we interrupt your regularly scheduled sweater update...

hideous or happy?, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

for this scarf. Not sure if I love it yet... it's a little outside of my comfort zone so far as colour goes, but it's squishy and portable, both of which I find to be important factors in knitting-love. It started as a length-wise garter-stitch scarf but it just looked too crazy, so I went with the tried-and-true Noro Striped Scarf, even though, once again, neither of my yarns are noro. Instead I'm using Malabrigo Worsted Merino in Lettuce (that's the limey-green) and a locally handspun merino from Gnome Garden. (I bought mine through my fave yarn pusher, I don't know if/when she will update her etsy shop again.)

I got to the armholes on my NaKniSweMo sweater on Monday:



and just wasn't in the mood for sleeves. Plus sleeves require instruction-reading/paying attention and that gets in the way of NaSchoWriMo reading/writing.

Don't worry, I'll be back on the sweater-in-a-month track, just as soon as I get this scarf-interruption out of the way...

NaKniSweMo Day 6

NaKniSweMo Day 6, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Six days into NaKniSweMo and I'm rolling along! 7.5 inches of body and I'm aiming for 1 inch per day.

NaSchoWriMo is going fairly well too. I've revised an article that I hope will get published and sent it to my advisors for them to review. Wish me luck!

betcha you thought you weren't going to ever see this...

abalone on, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Finally, a picture of the abalone sweater ON ME! I don't really like the picture (of me, the sweater looks fine), but I had such a hard time getting one that I am just going to go with it.

As you might be able to tell, it is still open, much like the original, even though I attempted to do some gauge math and make it big enough to close in front of me... but I like how it looks, so I guess it all worked out! In any case, if I hadn't done the math and added extra stitches it would be waaaay too small.

Details:

Pattern: Abalone
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Olive, 2.5 skeins (now I have to find something to do with the other 2.5 still sitting in the stash...)
Needles: US 8 / 5mm
Mods: Many: Cast-on 62, increased to 112. Hoped this would fit all the way around me, perhaps clasped together with a shawl pin, but alas, it was not meant to be. I'm happy with how it turned out, though. Also, nixed the icord bind off on the band as it turned out way too tight. Used Jenny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off (knitting all stitches) instead.

NaKniSweMo day 3

NaKniSweMo day 3, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

I'm actually progressing much quicker than I worried anticipated! I have 4 inches of body so far and am about to start waist decreases.

There's only one problem... it appears to be rolling (as you can see in the above pic) quite a bit. There are only 5 rows of ribbing and I don't know that it's enough. My hope is that a good blocking will smooth it out, but if not I might take more drastic steps... either hem the ribbing under OR pick up stitches, cut off the ribbing and knit downwards, adding some length and some more rows of ribbing...

november

i heart garter, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

It's November 1st, which means that NaKniSweMo, along with NaNoWriMo are on their way. In fact, I found a group on ravelry called NaSchoWriMo for scholarly writing, which is perfect for my purposes.

Of course, instead of preparing for the advent of either of these things, I made a partner to the first garter stitch mitt. Seriously love these SO MUCH. I will be busting more stash later for a couple more pairs.

OK, off to finish casting on my sweater and get ready for a long day at the library!

lots to share

toasty toes, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Weekends seem to be my productive time for knitting lately and this one was no different. I finished up the swap socks for my partner as seen above AND wrote up a 3 sized pattern for them, now available on ravelry!

To check this pattern out, you can go to the toasty toes worsted weight toe-up sock ravelry page or buy the pdf now. I'm charging $1.50 for my math skillz: the three sizes range from a 7.25" circumference to 9.5".

Also on the needles this weekend:



Ysolda's Garter Stitch Mitts. These are getting a holiday gift out of the way AND stash busting! Both things I desperately need to do.

Yarn is Knitpicks Telemark (1 skein) and Classic Elite Inca Print (1/2 skein) on size 5 US (3.75mm) needles.

I also went down to DC this weekend to see the Rally to Restore Sanity... and due to some CRAZY metro line ups ended up missing most of it. But! it was still nice to get out and see a different city and to see so many people just enjoying their day. No one got upset waiting in line 45+ mins for metro tickets, everyone joked about being sardines on the train, no one was pushy or angry or anything negative. That alone was enough to restore my sanity.

But if you need a little something extra, check out Jon Stewart's final speech.

Goals

S1050210.JPG, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

November is NaNoWriMo, and in conjunction NaKniSweMo, all of which means that some crazy writers are going to write a 50,000 word novel in a month and some crazy knitters are going to knit a sweater (approx. 50,000 stitches) in a month.

So which am I? Well, sort of both. I'm going to take the above yarn (in the stash since Maryland Sheep and Wool of '08) and turn it into a folded sweater.

I'm also in major need of stepping up my thesis writing game, so I'm going to work my hardest to get a polished chapter written by the end of November. It probably won't be 50,000 words (which is about 175 pages and WAY too long for a chapter), but it won't be easy. I figure the extra time I spend reading other things and doing research will add up.

Wish me luck!

Look who's blocking...

textured shawl blocking, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

finally...

Finally getting around to some much needed blocking on the textured shawl I knit back in early September. It looks like it grew quite a bit in the bath which is exactly what I wanted.

And....


look who's blocking too!*

I finished up the abalone sweater this morning and it's now blocking as well. We're having some damp weather, so it may take a while for them both to dry but hopefully some FO pics will happen over the next few days! I have a few mods (ok, quite a few), but I'll save them for the FO post!


*Yes, I am a big dork and yes, I am referencing '90s movies about talking babies. Just in case you were wondering.

abalone progress

abalone progress, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Wow, this is SUCH a quick knit. I started on the 19th and as of right now all that is left is the edging! Of course, my house also needs cleaning before we have friends over for dinner tonight...

Wednesdays are for what?

abalone beginnings, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

oh yeah, WIPs

The last project I completed for myself was July 27, according to ravelry, which is sort of a sad state of affairs, if I do say so myself. So I decided to take matters into my own knitting hands and last night I cast on for the abalone sweater. The MadridKnits Group is doing this sweater as a KAL for Oct/Nov, and I've wanted to make it for a while (and, as previously mentioned, have had this yarn in my stash for quite some time.

I've made some mods so that it will fit more around the body, with the possibility of adding a button or shawl pin. More on that as it progresses.

In other news, I finished up* the other heel and now have a completed pair of afterthought heels:



*I'm not counting this as a finished project for me by me as I did about 5% of the actual knitting.

one more thing I did this weekend....

sock swap - worsted weight, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

was knit an entire sock. Granted, it was worsted weight, but it was also for a foot a lot bigger than my usual fare. This is the first (shown just prior to bind-off) sock for my partner from the second sock swap. This time around we're using worsted (washable) weight yarn and they're due out by the end of December. Given that I knocked one out in a weekend's worth of knitting, I'm not too worried about the second right now.

Right now I'd really like to knit something for myself!

Socks are: Pattern: none, but possibly coming soon. Yarn: Knitpicks Swish Worsted in Amethyst Heather. Needles: US 5 / 3.75mm.

in which I mutilate a perfectly good sock

the pick-up, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

yes, two posts in one day. this is just too good to pass up.

So, months ago I had an idea for people to knit tube socks and send them to partners from anywhere in the world with some extra yarn for them to make afterthought heels (best described by the yarn harlot). And it happened. And is still happening.

I finally got my package (due to some flakey swappers - yes, there are always one or two) as an "angel package" from my fellow mod, Gekko, with some funky blue socks. Here's the thing: I've never made an afterthought heel before. Ever. In fact, I've never CUT yarn that has been knit before. No steeking, no nothing. Of course, that didn't stop me from starting an entire group/swap based on the idea.

So this afternoon I sat down with the socks and the appropriate materials: yarn, needles, scissors, glass of wine, and got to it.

Above you can see the initial pick up. Then, probably the worst part of all:


the cut.

After that there was no turning back, so I started picking up stitches on the other side and gently removing the middle row:



Finally ending up with:



So, did it all work out? Drum roll please.............


ta da!

I'm quite please with the results if I do say so myself! It's not that I doubted the Yarn Harlot (although she herself admits to doubting EZ in the above referenced post, which has to be way higher on the knitting sacrilege scale), it's just that I worried about my own abilities for such risky knitted business. I mean, who takes scissors to perfectly knit stitches? Madness, that is.

In any case, it worked out, and I'm thrilled with the result. Although I think I'll wait a day or two to do the other one.

Note: for anyone who wants to attempt an afterthought heel on their own there is one key point missing from the yarn harlot's guide. Rule of thumb for placement of heel: approx. 2 inches before the end of the foot. I.E. my foot is 9 inches long, therefore I placed the heel 7 inches away from the toe of the sock.

in which another FO and a fun photo shoot are featured

faceoff, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

I convinced the boy to go for a photo-shoot/walk with me last night with his new scarf! Near where we live there is an art festival every year and the artists put up sculptures that stay for the year and get changed the following summer for the next festival.

The above photo is probably my fave, but there were a couple other good ones too:





Details:

Pattern: none. Inspired by the stitch pattern in the barcelona socks (which is called "Ribs and Welt" in the Vogue Stitchionary, I believe).
Yarn: Woolarina's "lux sock", which is more of a dk weight, made up of merino, a little nylon and CASHMERE. I can't say enough about the deliciousness of this yarn. It's amazing to work with. In any case, I alternated two different skeins, every other row and have approx. 1.8oz leftover. Which by my calculations is 225yds... enough for perhaps a hat or pair of mitts to match?
Needles: US 5 / 3.75mm.

stash: enhanced!

knitpicks stroll, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Aside from the great new yarn I got in my swap package the other day (of which I have MUCH better pictures coming up), there has been some other stash enhancement which I haven't yet divulged.

Above is a skein of Knitpicks Stroll Sock Yarn... I got the same colour to put in one of the angel packages but somehow ended up with two... wonder how that happend...

In the same order I got this:



Knitpicks Shine Worsted in Amethyst Heather to make worsted weight (but washable!) socks for the next swap. In fact, I'm sure I'll have a picture of them up shortly, as I'm already to the heel flap of the first one (toe up for a change). Worsted weight is just soooooooooo much faster, even though my partner has much bigger feet than those I normally knit.

And now, some better pictures of my swap yarn:



The handspun, which I'm guessing is maybe a bulky weight? I'll have to ask to see if she knows how much yardage there is. But it definitely looks like enough for a hat... and I looooove the colour.



And finally, the Araucania Ranco Solid. As you can see, if you compare to the maccam's picture, it's actually what I would call a spring green, not so neon as it appeared before. I really like it and I have potential plans for it... plans that will include it on a very special up-coming day.

Speaking of which, many thanks to all the people who commented on my announcement post, we really appreciate all the kind words.

increase techniques

baby sweater sample, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

I made up this baby sweater for a class I'm teaching. I decided to use it to show the increases and how different increases look:



If you click through to the flickr page you can see the notes (hover over the picture) that explain the different looks.

my swap package (finally!)

swap bag from gekko, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

I'm so excited that you're all just going to have to deal with the mac-cam pictures! I had this delivered to my office address since I was dealing with moves and mail problems this summer... so yeah, the camera is at home. I finally got my package from the first sock swap! My partner disappeared into the ether so my fellow moderator gekko stepped up to the angel plate and sent me a great package!!

Aside from this cute bag (stuffed with goodies) there was also:


Cute needle bracelets!


Yarn! (From left to right: Araucania Ranco Sock, Handspun Merino (looooove the colour on this!) and Black Sock yarn (I believe it is Patons Australia Patonyle to match the toes of the socks to the afterthought heels I will be putting in))

And, of course:


SOCKS!

I love love LOVE my package. Thanks again, for EVERYTHING, Gekko!!

and done

angel wings, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Angel socks left-over from the first sock swap.

Yarn is mini mochi, violet rainbow (for something with that name there ought to be a bit more purple, no?), US 1 dpns, and pattern is blackrose from knitty.

gratitude + wips

practice sweater, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Today (or yesterday depending on your family traditions) is Canadian Thanksgiving (or until I move to the states 4+ years ago, just "Thanksgiving") and it seems like a good time to do some catching up on what's on the needles and to talk about some things I'm really grateful for.

Above is the practice sweater I'm working on to teach different increases to a baby-sweater class next weekend. Not the knitting I should (or want) to be doing, but knitting none-the-less.

In the knitting I need to be doing, we have up next the "angel socks" that are left from the first sock swap.



This is sock #2, past the heel as you can see, so should be done and ready to send off shortly. Let's not even talk about the socks for the second swap... actually, they'll be worsted weight and not due until end of Dec, so really, they can wait a minute.

In the knitting I want to be doing:



Note: I am well aware of how dorky I look in this picture.

An anniversary scarf for the boy. In part, I want to be knitting something for such a great guy, but really, it's kinda selfish too: the Woolarina cashmere blend yarn is absolutely LUSCIOUS to work with.

Now: Gratitude!

This is the first time I've been able to be back for a Thanksgiving weekend in Canada in at least 5 years. I LOVE fall in Ontario. I miss it more than just about anything else. It's just not the same anywhere else. No, REALLY:



So I'm really glad that we could come visit and the boy could see just how beautiful it really is.

And I'm grateful for said boy... it's been a great (almost) year and we decided recently to get engaged!!! The wedding will be next Spring which gives us just about six months to get everything together... so it's been a busy weekend. But I'm very excited and I can't wait to start this new journey together.

prize #2

prize, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

This was marked as delivered by USPS as of Thurs (so I really hope that's true!) to Silver, the prize winner from my 400th post contest.

I'm home in Canada for a very busy thanksgiving weekend (and have lots to be thankful for!) so not much knitting going on, but I do plan on doing a thankful post shortly.

KAL, or the tipping point

Malabrigo Worsted in Oliva, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

this has been in my stash for over 2 years?! how is that even possible??

So the girl's from the knit group in Madrid (MadridKnits) are going to knit Abalone all together and I want to join them from afar... and use up this luscious malabrigo that has been sitting in my stash since April 2008 (how? how is it possible that malabrigo can be unknit for so long?!)

Here's a picture of the original abalone:



I'm thinking of adding sleeves and possibly a button to hold it together in the middle (which would necessitate adding more to the side panels as well...). Considering I have almost double the amount of yarn as called for in the original, I don't think this should be a problem.

Am I crazy to take on yet another project? I currently have 4 on the go (plus one in need of blocking to be considered finished) and the Sock Swap is underway once again...

last day!

Today is the last day to sign up for the International Sock Swap. It's also the first day of a week and a half of flying around back and forth, first to Nashville for a conference this weekend and then back for a couple days next week and then to Canada for my first real Canadian thanksgiving in 6 years!! So forgive me some radio silence... I'll post if and when I can!

angel socks

angel sock, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Due to a couple of flakers over in the International Sock Swap I'm knitting a pair of socks for an "angel" package. I'd like to get them out asap so that none of our good swappers miss out. I'd be sad to see anyone work so hard to put a beautiful package together and not get anything in return.

The good news is that 99% of the group is a great bunch and a ton of them stepped up to the "angel" plate. The 3 missing packages are already being taken care of (can I just mention that one of the missing packages is mine, so even moderators are not immune to flakers!) and lots of people have volunteered to be on standby for the next swap! (Which starts this Friday! So exciting!)

Anyway, the socks! Pattern is Blackrose from Knitty, Winter '08; yarn is mini mochi and needles are US 1s.

Mods: Only worked lace pattern on the cuff for two reasons: speed - plain round foot is faster and easier to work on and because I just couldn't seem to memorize the pattern. Maybe because it's only worked in a panel rather than around the entire sock? I don't know, but this one just evaded me.

Hope to have the second one done by the end of the week so I can post it early next week! It has a bit of a journey ahead of it, so I'd like to have it on it's way as soon as possible!

we all need a little elf in our lives

P1020427, originally uploaded by toastbrot27.

To insure there is no confusion, no this is not my hat. It was knit by toastbrot on ravlery. Click it to go to toastbrot's flickr page!

For her prize, Susie chose the ribba cap by Wooly Wormhead.

Isn't it so cute and elven-like?!

Happy knitting Susie!

drum roll please...

this is post 400!!! Which means........ PRIZES!!!

The first prize is easy: Susie, of useless beauty designs gets the prize for directing the most commenters. Susie: you get a paid-for gifted pattern from ravelry. When you know which one you want, send me a message with your ravelry name and a link, and I will send it right along!

The second prize, that of the most creative commenter, is a little more difficult to decide. Everyone had great suggestions... So, I'm going to cop-out and use a random number generator to pick the winner. So... the winner is........

SILVER of quicksilver crafter! Once you let me know your favorite colour I'll be sending you a skein of locally dyed yarn!

Thanks for playing guys! And for reading! Let's hope we're here in another 400!

something else new

multicoloured rose, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

startitis? I don't know what you're talking about!

Yes, ok, so I just showed you something new in the last post. But, sometimes knitting is born out of necessity and since we had a few flakers (including my partner, and I organized the thing... so yeah...) in the sock swap, I'm knitting a sock for a participant who didn't get a package yet. We're still holding the new swap starting Oct 1, so if you want to sign up, don't get turned off by a couple bad apples... it really is a great group and they're heeding the call for "angel" knitters, just in case this happens again.

So, hence the need for yet another project on the needles. (Don't ask how many, it isn't polite.)

Pattern is Blackrose
Yarn is mini mochi, sent to me by crystal palace (to make up for some socks that felted, so let's hope that isn't a problem with these!!)
Needles are US 1 dpns

P.S. If you've been counting you'd know that this is post 399! Which means that I'll be closing comments on the contest post shortly and posting the winners of the 400th post contest in a day or two!!

something new

l'anniversaire, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

why yes, it does look like it's smiling at you, doesn't it?

For our one year anniversary, which (especially gauged in knitting time) is coming up quickly, I decided to make the bf a new scarf. If you recognize the stitch pattern that's because it is the same one used in the recently completed barcelona socks, with a seed-stitch border.

Pattern: adapted from Barcelona socks (rav link)
Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm)
Yarn: Woolarina's Lux Sock 2 skeins (knitting 2 rows from one skien, 2 rows from the other to blend the colours a bit).

2 skeins of lux sock is quite a bit of yardage (500 to be exact) so I'm pretty sure I'll have lots of yarn left over. And yes, I already have plans. *Cue evil laughter*

95% done

95% done, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

The mojo-inducing textured shawl is all done, minus a good blocking. And while I'm not always the biggest proponent of blocking, I think this shawl will really benefit from it, both in terms of size and to straighten out the kinks a bit.

Will post a pic when it's all blocked and pretty!

it's back!

mojo maker, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

I'm in love with this project! And, the best part, is that I totally want to knit it alllllllll the time. Like, really.

It's the texture shawl recipe following chotda's notes for the set up rows. (it's a very loose recipe, I don't think she even states a cast-on #, so if you want to make it you should check out some of the finished scarves and follow someone's notes.)

I was really inspired by the two textured shawls recently made by one of my madrid knitting buddies, Siona.

The yarn is the zitron unisono that was sent to me by Susan a while back.

Needles: US 9 metal (wish they were wooden) circs

I hope this means my mojo is back for good, but for now I'm content knitting away on this shawl!

death of a robot

death of a robot, originally uploaded by gradschoolknitter.

Legs, check. Arms, check. Giant mess of intarsia - er, body......

I really had high-hopes for the knit picks Mr. Roboto Kit but I didn't count on hating intarsia with the passion of a thousand burning suns. I like fairisle just fine, knitting round and round with 2 skeins sitting side by side, great... but the messiness of one full skein + four little balls of yarn being flipped back and forth, yuck.

I think this project was a major contributor in my knitting malaise. My intentions were good, the outcome is cute, but me and this project just weren't meant for each other.

Speaking of malaise-inducing projects:


why yes, that is quite an awkward angle

I have one of my leg warmers done! Don't get me wrong, I really like these, but they're a little boring to work on.

The good news is this: I'm actually starting to get excited about some holiday projects. I'm thinking I might spent a bit of this long weekend re-organizing the stash and seeing if I can't find some stash-busting, holiday gifting type projects to start working on. I'm also excited about the Second Sock Swap and all the new members who have joined in the last week. There's still plenty of time if you've been hemming and hawing!

sans computer

Well, I've been without my computer for a few days, nothing big, all for external fixes as opposed to the "omg my harddrive blew up!" type of fix.

In the mean time, my knitting mojo is still MIA. So I don't really have much to show in that area, BUT I did want to let people know that the second International Sock Swap is underway over on ravelry. Anytime between now and Sept 30 you can sign up by filling out the questionnaire.

Hope you can join us!!