclaimed non-sock knitter. This is, by the by, the destashing of the schaefer anne yarn for anyone who's keeping score.

And the close up on the stitch pattern:


And, finally, a pic of the lacey rib anklets on the sock blockers:


Just in time to force me to continue destashing, there's going to be a Wheat Ear Cable Yoke KAL!

FO, Pattern and Reassessment Part the 2nd

**Edit again Jan 8, 2008** Now available as a downloadable pdf hosted by ravelry.com!

**Edit** This pattern was added to Knitting Sutra's No pool for you list of sock patterns that don't pool. It's in the "Jury's still out" section because there isn't enough photographic evidence of their pool defying ability. If you knit these and take a photo (flickr, blogged or potential to email) let me know! I'd love to see them.

Lacey Rib Anklets, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

So, I finished the Lacey Rib Anklets today, which means I can scratch another thing off my summer to-knit list. However, I complete forgot that I bought the yarn (on sale, yeah!) for the Wheat Ear Cable Yoke Sweater on the cover of the summer '07 Interweave Knits a while back.

So, the Summer To-Knit List now looks like this:

1. Finish the Vest (only reason it's taking so long is that it's too hot to have pure wool sitting on your lap... ugh.)
2. BMP socks
3. Schaefer Anne Destash: potentially Monkey Socks
4. Wheat Ear Cable Yoke Sweater
5. Destash, destash, destash... all of which includes:
5a. Rowan Summer Tweed shrug
5b. Phildar stripy cotton tee
5c. Kidsilk sweater

So, the pattern for the lacey rib, is as follows:

Materials: US Size 2 (2.75mm) needles (either 5 dpns or 2 circs)
1 tapestry needle
1 skein Knit Picks Memories (I used redwood forest)

Notes: I always use K2togtbl instead of SSK. If you are more comfortable with SSK feel free to substitute SSK for K2togtbl, as they look pretty much identical. Also, these socks can be made as short or long as you like. I made anklets because I was unsure as to how much yardage it would actually take up. I have put a picture at the bottom of the post that shows the finished sock and the left overs from the skein.

Using the Toe-up formula found in Knitty's summer 06 edition Cast on 24 stitches. Knit one round.
2nd round: *K1, M1, K10, M1, K1* repeat.
Continue these 2 rounds (adding 2 stitches where round 2 says K10 each time to account for new stitches) until there are 60 stitches

Knit one round

Begin Lacey Rib pattern:
Round 1: *K2, P1* 10 times. K30 (underside of foot is simple stockinette)
Round 2: *K2, P1, K2tog, yo P1* 5 times, K30
Round 3: *K2, P1* 10 times. K30
Round 4: *K2, P1, K2togtbl, yo P1* 5 times, K30

Continue in these 4 Rounds until approximately 2 inches less than desired foot length, ending with round 4 before the K30.

Short Row Heel:
(Working on only the 30 st sts on the bottom of the sock)

K 27, Wrap and turn (Work W&T by slipping two stitches as if to purl from left to right needle, bring yarn to front of work, turn work to look at wrong side, slip one st from left to right needle, bring yarn to front of work.
P 27, W&T
K 26, W&T
P 26, W&T

Continue working short row, knitting one less stitch each time. Stop after P12, W&T.

Next: reverse the W&T rows, beginning to add one stitch each time (i.e. K13, W& T / P13, W&T, K14 W&T, P14 W&T, etc) Continue until you have worked P27 W&T.

Knit to end of Round.

Work Round 1 of Lace Rib
Work Lace section of Round 2, K1, K2togtbl, Knit to last 3 stitches, K2tog, K1.
Work Round 3 of Lace Rib
Work lace section of Round 4, K1, K2togtbl, Knit to last 3 stitches, K2tog, K1.
Work Round 1
Work Lace section of Round 2, K1, K2togtbl, Knit to last 3 stitches, K2tog, K1.
(Six stitches decreased)

Begin working lace rib continuously through every stitch of each round

Work for about 1 inch for anklets or the length you desire, end with round 4.

Switch to k1p1 ribbing for 4 rounds.

Stretchy bind off:

Measure a tail of approximately four times the circumference of the sock and cut. Thread through a tapestry needle and work bind off as follows:

Thread needle through first two stitches as if to purl without removing from needle. Thread needle back through first stitch as if to knit and remove from needle. Repeat until there is only one stitch left. Thread needle through last stitch as if to knit and secure ends.



Let me know if there's any problems or if anything needs clarification!

Reassessment

It's time to reassess my Summer Knitting Goals. I've finished 1, 5 and 6 (gave my mom the shawl yesterday but didn't have the opportunity to take a picture of it on yet), which leaves 2, 3, and 4. I've been working on #2 (Vest for Dr. OSCBF) intermittently, and I attempted to start on #4 (schaefer anne destashing). #3 (BMP Socks) Seems a little too daunting right now. I also still have one more paper to write before the end of the month. #4 didn't go exactly as planned. I cast on for the Silk Cami from LMKG but I ran through almost half my yardage in about 5". Plus the variegated yarn didn't look all that great in the lace pattern - too much going on I think - and I didn't like the way the stockinette was knitting up... the stitches looked too loose. I'm think I might just give in and jump on the Monkey bandwagon. I'm not a huge fan of knitting socks, but maybe I just haven't found the right pattern yet. We'll see... I just don't know what else I can do without more yardage.

I have more new goals, most of which have to do with destashing. I've convinced myself that yarn will be easier to transport (when I move back south of the border for school at the end of August) if already in knitted form. Plus, some of the stuff is staying here as gifts for people, so that will make it easier too... rather than taking the yarn back with me, knitting it there and then shipping it back.

For instance: I have the Rowan Summer Tweed sent by my Secret Pal, which I'm considering making into some kind of short-sleeved summer shrug; and the two different colours of cotton which I'm thinking would make a nice stripy something... t-shirt most likely since I probably don't have enough for a full sweater. And there's the Kidsilk Haze, which I think I will use for Portland Pullover from interweave knits fall '06. Only I want to modify it so it has less of a turtle-ish neck... maybe a boat neck?

So, to break it down:

1. Finish the Vest (only reason it's taking so long is that it's too hot to have pure wool sitting on your lap... ugh.)
2. BMP socks
3. Schaefer Anne Destash: potentially Monkey Socks
4. Get over second sock syndrome with lace-rib socks and write out pattern for those who might be interested
5. Destash, destash, destash... all of which includes:
5a. Rowan Summer Tweed shrug
5b. Phildar stripy cotton tee
5c. Kidsilk sweater

I've been itchy with startitis for about a week now so I'm going to go and cast something, anything, on.

The Morning After

Dear Yarn,

You've been warned before: Yarn and Beer don't mix well. Oh, sure, Beer tastes good, and it makes you feel invincible: you could become anything in the world. And knitting a few rows after a Beer or Two (Beer always invites friends along you know) isn't so bad, usually it all turns out ok, if not a little looser than usual. But winding... oh, trying to wind yourself into a ball with Beer's help never works out. So stay away from Beer or next time I won't help you out after you've gotten mixed up with a bad brew.



Sincerely, Gradschoolknitter.
P.S. Maybe part of this is my fault. Perhaps I need to find you a good winder and swift to play with.

Almost forgot...

I almost forgot something very important! Interweave Press is having a back issues sale!! On all their magazines. No, I'm not associated with them or anything, I just think this is great and I'm probably going to end up ordering a bunch, even though I really shouldn't... and it's not just Interweave Knits, it's allllll their mags. I just thought I'd share this for those of you who aren't on the email list!

FO: shawl

The swallowtail shawl for my mom has been finished for 2 days now, but I finally got a chance to block it. I'm not a huge fan of blocking - don't get me wrong, I understand the principle behind it and I know that it makes things look better... but I also think that all projects have to be blocked to look good. I'll come clean, but totally deny it if you tell anyone: I never blocked this.

However, with a shawl done almost entirely in lace (i.e. every right side row at least has yo's and other lacey bits) I needed to block. Before blocking the OSCBF (who, by the by, is now officially Dr. OSCBF... he defended his thesis about 3 weeks ago and handed in the final draft to grad studies last week!) asked if I really thought my mom could wear it as a shawl... it looked more like a small triangular doily. So here are two pictures of it blocking... it's still smaller than I would really like to see it but I ran out of pins while blocking and had to run to the tailoring store across the street... so it was a bit dryer and I didn't want to rip anything... I know it can take it, but let's face it, I was getting annoyed and didn't want to go back and re-pin the whole thing. Can I soak and re-block in a day or two??

Apologies about the dark pictures... rainy, grey day + indoors + blocked on top of a garbage bag (I heard it helps it dry quicker plus it keeps the carpet from getting wet and potentially smelling like wet alpaca... which basically just smells like wet dog...) = not very good pictures.




I'll try to get a picture of it on my mom when I give it to her, hopefully this weekend, depending on the number of times I attempt to re-block.

The last few days I've been itching to cast on, and I want to keep within my summer knitting goals so I am using the schafer anne yarn (on the left side of the picture) to make the silk cami from LMKG. It was the original intent for the yarn, although I've hemmed and hawed over it... I mean, it is techincally merino, mohair and nylon, but I've paired it with a strand of bamboo... it's not that summery and the tank is. However, I'm almost always cold so maybe I'll be happy to have a pretty tank to go under v-necks and cardigans in the winter that also keeps me warmish... we'll see. I'm just not really a sock knitter. I don't mind knitting socks once in a while, but they aren't the projects that keep my attention. Remember this sock? Her partner is only about a 1/4 finished and that was APRIL when I posted the first one.

I'm going to reassess my summer goals and add new ones based on the yarns I've acquired more recently in the next day or two. Stay tuned, same bat time, same bat blog.

how to...

I saw this on Wikihow last night and thought some of you might enjoy it: How to sew a knitting needle roll up.

Enjoy!

I got the paper done yesterday, now to just finish and block the shawl...

Happy 140th Canada!

I wanted to write something witty and / or cute in honour of Canada day, but the yarn harlot beat me to it. Go check it out... it's very funny and very Canadiana. Happy Canada Day, eh?!

P.S. I'm going to do some much needed updates to the sidebar and maybe make some colour changes, so don't be too shocked!

last day of secret pal10

Well, it's the last day of Secret Pal 10... it's been fun and I've gotten some super cool stuff from my pal. I also sent my last / reveal package to my pal a couple of days ago. The last package I sent her seems to have gotten lost somewhere along the way (which sucks, especially since we only live one state apart when I'm on the south side of the border) so I'm tracking this one to make sure that Canada Post doesn't screw up. Again. (Unrelated screw up... I'm just not having any luck with posting things lately...)

I should also find out who my secret pal is soon... she said she would send me a reveal email today and that my reveal package will be on its way in the next week or so!

In actual knitting related news, I tried mission: knitting impossible to get the bday present done for my mom in time for yesterday and failed. I'm about 1/2 way done, but it's a much more difficult pattern than I had thought originally. It's the swallowtail shawl from Interweave Knits Fall '06... It's beautiful but very intricate (I'm pretty sure I might have messed up a couple of times, but it's so hard to tell with the tiny stitches and tiny needles... and I just couldn't bear the thought of ripping back on lace... no, I don't use lifelines, but perhaps I should learn how). In any case, I don't know who Evelyn A. Clark thinks she is (other than a torturer of knitters who love beautiful lace) but purling 5 together - especially when those 5 stitches were previously a K1 yo K1 yo K1 worked from one single stitch... well, it's damn near impossible. I can get 4 stitches picked up purlwise all at once, but 5 is just one too many. Occasionally I'll get it on the first try, but most times it takes me anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes to convince all 5 stitches to get on that needle. I'm hoping to be done within the next week... although I'm also hoping to be done another paper left over from the Spring Semester today too... I'm all full of false hopes! I'll post celebratory posts if either happen in the next little while.

Happy Knitting!

When did you learn to knit?

Skeins her way is having another contest! All you have to do is post what age you learned to knit... I wrote 9, but to be honest I think it might have been even earlier than that...

no knitting... but new hair!

I have this dorky side that likes to do crazy things with my hair... as a teenager you could tell when I had been bored or needed to feel change because my hair would change radically over night. I think that's kind of a normal teenage thing, right? I've had it all kinds of colours, and from the time I was 14 until I was about 18 or so, it just kept getting shorter and shorter and shorter, until my high school graduation photos, in which I had the shortest hair of my life - cut but barely above the "shaved head" look. Anywho, a few of years ago I dyed my hair pink... and I loved it. I wanted to do it again but my brother got engaged and I was in the wedding party and I started my master's the year afterwards and I felt like I needed to be a bit more "professional" in order to teach... especially since I don't look that much older than most of my students - and in fact, sometimes I am actually younger than them. So I haven't done anything wild and crazy in the last few years... and I was just in a friend's wedding a week ago, so I had been growing my hair out for that as well.

So, courtesy of my mac's photo booth and without further ado, I give you "craziest haircut I've had in 4 years":



Hope this distracts everyone enough to forget about the lack of knitting related posts lately!

I'm sad to admit that there hasn't been much knitting going on lately. Despite that, I have acquired some beautiful yarns recently (both from my secret pal and some things that jumped into my arms at a recent sale...) I just haven't had any time to use them.

I have been slowly working on #6 on the Summer Knits List but it's a surprise, so I'll save it for when it has been finished and delivered. Also, the progress has been very slow, so I'm just hoping that it will be finished before its "deadline" in a weeks time!

secret pal package!

I got a package from my secret pal today! I don't have a lot of time to elaborate so I'll cut to the chase:

The goods:
3 balls of Grey Rowan Kidsilk haze (70% Super Kid Mohair, 30% Silk) 229 yards each; 3 balls Red Phildar Licorne (100% cotton) 131 yards each; 2 balls of Blue Phildar Detente (100% cotton) 153 yards each; 3 skeins Beige Rowan Summer Tweed (70% silk, 30% cotton) 118 yards each.

And the close ups:





The astute observer might notice that (especially in the close up on the Red Licorne) that the yarns look dull or even whiteish... this is not from the camera or the lighting... it's from the fact that my package took quite a beating between France and Canada and so a package of bath bubble stuff sort of exploded all over the place. Luckily it was dry bath bubbles, so it didn't ruin everything but the cottons do still have some stuck in them. I figure that once I knit something up and wash it there will be some brightening of the colours. Miraculously it came out very easily from the kidsilk. Also not pictured: 2 jars of french jam, papaya body scrub and a small pot with mini sunflower seeds to plant!

Thanks secret pal!

new pictures, old projects

I'm staying with my dad and sister this week while the OSCBF and my mom are both out of town (just to clarify, they went on separate trips!). In any case, I'm using my old laptop to check email and the like. I didn't want to be moving tons and tons of stuff for just two days, so I left my Mac at the apartment.

So I found some new knitting photos to share. Ok, they're not actually *new*... they're photos of things I knit as gifts last Christmas, but since I forgot my camera, I never took pictures of people wearing them. Apparently my mom did, but never sent them to me. In any case, they're new to most of you and it distracts from the fact that I haven't done much new knitting lately...


Drop stitch scarf from Stitch n' Bitch Nation. Handpainted ribbon from Stitches East '06. Gift for Nana, Modelled by Mom.


Berroco Touche "Cashmere" Cowl... not so cashmere but still soft and warm! From LMKG. Gift for and modelled by Mom.


Back of the "nightie"... I did it to specifications but it was (obviously) quite short. But she wore it as a tank top Saturday night and it looked awesome!


And a shot of the front...


And a better shot of the "edible undies", on the lingerie line at the bachelorette party Sat. night.

Blogger and internet explorer have teamed up to annoy me tonight (I heart my Mac) and so this is the second time I've written this post... cross your fingers that it works this time!

naughty knitting

I don't know how many of you might have seen the naughty issue of Knitty from Summer '04, but it's kind of funny, and fun, and not really that naughty. Anywho, tonight if a friends bachellorette party and we're supposed to bring underwear that symbolizes us and she's supposed to guess who's is whose. So I thought... I should really knit some underwear. I know, I know, I've said before that I draw the line at knitted underwear, but I couldn't resist, and I figured I'd just use up some of my stash and it would be a fun joke. So I thought I'd search around for a quick pattern and came up with this: 302 calories. Edible, knitted underwear: finally, someone has brought together two loves: food and knitting. Licorice thong string, not so much... in fact, it's sort of really totally icky when you think about it. But it took about 20 mins (well, not if you count the two days of driving around the city attempting to actually find licorice shoe strings...) and it's going to be hilarious. So, I give you my version of 302 calories:


(Sorry about the crappyness of the picture... I had to find somewhere that I could hang it and the lighting is really really bad in the bedroom... I'll try to get better ones tonight.)

Also in related naughty crafting news, I was recruited by the sister of the bride to be to make a very special item... keep in mind that this is a cowboy themed bachellorette:



Yes, that's what you think it is... and yes, I made it myself. It will go great with the cowboy hats we ordered!!

After the Wash

Well, I can check #5 off my summer knitting list! (No one said they had to be done in order did they?!)

Here are the Baby Denim Drawstring Pants post-wash & dry:



They're still a bit damp so they're now hanging with the rest of "do not tumble dry" laundry. But they definitely shrank (which is good... everyone kept saying they looked odd... the legs were ridiculously long pre-wash) and all ends have been woven in and the drawstring is firmly where it is supposed to be. One problem with my modification (4 st i-cord instead of 2) is that it was harder to get into the slot for the drawstring... I didn't take that into consideration ahead of time. It still works, but it doesn't tie into the best bow ever... still, I think overall a thicker i-cord is needed to hold up baby pants. If I were to make them again I might try 3 sts. The baby shower is next weekend, so there is lots of time for them to dry out! Unfortunately I already had plans to be away that weekend, so I won't make the actual shower, but I wanted to do something for her anyway... hopefully these fit the little guy on the way!

Stay tuned later today (or possibly tomorrow) for some content considerably more "adult"!

Baby Jeans (or Why I Love LMKG So Much!)

I know I've said it before, but LMKG is a great knitting book.

I give you Exhibit A: (actually it's more like Exhibit M, considering all the things I've made from this book)



A pair of (almost) finished Baby Jeans. I just have to wash and dry them tomorrow (along with all my other laundry I've been neglecting lately), weave in the ends & drawstring, and voila! Baby Jeans. That are machine washable and dry-able. That shrink, fade and soften like real jeans. (At least, that's what it says they'll do!)

Specs:
Pattern: LMKG Baby Denim Drawstring Pants
Yarn: 2.5 skeins Rowan Denim, Memphis colour
Needles: US 6 / 4mm
Modifications: Only to the drawstring; I did a 4 stitch i-cord instead of 2... I didn't think the 2 looked robust enough.

I'll post an "after the wash" picture tomorrow.

Log Cabin

This morning I finally finished cutting all the ends off the back of the log cabin baby blanket for the OSCBF's newest family member. He left this morning for a conference in Saskatchewan (how did I actually spell that right on the first try?!) and afterwards he will be traveling farther west to visit various family members, including the cousins who just had a baby a few weeks ago. We were running more than a little behind this morning, though, so these are the best pics I got of it before it got thrown into a suitcase:






One with flash and two without. Try to imagine it flat and without the mess of our breakfast dishes in the background...

Specs:

Yarn: Berroco Touché (It must seem like I hoard this stuff or something, but all I can say is hoorah for machine washable!)
Needles: Size 8 / 5 mm circs & crochet hook (for the pink border you probably can't even see in these pics)
Pattern: None - just a straight up log cabin as explained in this tutorial by Mason-Dixon Knitting.

I can check #1 off my summer knits list!

meme

I got tagged by the PhD knitter to participate in the following meme:

The Rules: Each person tagged gives seven random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write in their blogs seven facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and need to read your blog.


Before I start I just want to say that I have been up and working since 5:45 this morning, so I'm really tired and these will probably be whatever randomness pops into my head at the moment...

1. I have never eaten a grilled cheese sandwich. Ever. Nor am I really very interested in doing so. I've had grilled cheese + something else, but never just a straight grilled cheese.

2. I learned to knit when I was quite young, but left it alone for many many years. I've picked it back up from time to time but always left it again. I started knitting again most recently last September... I joined a group when I moved to the states to get to know more people. This time I think I'm going to stick with it though.

3. I just completed my first year of a PhD. I'm really glad I had 2 years of a Master's beforehand or I would have felt COMPLETELY out of place.

4. I am back in Canada for the summer, living with the OSCBF and working at a factory. I've worked in factories before, but this is probably the most manual labour I've ever done in my life. It always reminds me why I want to go back to school in the fall, even after a particularly hard year. Other than knitting, I'm not really cut out for hard manual labour.

5. I played piano for 8 (maybe even 9?) years, but I never finished my grade 8 Royal Conservatory exam, which I regret.

6. I really only speak Spanish fluently (aside from English, of course), but I find that I can follow conversations in French and Italian, and read most Portuguese, but listening to Portuguese is almost impossible. I haven't studied French since high school and my spoken French is broken and smattered with Spanish now, but I will be taking an Italian course next year.

7. The OSCBF and I met during a Summer Shakespeare production of Much Ado About Nothing. It was my first (and to date only) acting experience (outside of a few shows we did in the Spanish department) and I would definitely do it again... maybe next time they'd even let me have lines! (I was the only person without lines, yet, because of my freakish memory I had almost the whole play memorized...). I tried out on a whim... I was finishing my last year of the BA, had just gotten accepted to the MA and was feeling very "brave new world" about the whole thing. I was in a place where I wanted to try new things and push my limits... so I did and I had one of the most interesting summers of my life.

I haven't decided who I'll tag yet... I might not tag anyone... so if you feel like letting me know 7 things about you, leave a comment and I'll come check it out.

acquisitions

So, after posting on Friday that I had yarn stores on the brain, I proceeded to look up yarn stores. The smallish but well stocked one was advertising a "big, honkin' sale", which just happened to start that very same day. It was fate, I'm sure! So, I hopped in the car and drove over. Their stuff seems expensive, but I guess I've become accustomed to US prices... which, by the by, has anyone noticed how good the loonies has been doing?! But I digress...

So, being one for a good bargain, I picked up the following:


The Summer Issue of Interweave Knits (not on sale, but I was going to buy it anyway), 3 skeins of Rowan Denim in Memphis, and 7 skeins of Baruffa Merinos Sei in colour 42000 (sort of a charcoal grey).... Otherwise known as just enough yardage to make the sweater on the cover of the summer IK!

Here's an upclose of the Merinos Sei (apparently made by the same company as Trendsetters).

And an closeup of the Rowan Denim. I've been wanting to try this to possibly make the skirt from Spring IK (which can be seen here on Eunny Jang's blog - she should really post something new, soon!) but these three skeins are going to be used for the denim baby pants in Last Minute Knitted Gifts for my friend who is having a baby in June. If I like the way it knits up, then I will possibly try out the skirt.

procrastination

I took today off (sort of... it's been dead at my new job and since my supervisor is also my cousin I told him that if he didn't really need me I have some major work I should be doing... so he told me I could stay home today) so that I could finish a paper... which was technically due yesterday. Eep. So, instead, I'm thinking about yarn shops. I mean, I never get to go to any here because A. they're far away (my LYS in Baltimore is about 4 blocks from my house), B. I work during the day and they're closed by the time I'm home and cleaned up sufficiently to fondle yarn and C. I'm tired all the time from this new job. There are many other reasons too, not the least being that I should be spending my "free" time writing papers... like, right now. But I'm thinking about yarn stores. There are quite a few in the city (I mean, this is Canada!) and I've really only ever been to two. The huge warehouse (which has decent prices but mostly novelty yarns) and one that I went to when I first got back a couple of weeks ago (tiny but decent selection... I didn't have much time to look around 'cause I was with the OSCBF and didn't want to bore him completely). There are at least 2 more that I haven't explored yet and I am jonesing for some yarn time. In Baltimore I would make it to the LYS at least once or twice a week (so close! on my way home from school!!) and here I've only been to one in the last 2 weeks, for about 5 mins tops. So I'm making myself a deal. If I get a decent chunk of this paper done in the next couple of hours I might go yarn store hopping. I'll update on how it works out later!

Summer knits contest

Wooooo... a contest! And a simple one at that! Skeins her way is hosting a "what ya gonna knit" contest for the summer and giving away her newest pattern and some gorgeous blue sky cotton. So now all I have to do is let you know what I plan on doing this summer.

1. Finish the log cabin blanket (super soon actually) for the OSCBF's newest family member.

2. Finish the vest for the OSCBF (which has sadly been languishing for months... and won't really be useful to him until November or December...)

3. Make BMP socks for my little bro

4. Figure out what I'm going to do with the lovely Schafer Anne yarn I bought with a Christmas Gift Certificate... I'm thinking either the Silk Cami from LMKG or a shawl I saw in Fall '06 interweave knits...

5. More baby stuff for a friend who is having a shower soonish... depending on how soon is soonish I will have to decide how big a project I can take on...

6. Something for my mom for her birthday... It's not until the end of June though, so I'm sure I'll think of something by then!

So, that's it... that's all I've got planned for the summer so far. That and 3 more term papers to write before Aug. 1. Eep!

P.S. I saw this first on the ADD Knitter's blog. Part of the contest is that you have to let people know how you found out about it.

blocks that rock!

OK, so I've settled in (mostly) back in Canada and I've started working. I've also been attempting to write papers in the evenings. I am so tired I've barely knit a stitch all week. I did, however, decide to weave in the ends loosely, wash and block the surprise for my friend's bridal shower tomorrow. Of course, I left it until this evening so now I'm panicking that it won't dry in time for tomorrow morning.

Remember the sneak peak picture? Well here's the full thing, being blocked:


It's the nightie from Interweave Knits Spring '07 (if you didn't already guess that...) and I really enjoyed knitting it.
Specs:
Pattern: Interweave Knits Spring 07 (available online in PDF format)
Needles: Size 4 circ
Yarn: Berroco Touché Pink (don't remember what #)
Time: a couple of weeks on and off?
Notes: This is the smallest size (my friend is both shorter and thinner than me, so I didn't think making the medium (which is what I would have made for me) would have been appropriate. Unfortunately it is REALLY short for a nightie and will probably make a better night-shirt and / or lacy top. I'll let her decide. I was going to get a pair of matching silky shorts or something but I just haven't had the time. :S


OSCBF and I went to an antique shop last night and I found these old wooden sock blockers... just about the right size for my little feet!


And speaking of feet, the OSCBF showed off his crafty side today and built us a shoe closet!

Sorry for the badness of the photos... I'm just too tired to keep trying to get a good shot.

movin' on up, movin' on out

Well, I'm headed back to the Great White North today. I'm just waiting for the van to pick me up to head to the airport... should be in the next 10 mins or so. So if I don't post for any new pics for a few days, please be forgiving! I'll be back asap... I mean, I have 2 papers due in the next two weeks, plus I'm starting a full time job on Tuesday... clearly I'll need to be knitting, just to keep my sanity! And the airplane knitting... oh, there will be airplane knitting...