June 2006 Archives

Now don't get too excited, I'm not creating yet another competitive knitting challenge, I'm just declaring my love for the cheesiest show on TV - it is totally a guilty pleasure, but I love it.  (Although, using that show as a model for a knitting competition would be quite hilarious - pitting knitters of all different styles against each other in styles they are not accustomed to, then having a "knit for your life" challenge at the end to see who gets kicked off?  Hee hee.)

Anyway, back to the original point of this post.  I don't know if anyone else watches this show but last night's episode was SO good.  All the couples are starting to dance really well together and it's just like watching them grow up before my eyes... so cute.   

Thank you for all your nice comments on the hat!  I really like it too, even though its obviously way to hot to wear it right now.   It will go in the Christmas gift stash!  I have about another skein and a half (the same amount I used to make the hat - 50g skeins), what should I do with it?  Here are my thoughts:

    a.  Make another hat just like the last one

    b.  Make a different hat

    c.  Make some kind of accessory to match the hat (but what?)

    d.  Add it to my log cabin blanket

    e.  Stash it

Carla is coming along nicely, as well.  I figured out how to correct my mistakes in the pattern without ripping (every other stitch is a yarnover - not fun), so that is really good.  I should have the front finished soon to show you.  

Remember this little nub of a hat?  I worked on it all weekend, and today I finished weaving in the ends!  Interestingly enough, the humidity has been way down every since i finished it, but I doubt it will last much longer. 

Most of my knitting on this hat was accomplished at Simply Fibers on Saturday, where I met local bloggers Brianne and Lana, and also Brianne's mom, who was buying the prettiest red yarn for Knit & Tonic's Something Red cardi.  I also got to see Brianne putting the final touches on her In Full Bloom sweater - click here to see the finished pictures! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, I wouldn't be a good knitblogger if I didn't have a good FO picture for you.  Here's the rundown:

Project Details:

Pattern: Short Row Hat by Veronik Avery, available free at Interweave Knits

Yarn: Diakeito Diamusee, about 1 1/2 skeins, color: ummm... not sure, I lost the ball band. 

Needle Size: Size 7 straights, metal (Susan Bates - quite possibly the first pair of needles I ever bought)

Skills needed: cast on, knit, purl, yarn over, K2tog, ssp, three-needle bind-off, pick up stitches, I-cord

Pattern Modifications: None!  The hat is a little poufy at the top, but that might just be because my head is round, not long.  (Think Ernie, not Bert!)  Oh wait, I did make an accidental modification - I did my decreases wrong on the purl side - you can tell but I actually kind of like the way it looks, sort of like it's stitched together on the outside. 

Time to knit:   About 5 days.  I can usually knit a plain or cabled hat in about two days, so that sounds a bit right considering all the little rows I had to knit!

Final impressions: This is a fun pattern, and a great way to use yarn with long color repeats, they really show up well in the little triangles.  It's definitely a "knitter's" pattern - I'm not sure anyone else really appreciates why this hat is as cool as it is. 

And of course, i couldn't finish a project without starting another one!  Carla, here I come! 

Hey kiddos - I'm getting the feeling that some of the long-time swappers are starting to get a little hand-dyed yarn swap fatigue.  So, for July, I think that we're going to totally start over.  Anyone who wants to sign up for July needs to let me know - otherwise you won't be assigned a swap partner.  I know summer is a busy time for those with kids at home, etc., and I don't want this swap to be a burden on anyone.

Do YOU want to join the swap?  Here are the details!

- 1 skein of sock yarn, or enough to make a pair of socks

- Hand-dyed by YOU, either Kool-Aid, acid dyes or anything in between

- Swap with a partner, who will be assigned to you

- Mail the yarn by the 15th of the month

- To sign up, leave a comment or send me an email by JUNE 28

Yeah, right.  I only wish. 

So why am I knitting a wool hat in the middle of summer?  I dunno... the yarn is new and wanting to be knit... I can always put it in the Christmas gift stash... cause I want to, that's why!  (And having the A/C on doesn't hurt, either!)

I am using the Short-Row Hat pattern that is a free online pattern from Interweave, from the Winter '05 issue.  I've wanted to knit it for a while, but never had just the right yarn.  This Diakeito is perfect, I think!  

But... not everything was perfect.  I had knit about halfway through the second wedge of the hat (it's knit horizontally then seamed up the back) when I realized my hat had a certain pointy quality to it.  I don't think I need short-row toes on the side of my head!  (Maybe you can't tell from the picture, but there are two too many diamonds here, creating a distinctly 3-D effect.)    I looked back through the pattern, but I couldn't figure out what went wrong!

Clearly there was not fixing this problem - I had to rip it out.  I kept pulling until all the yarn horns were removed. 

I figured out where I was in the pattern and started over, being very careful to count my rows.  It looks like the second try is a charm!  The only thing I can figure out is that I must have been losing my place and repeating sections instead of moving on, giving me more diamonds in the middle of the hat than I needed.

Anyway, I've always been a little scared of short rows because of several bad experiences trying to knit short row toes in socks.  But this hat made me realize that I already knew how to do short rows - I do them every time I turn a heel! 

Even if I had never done short rows before, I think trying them with larger yarn and larger needles makes it a lot easier to see what i happening and why it works. 

This was a good reminder for me - don't be scared of trying new things in knitting.  You can always rip it out. 

Some people really get into self-improvement at the beginning of the year - you know, New Year's Resolutions and all of that.  But for some reason, I've really been feeling the urge to "better myself" lately - who knows, maybe it's the Summer Solstice effecting my brain.  But I've been trying to clean my house more, read more, exercise more, east healthy, watch TV less, all that sort of thing. I've been quite busy at work for a couple months now, so maybe I am trying to get some organization or balance in my life - who knows. 

But, Zarah, how does this relate to knitting?  Are you going to undertake some kind of crazy knitting project, like that chick who is knitting a swatch of every single stitch in the Barbara Walker Knitting Treasury?  Well, no, not exactly. 

As part of my cleaning frenzy, I finally got all my yarn put away in one place.  I do not have three rooms of yarn like some of you people, but there is plenty.  The thing I noticed was how many "sets" of yarn I have - yarn that was clearly purchased for a project.  Projects that I still think look exciting.  Projects that I really ought to be working on! 

I've got quite a bit on my needles right now (socks, wrap, hat) but whenever I finish one of those projects, I really need to tackle one of these:

 

Cambridge Jacket in Interweave Knits, Summer '06.  I bought the Tess Yarn for this sweater at Maryland Sheep & Wool to make a sweater for my husband - theorectically, it would be nice to finish it by his birthday in November, but I'm all about the no-stress knitting, so we'll see.

 

Such a cute sweater, and it shall be mine, mine, MINE!  My LYS was having a closeout on Cascade Quattro, so I snapped up 4 skeins - just enough to make this sweater!

 

Isn't this jacket adorable?  The round construction just seems so cool to me, too.  I bought yarn for this as soon as I saw the pattern (6 months ago) -- I would love to knit it to wear this fall. 

If I end up knitting this pattern, it will be a complete rip-off of Lolly's awesome version.  But I don't really like the sweater I have going in Cotton Tape right now, so I wll probably rip it out and try this one.  This is the most summery sweater of the bunch, so I will probably get started on it first. 

Last but not least, I have lots of yarn in the stash for smaller projects like these comfy-looking Log Cabin Socks from Handknit Holidays - I hope to make lots of gifts this year, but I'm trying to spread it out throughout the year - no-stress knitting, you know!

But just seeing ALL these project I have planned:  What was I thinking?  (I know what I think now... it's time for a yarn diet.  Until at least two of these projects are DONE!)

So... I got this email the other day, promoting a new yarn line or book or something, and this was the picture they chose to showcase the whole collection.  Now, I normally think the whole You Knit What? thing can be a little mean sometimes (although other times downright funny), but seriously.  WHO would wear this thing, much less knit it?  Can you imagine, all the work to knit a floor-length cardigan and it ends up looking that THAT?!?!?!  People, that is just bad with a capital B. 

PS - you know your knitting obsession has hit a new low when you start getting knitting-related spam.  Although it's better than the alternative, I guess! 

This month, I was paired with Jeanie from Dances With Yarn and CrochetCast for the Project Spectrum Yarn Swap. Apparently whoever she was paired with last month made quite an impression, because she totally spoiled me with all kinds of blue goodies! Between the beautiful Hill Country Yarn, the icy blue beaded bracelet, and the shiny boxes of mints, it was like a cool breeze came blowing right out of the box! Thanks Jeanie! I can't wait to see how this yarn knits up. But....

I am forcing my self to wait just a bit. If you remember from last week, I had a major case of startitis. Right now, I have four projects actively being worked on, which is quite a few for me. The problem is, I'm not really thrilled with all of them.

- The second blue Trekking XXL sock. I worked on this a bit during my family reunion, but you know how it goes... second socks are boring. Still, I might be able to finish in June if I put my mind to it!

- The yellow wrap. I did end up starting over with bigger needles. I like how this project is turning out, it just takes a LOT of concentration to work on, so that means usually I choose a more mindless project. I might get shoved to the back burner for a while, just depends how I'm feeeling.

- The Cotton Tape tank top. Hmmm... there's something I don't like about the pattern I picked - I think the k3togs look really weird in yarn as thick as the Cotton Tape. Plus, I keep seeing Lolly's progress on the Carla pullover and I love the finished product, maybe I should do that instead.

- The diagonal short-row scarf. I got the pretty Diakeito yarn from the sale bin, which means I was limited to amount left when I bought it - turns out 3 skeins isn't enough to make a decent-sized scarf. Short scarves are just annoying. I tried t get around the problem by making it a keyhole scarf (where you slip one end of the scarf through a slit instead of wrapping it around your neck) but I don't think the yarn, which is 1-ply, would hold up well to repeated wear of pulling over itself. So... I ripped out the last skein and started the Short-Row Hat from Interweave Winter 2005 (free online pattern). As you can tell, I firmly believe that this yarn is meant to be in short rows!

So, no progress pics because everything is 1 step forward, two steps back these days.

Woo hoo!  One sock down, one to go!  (So, yeah, it's almost an FO.)  BUt anyway, as I sure it is obvious, this is Trekking XXL yarn in an almost entirely blue colorway.  It veers slightly into greenish blue and purpleish blue at places, but I think it's pretty - it will look great with jeans, right?  I just used a ribber version of the Universal Sock Pattern, which seems to work pretty well for me most of the time.

(On a totally random note, I'm listening to "Wet Food," the latest episode of the Quirky Nomads podcast, and it is really funny.  And I don't even like cats!  I don't love every episode, but it's funny a good part of the time, and I really like the short podcast format, usually 10 min. or less.)

 

 

 

In other news, the dyeing bug has bitten again!  Of course, I needed to dye a blue skein for Jeanie, my swap pal for this month's Project Spectrum Hand-Dyed Yarn Swap.  But I also have some extra yarn to dye for sale at Simply Fibers here in Springfield.  I'm still working on a name for the yarn line, any ideas?  I think I want to make it sound local rather than generic yarn name or naming it after myself. 

The skeins are all dyed and dried now, so I should have re-skeined pictures in a few days. 

PS - if you want to join the yarn swap, leave me a comment.  If you've been in it for a while and don't want to participate in July, let me know that too.  Thanks! 

 

I'm heading off to Holiday Island, Arkansas this weekend for a family reunion, which may include any of the following events from previous reunions:  2-mile race (that's a definite), frog-leg fry, family trivia game (what was your great grandpa's favorite horse's name?  I kid you not!), vegan options at every meal, and more!  (Let's just say that for one family, we're very... diverse.)

Are you running short on knitting time?  Just get yourself a Hobbibot!     

A couple of months ago, I joined the Knitting Vacation Swap, where each person has a different pal and we send a little package appropriate for that person's vacation.  One of the items was supposed to be knitted, but I have to admit I cheated a little!  I made one of the recycled sweater bags from AlterKnits.  I found this sweater at a local thrift store for $3.  It would have been better if it were a little bigger to start with, but the men's sweaters were boring colors.  This is a picture of the sweater after two washing machine cycles on hot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 As you can see, I have very high-tech methods of measuring the straps - two pieces of scotch tape!  But hey, it works.  I just cut off the turtleneck and sleeves, then snipped straight down on both sides to make no-sew handles!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next step - stitch up the bottom!  Here's where I realized another problem with using a sweater from the juniors section at Old Navy - waist shaping.  Great for sweaters, not so great for bags.  But oh well, it has an interesting bell shape at the bottom.  (And by the way, this is NOT hard sewing.  I am totally clueless and even I can do it!)

 

 

 And voila - the finished product!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm pretty proud of it, even though it was super easy.  I made this in about 30 minutes.  When was the last time you had such an instant gratification craft project? 
 

 

 

Did you knit in public over the weekend? I did!

First, I met with my friend Adrianna and local Springfield knitblogger Lana at Sequiota Park. I was a little disappointed that more people didn't show up (I had posted a sign for it in the local yarn shop) but maybe knitting outside in 90 degree weather didn't sound too pleasant to most people. =)

Actually, though, we found a spot in the shade and it was very pleasant. I worked a little on the blue Trekking sock and Lana was making a baby blanket for the Preemie Project. Lana's husband took picture for us, but mine turned out really dark - you can see a better photo on her blog here.  I also got to meet Lana's three sons, who are adorable and amazingly well-behaved. 

Luckily for me, the knitting day was not over! I went to see the Springfield Cardinals (a Double A team associated with the St. Louis Cardinals) later that night with the young adult group from my church. We had General Admission seating, so we spread out blankets and the grass and watched for fly balls! We were meeting early for some reason, so I brought my knitting to pass the time. While I was there, I finshing the first Trekking sock! I'm a little mad at it right now, since I had some *issues* starting the second sock (oops, I knit two rounds with the long tail instead of the yarn from the ball) so I will most likely have to rip that out. But maybe we will become friends again and I'll post a picture later.

    PS to all Springfield-area knitters - want to have a Knit at the Ballpark night sometime? 

(Credit to Tim the Photo Guy for the picture).

Just a short post today - I'm running late for work, but I wanted to show you a picture of my garden in progress - just tomatoes, peppers, and herbs so far. There is nothing better than a home grown tomato in the summer, so I'm really glad I have a yard where I was able to put in a little garden.

Also, thanks for the all advice on lace knitting and how to wear shawls, err... let's call it a "wrap," shall we? I started over on slightly larger needles and basically caught up to the point where I was before. I think the wrap will be much lighter on the larger needles, anad also go faster knitting-wise.

Have a good weekend, everyone! Don't forget to Knit In Public tomorrow! If you're in the Springfield, MO area, we're meeting at 2pm, June 10th, at Sequiota Park (rain location: Library Station on South Campbell). Bring a lawn chair or blanket and I'll see you there!

This cannot be good. I have always been an anti-shawl activist - does anyone ever wear them? I knit a lot of barely-practical things, but something that no one will ever wear? I just can't do it....

But apparently I have made an exception. Ever since I ripped this yarn out of the Jaywalkers, I've been wanting to make it into something lace. I've never knit something other than a simple lace repeat, so I started looking around for a free pattern. I ended up with the Snowdrop Shawl from Yarn Harlot. The only thing I might change at this point is the needle size: I used the same size needles, but fingering weight yarn instead of laceweight. Does it really matter? I have no clue. But at this point I'm not very far along, so I'm willing to rip back if someone gives me a good reason. (Plus, I have several little mistakes already that I certainly wouldn't mind fixing.)

Also, a question: what do you do with a shawl once it's knit?

Yes, some might call it an overload, but I'm happy as a clam!  Lots of new projects, how fun!  I had been feeling extremely uninspired lately, but a wild round of startitis took hold of me and I'm not looking back.

 I started a new sock for the new month of Project Spectrum - I have lots of blue sock yarn, and I briefly considered pulling out a self-striper for another go at the Jaywalkers, but... I've been eyeing this Trekking XXL ever since I bought it at the first Knit In at the beginning of the year.  The ball band has vanished, but it's the color with all the blues.  It's very denim-y!

 

 
IMG_1127.JPG
Originally uploaded by kerner

As always, we have my lovely picnic table as a backdrop.  =) 

 

Next up, the beginnings of a tank top in Rowan Cotton Tape.  Elann had this for 50% off a while back, so I bought 7 balls with the Pool pattern from the Cotton Tape Collection in mind.  Its a fairly simply tank top in reverse stockinette, with two neckline options:  basic v-neck or turtleneck.  Since it's freakin' hot here already, I don't think the turtleneck is too practical, even though it looks adorable.  But I am considering trying to modify the pattern to make a cowl-neck, sort of like the Somewhat Cowl pattern from Knit and Tonic. 

 

 

 

 

Remember the baby kimono?  I ran out of green yarn, so I added the blue as a little design accent.  I think it turned out very cute.  I still need to weave in the ends and (gag) seam up the sides... luckily all my friends' babies aren't due until fall, so I'm not in any rush.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And last but not least.... here's the new yarn I scored on  sale at Simply Fibers last weekend!   It's probably going to be a Christmas present, so if anyone in my family is reading this, put your dibs on it now!

Hi to my cousin Laura if she's reading this!  Leave me a comment! 

We had a little server outage over the weekend, but I'm back now! 

Lots of things to update...

- Started a pair of socks for June Project Spectrum

- Started a tank in Rowan Cotton Tape 

- Snatched up some Diakeito yarn on sale at Simply Fibers this weekend... why do I want to knit with wool when it's sooo hot outside?  Cause it's pretty....

- Still need to seam the baby kimono - Lu put up a tutorial! 

I realized I had never reported on my May round of dyeing for the yarn swap.  Since Jessica has already received her yarn (she likes it - yippee!) there's nothing left to keep secret. 

I don't have too many dyes at my disposal - I'm still using Kool-Aid and the occasional drop of food coloring - but I wanted to make some subtle variations of a fairly bright green, so I experimented with different combos -  a drop of red food coloring tones down the electric green Kool-Aid color.  As you can see, I used three drinking glasses submerged in boiling water to dye the three different colors all at once.

 

 

Here's the final product all skeined up and looking pretty.  I really hated to send this one out, I really liked it.  The yarn Jessica made for me is much more neon (it's called "Alien Invasion") but it will make a really fun pair of socks.  (hmmm.... I guess I need to take a picture! Swap partners were sent out yesterday, so let me know if you have any questions!