NaKniSweMo

KnitGrrl is hosting the 2nd annual NaKniSweMo (knit a sweater in a month) alongside NaNoWriMo. I'm participating in the ravelry group, but I won't be able to track my progress on the blog since I've decided to make a sweater for someone else! Don't want any prying eyes figuring out what's going on!

more wips

Well, it's finally sunny enough to take some photos, of course, now it's only about 2 or 3 degrees above freezing! And since I'm still in my pjs this morning I took some pics indoors. But the lighting coming through the windows is still a lot better and the colours are pretty true.

First up, the endpaper mitts:
I've just started to increase for the thumb gusset and I'm loving these mitts. They're so pretty and it is so much fun to watch the pattern emerge. These are high-cognitive knitting though - I have to pay extra close attention or the colours end up getting switched around on me.


And now, 2 more pairs of wrist warmers but on the opposite end of the knitting-cognitive spectrum:
These are the hand/wrist warmers from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I can't even remember how many times I've made these, but they're cute and fast. This pair was cast on Saturday night and bound off yesterday afternoon.

And the second pair, also the hand/wrist warmers from LMKG:
Both pairs are for friends - I wanted to do something similar but in different colours, at the least. I tried a different stitch pattern on this pair at first but it wasn't working with these colours.

The yarn for both of these is Mirasol's Hacho, a 100% Merino Wool which is super sprongy and really very pretty. The colours are super vibrant - they're hand-dyed but somehow the colour changes are very short. Anywho, I like 'em and it might just be a great sock yarn (although not necessarily marketed as such).

WIPs update

Ok... long time no blog! Things this semester have been pretty hectic... it's my first time teaching a course higher than at the introductory level so it's taken some time to get into a teaching groove. But I'm getting there, slowly.

This past weekend I went home to the Great White North for Dr. BF's PhD graduation ceremony. While fun, not a lot of work or knitting got done.

Anyways, when I have found the odd moment I've been working on some new projects. I have Eunny Jang's Endpaper Mitts on the go, in forest green and a sort of darkish lavender malabrigo lace weight (each double stranded). No pictures of those yet... I'd need much better lighting. Also on the go is the Chinese Lace Pullover by Angela Hahn. I love the pattern but am unsure about the yarn I'm working it in. I'm using Blue Heron Rayon Metallic in "Iris" as mentioned the last time I wrote anything, and I love the colours, but I'm not sure that I love them on this top. Also, because of the increases it's doing some really funky pooling right now. I'm not so sure about that either.

Unfortunately the lighting today is pretty grey and dreary... not very good for picture taking, especially of things like colour-work or crazy weird pooling. But here's what I can show you:

The beginnings of the Cinnabar Scarf, also by Angela Hahn (what can I say? She designs pretty things!)



And a seamed, blocked Wheat Ear Cable Yoke:



And the cable close(r)-up:



I blocked it as directed in the pattern - light steaming. However, the 2 small rows of ribbing at the hem are finding it hard to compete with the miles and miles of stockinette so I am taking a slightly more aggressive approach to the blocking. I know that some people took an even more aggressive tactic and re-did the ribbing along the cast-on edge but I don't think I'll go that far... although I can imagine myself wearing it and continuously fiddling with the edge to make it lie flat.

status not-so-quo

It's been a rough start to the semester around here... nothing that I really want to get into because really, it's been discussed to death. I'm trying to get back on track this weekend and hoping that next week will be better. Let's be honest though: Monday is "fall break" and first thing Thursday AM I'll be on a plane, flying back to the Great White North to attend Dr. OSCBF's graduation. So I'll have a 2 day school week, into which I'm probably going to pack more stuff than I've done in the last 2 weeks.

On the knitting front, things have been somewhat slow. Lots of starts but not so many full stops. Except the WECY. It's seamed, but I really need to give it a good firm blocking before I can show it off. My roommate and I spent some time re-organizing the stashes that were attempting to take over the apartment last night, and I cast on the cinnabar scarf last night. And about a week ago I cast on the Chinese Lace Pullover in Blue Heron Rayon Metallic colourway "Iris" (see the last one on the page). I like it, but part of me keeps thinking "Rainbow Brite threw up on my sweater". I'm going to try and give it a chance though.

Pictures later... I will try and get the WECY blocked today or tomorrow (no promises, I'm trying to jump-start my brain this weekend and that might not mix well with steaming... I don't want to burn or melt the sweater... just make it lie flat when I wear it!).

Wheat Ear Cable Yoke Pre-Seaming

I am completely finished the Wheat Ear Cable Yoke except for seaming, so I thought I'd take a quick pre-seaming photo via my Mac!



This will also be cross-posted to the WECY KAL blog.

Done!

Done. Love this hat. No mods except different yarn and size 1 needles instead of size 3. I'd write more but we're having a party for my roommate's birthday tonight so I must clean!

More Yummy Cables!

Thanks for all your nice comments on the shedir cap. It's progressing quickly and I'm already through a couple of the decrease rounds so I thought I'd try it on and see how it fits so far. It's snug! But that's good. It will keep my head warm throughout the winter! And I love the way the cables look when they're stretched out a bit.



I'm loving the cables so much that I'm actually brewing plans for a cabled sweater... I'm thinking more along the lines of one big intricate cable down the front rather than cables all over...

mmmm... cables

I'm moving along on the Shedir Hat... I've already done two rounds of the cable repeat, so I though I'd take some pictures to show that there is some progress going on around here! I was worried about the cables and the handpainted yarn getting too muddled together but I'm actually really liking the way it's turning out. Yay for a warm winter hat that I actually like!!

freaky flickr

This is a bit freaky for those of us who use flickr. Not that I really think anyone is going to try and make a new personality for Frankendeer or use any of my pictures of my knits to advertise. But you never know!

It's official

Summer is over. Ok, so I'm a bit behind, but with the weather we're having (yesterday was the hottest, most humid day we've had all week), you can't blame me for forgetting. Or, at least trying to forget.

Thus, the "Summer Goals" list is over. Well, not really, but getting these things done over the summer is now over. When last I reassessed my goals we were left with 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

Of that I have completed #1 (sort of... it's out of my hands now), #2, and #3.
#4 (WECY) is coming along nicely. I'm working on the sleeves and joined the KAL to keep me motivated... lots of people have already finished and their sweaters look awesome.
All of #5 was pretty much a bust. The Summer Tweed shrug isn't even close to being started but I've found a pattern that I really like.
The Phildar Cotton was being used to make a honeymoon cami but too many people seem unhappy with theirs and mine has stalled just before it becomes more complicated. I may have to find something else to do with this yarn...
And the Kidsilk... oh, the kidsilk. It's gorgeous but I don't see myself wearing a big fuzzy sweater out of it. I'm thinking more along the lines of wisp which I may give away as Christmas presents. Anyone have any better ideas for it??

Of course, since my last reassessment I have "acquired" a lot more yarn and my queue list on Ravelry is growing rapidly... and of course, now that it is officially "fall" (despite what it feels like outside) there is the matter of Christmas to think about! (Too bad all the things I have queued on Ravelry are things I want for myself...) Oh, and babies... people need to stop getting pregnant around me... there's only so much baby knitting I can handle at one time!

Updates

Well, my foot is much improved (for those of you who were wondering), I'm still on antibiotics but only as a precautionary thing at this point. I'm still a bit scared to wear shoes that might rub, but fortunately down here it is still ok weather for sandals and flip-flops. (If I were in still Canada, however...)

And there has been knitting... of course. I finished the front of the Wheat Ear Cable Yoke but no picture since it is exactly the same as the back... however, here's the beginning of the sleeves (knit flat, both at the same time):



Next up is my bear for donation to the Mother Bear Project. He was made out of various colours left over Berroco Touche and Berroco Pure Merino, because both are machine washable. The cable adorning his sweater (on the front and both sleeves) is called "Tree of Life" and is from Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Vol. 2. I thought that this was an appropriate motif since these bears are going to children in Africa who have been affected by HIV/AIDS. I tried to use a lot of different colours and textures since I think that that is what would appeal to a child... I used stockinette for the feet, hands and head, garter stitch for the legs, the cabling for the front and sleeves of the sweater and reverse stockinette for the back. The actual knitting took very little time, now all that is left to do is stitch up the left side, stuff him with polifill, attach his scarf and give him a face and ears.



Finally, another Etsy "acquisition":

This is the Humingbird Top from "The Stevester".

I also just cast on for the Shedir cap using my new Artyarns... but it's only got a row of actual knitting done so no pics for now!

Fall Knitty

I might be a little behind on this, but the new Knitty came out the other day. I haven't been all that thrilled with the last couple of issues, so I guess I didn't take that close a look at first. However, upon reflection there are a lot of things that I would probably actually make.

Muir for example is a very simple but beautiful lace. (By simple I mean the finished product has clean lines and isn't a big jumble of multiple laces - something that usually turns me off lace, not that the lace itself is necessarily going to be overly easy.)

Henry is a great men's scarf (although I'd wear it too!) and I'm thinking Christmas gifts... maybe my dad since Dr. BF got a scarf last year...

Surprisingly Percy caught my eye. I'm not usually one for knitted purses because I worry that they'll fall apart. That any my sewing skills are sadly lacking... and I have no machine... and... the list goes on and on. Fortunately for me, Percy's designer says:

Suggestions for fabric: satin brocade, denim, printed cotton, or something else that's smooth and substantial. You don't need a sewing machine; the lining is one piece, sewn in by hand.

Because I'm a big huge dork I think that the Woodins are pretty much the cutest things ever.

Those are all the designs that caught my eye - and that I can actually see myself attempting at some point in time. I also think that Roam is really cute, but an entire hooded sweater in seed stitch?! No thank you!

Those are my top choices... although I'd like to know what other people are looking at. And I can't wait to see some of them knit up because I almost always like other people's versions better! (I've found this a lot from reading other blogs and ravelry... I'll see a finished sweater/hat/socks/whatever on someone else and think "Whoa! That's cool... what pattern is that?!" and invariably it's one that I turned my nose up at earlier!)

Yummy Yarn Pron

As mentioned in my midnight posting, I got my yarn from Webs yesterday! There was, of course, a ball of Classic Silk so that I could finish up the buttony sweater, but, of course, I got sucked in by the Webs discount and flat rate shipping, sooooo....


I got 4 skeins of Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk in "Ruby". So soft. Soooooo sooooft. I'm going to make a cinnabar scarf out of it. It makes me wish winter would come sooner, just so I can have this wrapped around my face and neck.


And I also got this beautiful (picture does not do the subtle shades of green justice) green merino wool, handpainted by Art Yarns. It's wonderful and squishy and I'm thinking of making myself a real winter hat (I know, a knitter without a winter hat?! The only one I have is one I crocheted out of acrylic about 6 years ago and does nothing for the cold...) I'm thinking about the Shedir Hat from the Special Knitty Breast Cancer issue (I didn't like the one they made, but check out PhD Knitter's version. Scroll down towards the end of the post.)

And finally, another FO from yesterday! (I know, I'm totally on a role!)



The Seed Stitch and Cable Hat, as modeled by Frankendeer. His antlers sort of distort what the hat would look like on a human baby, but you get the point!

Expect more FOs (or cast ons, or whatever) over the next few days, since I'm on dr.'s orders to keep my foot elevated. The short version: I wore new shoes on Monday and they basically shredded my foot. I've been washing it and putting on polisporin regularly but it's a mess and red and swollen so I went to the health clinic this morning. I'm on anti-biotics and all that, but I have to keep it elevated as much as possible so that the swelling will go down. So, lots of sitting and knitting for me this weekend! (I'm trying for the silver lining here!)

FO: Buttony!

It's late, and I'm tired... but that's a good thing. I forced myself to finish the Buttony Sweater, which I am currently wearing proudly, despite the fact that it's fairly warm in our apartment. I'm hoping that staying up a bit later (ok, let's face it... the other night I was asleep by 9:15) I might actually sleep past 4:30am tonight... keep your fingers crossed for me!

I'm also too tired to go through the whole process of using the digital cam, etc to photograph the sweater right now (especially since the lighting won't be that great anyway) so I used my mac cam to take a couple of pictures. I'm tired, and the lighting is bad, so they aren't the best pictures ever, but I couldn't wait to share!





As you might have guessed, my order from Webs came in, which is the only reason I had enough yarn to finish up the second sleeve and sew on the buttons. OH! The buttons! I almost forgot! They're from Woodturner on etsy. Custom made, inexpensive, and he was kind enough to make 3 extras (the Buttony Sweater calls for 12 total) so that I could pick and choose which ones I like... PLUS, if I ever loose one (or two, or three) I have extras!! YAY! (Wow, am I tired...)

As I was saying, webs order came and an etsy package (which was ordered at the same time as all the rest... but only showed up today)... more on those tomorrow!! (Errr... today??? or whenever... It's past midnight so I guess technically tomorrow is now today... or something.)

The 3 Rs

Not Reading, 'Riting and 'Rithmetic (although with possibly the exception of the last one, those are the Rs that I probably should be devoting time to...), I'm talking 'bout Reduce, Reuse and Recycle! I'm applying all 3 to my stash right now. (Let's not talk about the Webs order I made the other day... that will be dealt with when it arrives...)

Reduce

My fav lys is participating in the Mother Bear Project. I'm going to use up some yarns that I have left over from various previous projects. The only stipulation is that it has to be machine washable, but I've done a bunch of baby stuff lately and most of that is (for the mother's sake) washable.

Reuse

Some of you may remember when I first attempted felting (and, for the record, have not since). I never did anything more to the bag and it has sat in my stash basket for months. It was supposed to be a notions bag but someone gave me a really cute pencil case-ish felt bag (complete with zipper!) for my birthday and I've been using that instead. So when I started to look through the stash today I found it and thought... hmmm... I should really do something with this. So I added a button (left over from a previously frogged project) and voila! It is now a semi-felted cheque book holder! In fact, there's enough extra room to throw some cash and lip gloss in there so I could use it as a little clutch if I felt like it:



Recycle

It was kind of sad, but I realized that the Hourglass Sweater from LMKG just wasn't happening. It's been languishing on the needles since late February (last seen here although I think it was actually further along than that picture shows) and I just wasn't feeling it. The yarn, the pattern (miles of stockinette knit in the round) and I were not gelling. So, I took a deep breath and frogged it. The yarn is good Irish Pure Wool and it needs to become something but it's never going to be an Hourglass Sweater. In fact, when I finally took it off the needles I thought "I'll just try it on, thus far, to see if I would have liked it". Let's just say that if I had an identical twin she probably could have fit in there with me.

So now I have to figure out what to do with all of this: (ok, this is only one, still in tact, skein... I probably have around 10 skeins worth)


I'm going to swatch it up and see if it will work for either the Tangled Yoke Cardigan or Killybegs. (Trust me, I've seen versions on Killybegs on Ravelry that are much nicer than the one modeled in the book!)

bebe hat

I didn't want to get totally bored with the WECY, so after I put the back on holders I cast on for this hat to match the baby booties. It's a fairly quick knit and it's keeping my interest by switching between the seed stitch and the cables. I have one more cable to go (5 rows) before I start decreases.

And now to the pictures: First, the hat thus far (and my messy, messy work area):



And the close up:



Normally I'd clean up before I take a picture but I woke up at 4:30 today and I'm feeling a bit bleh. I'm surprised because this is in spite of my 14 hour day yesterday and not getting to bed until 11:30. Aaaah blaaaaah. Hopefully this is just new semester jitters (the same thing happened last semester for the first couple of weeks) and I'll get over it soon.

WECY Back Complete

I just put the back for the Wheat Ear Cable Yoke on holders. (where it will stay until the front and sleeves are all ready for attaching...) I'm loving this pattern, although I'm afraid that in the end I might decide that the yarn wasn't the best substitute... I'm trying to get over that 'cause everyone at Saturday SnB said it looks great.



I blogged more about the process, along with a picture of the cable detail over on the KAL blog. If you're interested in more info it is here.

at least I'm being productive...

So I didn't love that I was wide awake at 5:30 in the morning, but at least I've had a very productive AM! Aside from the pre-work work stuff I got done, I've also done dishes, folded and put away laundry from the other day, and finally printed out a shipping label for the yarn that I still have to send to K8. (Yes, from the 100th post contest... yes, I am a bad blogger.) The other two skeins will be hand delivered today to PhD Knitter, who attends the same stitch n bitch at my fav LYS. She also attends another stitching n bitching group on another day with Kozy Kitty who was the other winner of the three, and will then deliver her goods to her. Complicated? Confused? Let's look at pretty things instead:



And, as they say on Cute Overload "COXCU" (Cute Overload X-treme Close-Up):


I cast these on last night around 7:00 and finished them up this morning. About 3 hours total knitting time. And they look super cute on my "model" Frankendeer, don't ya think??

Specs:

Yarn: Double Stranded Bamboo (don't know whose, it's just on cones at my LYS) in minty green and creamy yellow
Needles: Size 5 DPNs
Pattern: Angora Baby Booties (obviously not done in angora though...) from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Who for: one of my professors who over the summer became several months pregnant
Mods: other than the yarn switch out, none.

I love these booties, and have made them 3 times now, although never in the called for yarn (sorry, but I just can't justify $14.00 for 30 yards of yarn, even if it is angora!).

Ugh...

Awake super early today... and it's Saturday for pete's sake! It's not like I wanted to be, but my eyes opened at 5:30 and I was wide awake. So I figured I'd use the time wisely and I've already gotten all the pre-work work done for my NEW JOB. That's right. I got a job as an assistant to the Dean of Humanities!! I'm super excited about it, I'll be developing programs to try and force encourage undergraduate students into arts and humanities degrees! Which is pretty much the entire reason I want to be a professor in the first place! OK, not the entire reason... the academic life is pretty sweet, when you really think about it.

This job means several things, including the fact that I will actually be making a somewhat reasonable (ok, freakin' fantastic for a grad student!) salary this year! Which in turn means several other things:

1. I won't have to work any more icky factory jobs over the summer.
2. I'll have extra $$ when we go to Korea next spring (more on that later).
3. I'll have extra $$ for YARN! So I don't have to feel so guilty about my purchases the other day...

And there's lots of other good things, like no longer worrying that we'll have to eat KD (That's Mac&Cheese for my American readers) for a week at the end of the month... but I digress.

In knitting news, I just received my buttons for the buttony sweater and they are AWESOME. As soon as I get the extra yarn needed to finish up the second sleeve and I sew them on I will share. I ordered them on Etsy from Woodturner and his craftmanship and customer service was beyond amazing. He'll custom make wooden buttons for you in the size, wood, etc that you want. I can't say enough about how great these are. I will share pictures later!!

Ravelry makes me do bad things...

Like order more yarn when I really really shouldn't! It's the queue page... and looking at everyone else's pretty yarn.

In truth, I *had* to order more Classic Silk and I wasn't going to pay as much in shipping costs for 1 ball of yarn... so I looked through my queues and ordered this yarn in the "Ruby" colourway for this scarf, as well as a skein of this yarn in colourway 119, to make myself a hat or something... I need a warmer hat for sure this year. And because Webs is evil and wants stashes all over the world to multiply, I got the last skein practically for free because of their 20% discount if your order more than *cough* a certain amount.

Anyone else finding that their # of WIPs and stash is growing rapidly due to obsessive ravelring? Of course, it could also be that it's September, which means back to school time, which therefore means lots of spending of lots of money time? (at least, it always has meant that for me!)