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October 31, 2005
October Wrap-Up, November Plans
October has come and gone, and it's time to review how well I stuck to my October goals...
My first goal was to finish Men's Zipped Raglan. If you have been reading this blog lately, you know I have been having some issues with this sweater. But the knitting is done. And my husband's birthday is still a few days away, so hopefully I can figure out how to fix it by then. I will definitely keep you posted on my progress.
My second goal was to knit a couple of scarves for sale at Art & Souls. I finished them off this week -- pics soon! I think the price on the first three I made was a little high, so I made them thinner so they wouldn't use up so much yarn.
My last two goals were more basic -- learn how to block and make a list of Christmas gifts I'm knitting. I blocked the sweater (see above), so I guess that's a start. I still don't know what I'm making for Christmas, but I've been feeling like making some stuff for myself lately, so maybe that's just what I'll do!
Now for the fun part: November goals!
1. Finish the Possum Socks. (That's right. They're made of possum yarn. I know I rock.) Just gotta get some superwash to finsh the toes. (Oops -- hopefully running out of yarn before the end of the project will not become a running theme for me.)
2. Finish Midwest Moonlight scarf for myself. I haven't been blogging about this very much, but it's fairly boring. "Yup, I knit another inch on the scarf today!" I've finally got the pattern down now, so I remember all my yarnovers.
3. Start gloves for Nona's Peaceful Palms Knit-Along. It looks like several people are doing the Hooray For Me Gloves -- I have yarn that would work, so I might try them. But I want full-fingered gloves, so modifications will be in order.
Okay, I also have another project I'd like to start, but I don't want to commit just yet.
Posted by zarah at 10:00 AM | Comments (2)
October 30, 2005
My new tree
We moved into our first house this summer. We really like it, but the front yard was totally bare. So, we did some research on what kind of tree would look nice and be unique, and we decided on an American Elm. Apparently it was the most popular tree in this area before Dutch Elm disease came through. We got one of the new disease-resistant varieties and planted it yesterday afternoon.
Posted by zarah at 6:43 PM
October 28, 2005
Calm down... maybe it can be fixed.
The sweater is done, and I got it back from the dry cleaners where I had the zipper sewn in. I have my husband try it on.... DISASTER.
Here are the problems.
1. The yarn is slightly stretchy. I didn't realize quite how stretchy, though. The weight of the sweater pulls itself down so the sleeves are way long and the shoulders are all stretched out. Also, the armpit holes seem to be hanging all the way down to his waist.
2. The zipper is installed wrong. I bought a zipper that was exactly the right length to go from the bottom of the sweater all the way up to the top of the collar. But the idiot who sewed it in stretched out the body of the sweater so it runs from the bottom of the sweater up to the neckline -- but not up the collar. So the collar is just flopping around loose.
The really annoying thing is, when this thing is just laying out flt, it looks perfect. The shape matches up exactly with a sweater that fits my husband perfectly. So... what should I do?
Please give me any suggestions you can think of. Here's what I'm thinking right now:
Obviously, the zipper needs to be fixed. So, I'm taking it back to the place today to get that done. (I would do it myself, but for $18, they should do it right!)
I think a lot of the stretching issues can be resolved if I somehow reinforce the neckline and armholes. I'm thinking about sewing in some seam tape or whatever that stuff is called. Since it's a raglan sweater, the armhole seams meet the neckline -- maybe if it's all connected with not-stretchy tape, the rest of the sweater will behave.
If the sleeves are still too long after the tape is added, I can shorten them without much trouble, I think.
So, it is fixable?
Posted by zarah at 1:35 PM | Comments (1)
October 27, 2005
YUM
My husband and I have a battle -- tea versus coffee. I love coffee, he loves tea. I like coffee because it's simple. I don't need a lot of frou frou cappucinos or anything, just a cup of black coffee and I'm good to go. you can get it anywhere. Tea is a little too fancy pants for me. People look at you a little strange if you order hot tea in a restaurant.
But. (You knew there would be a but, didn't you?) He ordered the holiday sampler from this online tea company that he's been using -- Adagio Teas -- and it is soooo awesome. Yes, I actually drank tea this morning instead of coffee. I'm not trying to be a salesperson, I'm just putting it out there because I have $5 coupons to give away! So if you want to try some tea, let me know (comment or email is fine) and I'll send you a coupon!
Posted by zarah at 5:36 PM | Comments (2)
Kill me now
I am observing a moment of silence on the blog as I try not to burn my completed sweater THAT DOES NOT FIT. I will rage in silence. And my stomach will continue eating itself. I am so mad at this stupid sweater.
Posted by zarah at 10:14 AM | Comments (1)
October 26, 2005
Awesomely wierd knitted toys
Check it out! I'm no expert on kids, but I would think that these would make great gifts. I had a hand-sewn toy elephant (named Ellie, of course!) that my grandma made for me as a kid -- I dragged it around everywhere. One of the reasons I liked it so much is because I knew she picked the colors just for me.
Posted by zarah at 5:00 PM | Comments (1)
Knitting at the Library
I was looking through some knitting books at the library the other day. It's a really good way to get my knitting book fix without spending any money. Anyway, I was flipping through Magical Knitting, and decided to use the Moebius strip idea for my next Art & Souls scarf. I really like the cabled scarves I've made so far, but I get the feeling that the shop owner would like it if I made something with a little more emphasis on design.
I joined the three longest sections of my Denise circular needles and cast on what felt like a million stitches. I'm planning on doing a garter stitch section on each side, then a ribbed section in the middle -- except of course the ribs will be running horizontally when you wear it.
I wasn't sure how my design idea would turn out, so I decided to use the yellow yarn that I didn't like too much. I've cast on about four times with this yarn, but nothing looked good. I am beginning to think that certain yarns are just meant to become certain things. Well, this yellow yarn was destined to become this Moebius scarf. It's bulky yarn on thick (10 1/2) needles, so I'm almost done. Completed object pics tomorrow? I think it can be done!
Posted by zarah at 10:00 AM
October 25, 2005
Possum, it's what's for dinner
I really like the yarn I'm using for the Man Socks. It's a pretty color and not too slippery for superwash. I started wondering what was giving it the soft and slightly fuzzy texture, so I checked out the label a little more closely then I did when I was swiping it out of the bargain bin at my LYS.
The mystery ingredient? Possum. That's right -- I'm making socks out of possum fur. (Well, only 30% possum fur, but still!) Now, I don't know what you think of when you think of possums, but I think of roadkill. Apparently it's quite a "luxury yarn," (and it does seem nice to knit with), but I just keep thinking: what's next, a scarf out of raccoon? Perhaps I just need to rename my blog Hillbilly Knitting.
Posted by zarah at 10:00 AM | Comments (2)
October 24, 2005
Photos at last!
Here it is, the sock that has given me so much grief. You will notice the lovely colorway, "Java," which is boring enough for men's socks, but interesting enough to keep the knitter entertained. You will also notice the heel flap construction, which I was not planning on doing, but I couldn't quite master the short-row. What you may not be able to see is that I RAN OUT OF YARN AGAIN! This is exactly why I wanted to start toe-up, but I couldn't figure it out. I was almost ready to tear my eyes out, but my dear friend Meredith pointed out that I could just do the toe in a complimentary color. It will be inside a shoe most of the time anyway. Thank you Meredith -- my sanity remains intact thanks to you!
Posted by zarah at 10:00 AM | Comments (2)
October 20, 2005
Darn you, tubular cast-on!
I tried! I tried! But I failed.
I seriously need to take a knitting class. I'm getting into the tricky stuff I apparently can't teach myself.
I found some instructions on a website, and I followed them to the letter. But then when I "unzipped" the waste yarn, I had a bunch of live stitches hanging out there. Was I knitting into the wrong loops? Am I supposed to bind off and knit down from the live stitches? Err....
I will learn this. But not tonight. Long tail cast-on it is!
Posted by zarah at 7:13 PM | Comments (3)
Do-over, again
I took Jeanie's advice and tried a swatch with the Java yarn on larger needles. Much better. So, I started the sock again for the third time. Let's review what I've done so far:
1. 60 stitches on size 3 needles -- oops, I'm not married to Bigfoot.
2. 40 sts on size 3's -- not married to Tinkerbell either. And doesn't this yarn seem kinda big for these needles? It knits fine, but the fabric is reallllly dense. Yes, I am in denial that the yarn label says worsted. I want to make socks with it, so it must be sock weight! Right?
3. Now I know what I doing! Six 6 needles, 48 sts. I'm even going to try a short-row toe-up design. (Never mind I've never done either of those things before. Knitting is all about learning new things, right?)
I am actually pretty proud of my little sock toe, even though it has a strange row of holes down each side. I think I don't understand what it means to "knit the wraps" or where the wraps are, or something. Plus, this yarn is a little fuzzy so it's hard to see where the wraps are. But it is the right shape and size, and that's something.
That brings us to attempt #4, which I haven't started yet. I think I have settled on the correct needle size and number of stitches. Now I just need to do a basic top-down, heel flap sock. I've decided that the "new thing" I'm going to learn with this project is a tubular cast-on. (Although I also learned provisional cast-on for attempt #3. All in all, knitting mistakes are usually worth it.)
Posted by zarah at 10:00 AM | Comments (2)
October 19, 2005
Spoiled Rotten
I stopped by Simply Fibers over the weekend, because my sister wanted to pick up some yarn for a little project. I told myself I had too many projects going already, and I didn't need to buy anything. But I was "just looking" at the sale bin, and there was some Cherry Tree Hill supermerino for sale. We're talking FORTY-FIVE PERCENT OFF. I couldn't resist, even though it was still fairly expensive (this must be some kickin' yarn, I think to myself).
Most of the colorways on sale were a little too "Mexican Fiesta" for me, but then at the bottom of the bin, I found a beautiful, subtle shade called Java. It looks brown from a distance, but it is actually muted shades of blue, green, purple, black, and brown. It is pretty, but it is MANLY. So I decided that I would make my second-ever pair of socks for my husband. First a sweater, now this! I hope he knows how lucky he is! (spoiled rotten, that's what I think).
Since I finished the sweater, I decided I would let myself cast on the socks. I don't really have a pattern, I just cast on 40 stitches (it's worsted weight & I'm using size 3 needles) and am working the leg in k2, p2 rib. I want to try to do a short-row heel, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. (If anything I'm doing sounds bad so far, please let me know).
This yarn is awesome. I know people normally complain about superwash wool being slippery, but this is really soft and actually a little fuzzy. I'll try to work on it a little more tonight so I can have a decent amount to show you when I get photo capabilities back!
Posted by zarah at 10:00 AM | Comments (3)
October 18, 2005
Grrr... Argh...
I started knitting another scarf for sale yesterday. I wanted to use up the rest of my red yarn (about a skein and a fourth) but still get a decent length scarf, so I did a skinny version of Red Rocks, with only one cable down the center. (I shall name it "Rio Rojo.")
I just finished the first skein, and joined the leftovers from the second ball. Umm.... major color difference. I love the hand painted yarn, but this is ridiculous. Maybe I'll rip a few rows back and alternate the new ball with the old. I just HATE to do that when there's not even a mistake to fix (cause you know I've had to do that plenty, too!)
Pics soon, I promise. My "technical difficulty" is my husband being out of town at a technology conference. I realized it's pretty hard to post pictures when your camera goes to California!
Did anyone see Extreme Home Makeover on Sunday? They were making over a camp for disabled kids in the same (tiny) town as where my grandma lives -- it's about an hour and a half from Springfield. I'm not normally into that show (dare I say it... too sappy?) but it was a pretty good one. Plus we got to see that beautiful Missouri landscape. (And Ty only said he was "in the middle of nowhere," oh... three or four times?)
Posted by zarah at 10:00 AM
October 17, 2005
Yarn Harlot
Yarn Harlot is Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's latest book. It is really funny, although a bit scary at times: Should anyone have that much yarn? I guess my knitting addiction isn't nearly as bad as I thought! Perhaps this is a good books for all those non-knitting loved ones to help put a few skeins here and there in perspective!
Posted by zarah at 5:00 PM
Feeling Like Fall
I love the felted pumpkins in the new Knitty surprise!
Posted by zarah at 5:00 PM | Comments (2)
The never-ending sweater...
Ladies and Gentlemen, I have an announcement. The impossible has occurred. The time-space continuum has warped. The never-ending sweater is COMPLETE!
I am dropping it off today to have the zipper sewn in! It will then go into hiding until my husband's birthday in early November.
This the first sweater I have ever knitted. I am so excited to finally have it done. I'm still a little concerned about fit (trying it on with the circular needle still in it can be a bit tricky) and the yarn choice (it's kind of stretchy) but I'm not worrying about that now... it's done!
(No pictures this week, I am having technology issues.)
Posted by zarah at 10:00 AM | Comments (1)
October 14, 2005
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The sorting hat says that I belong in Ravenclaw!
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Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose intelligence is surest."
Ravenclaw students tend to be clever, witty, intelligent, and knowledgeable.
Notable residents include Cho Chang and Padma Patil (objects of Harry and Ron's affections), and Luna Lovegood (daughter of The Quibbler magazine's editor).
Take the most scientific Harry Potter
Quiz ever created.
