Monday, October 30, 2006

FO - Short-Row Hat

Wow, I can't believe I've finished another project! Quickie projects are great, though I really would like to work on and finish something more substantial. I actually had a reason for knitting this hat, though, since it's been pretty chilly around here and all the winter hats I made last year were left at home. Figures it would have been warm today, since I'd finished the hat and could have worn it.

I have yarn for a couple of hats, but since I decided I dislike the beads I bought for my Odessa, and can't find yarn to match my Silk Garden for the entrelac hat, and I had some more Paton's SWS just waiting to be turned into another hat, I went ahead and started on the Short-Row hat from IK's website.

This pattern confused me at first... I'm sure if you had done short-rows quite a bit, it would be no problem for you, and though I've used the short-row technique twice before, I still don't didn't totally understand it. I'm not sure that I could use short-row bust shaping for garments yet... I think I am going to have to work a pattern that includes them to see how it works. But this was really good practice, although my turns are not very well hidden. Some of them look pretty good, but there are some pretty big gaps between the diamonds.

Also, there is a pretty obvious mistake I made, and didn't notice until after I'd not only seamed the hat, but felted a bit and blocked it as well! I don't know whether there's a way to fix it, since I obviously can't rip. This pattern goes really quickly, and definitely does not get boring! The SWS yarn looks beautiful with the diamonds, too.

And didn't I mention somewhere that I felted the hat a bit? Yes, I did... and no, it's not called for in the pattern. The hat came out a little too big. I carefully felted a little bit by hand, trying the hat on in between. It's still a little longer than I like my hats; if I had my way, I'd remove three or four of the garter stitches in the band, since I have to fold them under now anyway. I had to stop felting because it was getting too tight. The felting did another nice thing, too... it made some of the gaps from the short-rows a bit smaller. The hat is very warm (I'm sure that's due to the slight felting), and overall, I'm pleased with it. Despite the obvious mistake I made, I think it will get a lot of wear this year.

Also, I didn't knit the "nipple" at the top, because Dusty looked at the picture of the pattern, and said, "Why is there a nipple on the top of that hat?"

Pattern: Short-Row hat from IK website
Needles: recommended size (7?)
Yarn: Paton's SWS, Natural Geranium, ~1.25 balls
Mods: felted a little, left off the icord thingy

I know, I know... quit babbling, you nut, and show us the pictures!!

Here they are... aren't the color changes beautiful?






This is my attempt to show how much the wonky part sticks out. It's actually in the back of the hat, but I turned it so it would be easier to get a picture.


Here is a close up of the mistake. I don't know what to do about it, other than pretend it's not there. It's pretty noticeable, but since I worked pretty hard on this hat and don't know how to fix it, I'm choosing to not notice it. Haha. Unless you have a suggestion that doesn't involve ripping.

I have one skein left that I am going to use for a scarf. I really do love this yarn!

Oh, and finally fixed the cables on Gatsby Girl. Yay! Now I won't dread picking it up and working on it a bit when I have spare minutes!

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Not a Fashionable Girl (photo heavy, sorry!)

I think, in my last post, I mentioned that I received a skein of Malabrigo, in gorgeous shades of purple. I'm in love with this yarn... and so worried that this one skein won't be enough for a fantastic scarf. I've been hesitant to start working with it due to that.



I also received 3 skeins of Noro Silk Garden, color 84. It's just beautiful... pretty much every color in the rainbow is in this one skein! Dusty said it looks like Fiestaware. Hehe. The ladies at the yarn store I got to visit on vacation told me it would take three skeins to make a bag I'd been eyeing... I ended up needing only a yard of the third skein to finish the bag. I think I also have complained already about my desire for an entrelac hat pattern to use the third skein. I don't know where the pattern is from, sorry! If you recognize it, please let me know. I definitely want to give credit.





Here are all the new yarns, including an in-progess shot of the bag.



And here's the finished bag:



Unbelievably easy, I started on this bag on Saturday, and finished it Monday, I think. It's all garter stitch, and some very simple shaping. It knit up so quickly, and while it's small, it's a great size for me - I never carry large bags! I love it!

I also finished this vest from Knit.1, Spring/Summer '05. I've never seen anyone else in knit-blogland make it, and I can't understand why! It's darling! I'm very happy with the finished product. I am a little worried that the sweater vest adds some unwanted bulk, though. I made the smallest size, and used under 3 skeins of Cotton-Ease in Pineapple for this, and made only a couple of mods. The vest was too long when I finished it, so I undid the seams, and removed a few (2 or 3?) inches from the bottom, picked up the ribbing, and knit until it was right. I also knit the armband ribbing in the round, as opposed to flat.



As the subject line states, I'm definitely NOT a fashionable girl, but in this outfit, I feel that even my super fashion conscious ex-roommate would approve. Hehe.

Here's a close-up of the vest.



And the side:



The details really are important:



And, just because I love it, a close-up of the fedora:



Those shoes could fool anyone into thinking I've got style!



Yes, I've posted them already, but the shoes really work with this outfit!

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Is it too much to ask?

All I want is to knit an entrelac hat using my remaining skein of Silk Garden. Is that really asking too much? Apparently. The few patterns I have found seem to require more than one skein of yarn. Is entrelac really that much of a yarn hog? I can always get an entire hat out of just one skein, even with crochet... usually, I even have leftovers! So why would an entrelac hat need more than one skein of the Silk Garden? I'm afraid to start up anything if I'm going to need more or contasting yarn, because I've discovered this stuff doesn't like to be frogged very much. Well, I didn't actually have to rip it, but I did have to drop a couple of stitches to pick up one I'd dropped a few rows down, and that was more difficult than usual. Argh!

I have two FOs of which I'll be posting pictures soon (hopefully this week). Unfortunately, they are neither the Spencer jacket nor the Gatsby Girl sweater, but they are cute. I've only had time to work on easy projects, and it's annoying me... but school must come first!!

Oh, and not only was this my first Silk Garden experience, but I also finally got a skein of Malabrigo. That stuff is heaven! I am in love with it.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Future Knitting Projects

On the sidebar, I posted links to projects I am either going to knit, or considering - probably enough to last me a couple years... or several, considering how slowly I work (and no, I don't work slowly due to perfectionistic tendancies; every thing I've knit has mistakes in it that I didn't bother to fix). Since I have no interesting progress to talk about, or pictures of an FO to show, I'm going to talk a little about (possible) future projects. I like to do this every now and then, so I won't forget what I want to make, and what yarn I want to use when I make it... and after all, the only thing as fun as the knitting itself is the dreaming of a new project!

Note that these are not necessarily in order of when I want to knit them, or of which is my favorite.

So first, I've got Rapunzel. Ok, I lied... just a little. I've wanted to make this since I saw it on another blogger's... blog, back when I thought rowan was a tree. It's numero uno on the list right now (of wants... I don't know for sure that it will be my next knit, depends on if I can find yarn). I have no idea what yarn I'm going to use for it... it calls for Kid Classic, so I figure just about any worsted weight wool would do, and Lamb's Pride may work really well, since I am pretty sure both yarns have mohair content. I have never worked with Lamb's Pride, nor seen any of its colors, so I don't know about this. A sweater knit almost entirely in seed stitch - I don't think I'll want to do this again, so I'll have to get it right the first time, including the yarn and color. I've been thinking Wool of the Andes in Mulled Wine, since (at least on my monitor), it is a fantastic mauve-ish color I've been wanting to use for a very long time. Although, I may want washability, in which case Swish in Bordeaux would be just the thing. I've been dying to work with Andean Silk... but I don't know if it would work for this sweater. I've heard all about the stretching and shedding, and would hate for this sweater to lose its shape! Sangria would most likely be the color I'd choose for this yarn. Another problem with this sweater is that it is finished with a yarn called Rowan Lurex Shimmer something or other, and none of the colors I've seen for that would match the color I want the sweater to be. Which basically sucks, because I haven't seen anything yet that would work as a sub. Also, I think I will need to learn short-rows for bust sizing for this. Boo. Whew, that was long!

Next, I've got Eunny's Deep V Argyle Vest. I've got Telemark for this, in Bayberry and Snow Leopard. Sometimes, when I look at these colors, I love them together. Other times I hate them. Anyone want to trade some Pesto or Aubergine for some Bayberry? Actually, I bet Pesto and Aubergine would look good together...

Serrano is just what I've been looking for and thinking of (no, I don't care that I'm ending this sentence with "of," tyvm)! A fitted, simple, lacy cardigan. I've got Palette in black for this. Yes, black. How boring, right? I need a sweater that will match everything, and you can't get more neutral than basic black.

Technically, I think it's called "Jacket with 3/4 Sleeves" or some such boring name. I dubbed it Phildar "English Riding Jacket", and I love it! It's the reason I got this book. I've got some red (Cherry? is that the color?) Cotton-Ease that I think will be great for this sweater!

The Knitpicks Kimono Styled Sweater will be, I believe, in Merino Style, maybe in Petal or Rhubarb (yum!). I've also thought of using Storm, but it may be too dark, and I don't want to hide the cables.

This Garnstudio design,Drops 87-03 (Wrap Cardi with Flowers), I think I will knit in my Wool of the Andes Hyacinth. I LOVE this color so much, I could never say it enough!

Glampyre's Simple Knitted Bodice, aka Guinevere. Again, no idea what yarn to use. It calls for a silk Tilli Tomas yarn, and all silk yarns are super expensive. I thought this sweater could be more appropiate for Andean Silk than Rapunzel. I've also wondered about Elegance from Knitpicks... it's a smaller weight, so I don't know whether it would work... but it's alpaca and silk. Ideally, I'd knit this in white... but in reality I won't. I refuse to knit in white if at all possible (with the exception of Odessa, since I've procured a skein of white Cashsoft for that), because I know me, and I hate, hate, hate dingy whites. So when it started to get dingy and I realized I couldn't bleach it, I'd never wear it again. But maybe a cream color.

Cookie A's fantastic sock pattern, Baudelaire, will be knit in some purple shade of Palette I was going to use for Pomatomus socks, which will now be knit in some purple/blue/green shades.

I bought *gasp!* Red Heart for Tubey. But wait till you see it... I think it's going to look great!

What else would I use for Orangina other than Brown Sheep Cotton Fine? I love the yarn! BSCF has so many lovely colors, and I know I won't knit this until next summer, so it will depend on what colors I'm really digging at the time... but right now, I really like Oriental Jade, Dusty Sage, Spryte, and Rue.

Delphine?. If I decide to knit Delphine, which I probably will someday, since it is an amazing, beautiful design, well, I hadn't really thought about yarn for it yet, probably Wool of the Andes again, maybe Hush and Violet.

Something Red? This is probably less of an "if" than a "when??" I don't know what yarn it'll be, but it will definitely be in red. ;-)

Fetching? If I ever get just one ball of Trendsetters' Kashmir, I'd probably use it for this, or a small neckwarmer... something to wear it close to the skin and feel how nice and soft it is! It is really the softest yarn EVER. I think the lady at the yarn store I go visit when on vacation is tired of my petting it every time I go in... I'm sure she wishes I'd buy a ball and leave her yarn alone! haha.

Forecast? Another pattern I've wanted to knit since I saw it, I'd definitely knit Forecast in a tweedy red yarn. Some blogger had made some changes to it that I'd want to do also, so I'd have to find that blog again.

Judy Jetson? I FREAKING LOVE this pattern! This design is awesome! Will I ever knit it? I don't know... could I wear this in real life? I'm not sure I've got what it takes to wear this knit.

Arisaig? I love Arisaig. It's really beautiful... light, airy, almost wispy. Will I knit it? Hopefully someday.

Lucy in the Sky? Lucy in the Sky is a very cute, almost casual cardigan. The diamond patterning really sets it apart from the casual cardigan you could find in a store, which is why I'd knit Lucy. Not to mention the Beatles reference is awesome, and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is a fantastic song.

From Knit.1's Art Issue, I want to make:
this Lace Tunic. It's one of my favorite sweater designs right now, and my only hesitation has been that you're supposed to find lace inserts for the jacket. Two inch lace is hard to find, and non-white 2" lace is even harder. So that's why I haven't started this yet. I'll alter it, though... mine is going to be shorter.

Butterfly Shawl. Love this shawl! Love it! Where would I wear it? Argh!

Cropped Cardigan. This is just a little edgy, and very cute. I've seen a few finished ones, and they all look great. I would love to do it in the green, but I don't know if I can wear green... especially that shade of green.

I don't knit many purses, but this polka dot bag is adorable! I am soooo making that! Another knit purse I want to make is this one, and soon. Out of wool, or a wool-blend... not alpaca, are they crazy?!

There is also a twist top from VK Summer 2005 that I am going to make out of some Cotton-Ease, either a bubble-gum pink or a pale green. And a gorgeous cardigan from this summer's VK I want to make also. Why are pictures of patterns from VK back issues so hard to find?

I'm also unofficially adding to this list a Clapotis, and a red Shetland Triangle. I'm also wanting to make a Morehouse Merino Camilla scarf, but using their varigated Monet yarn instead of a solid. I don't know if they'd do that, but I've really been wanting to use that yarn!

Anyway, I'm sure you're thinking "Geez, this girl sure does have a lot of things planned for herself!" Why yes, yes I do. No one I know really even WANTS me to knit for them, and I do knit for charity, but I feel it's fine to knit for myself as much as I have time. And I don't have a time limit set for any of my knits - it could be years from now that some of these projects finally are finished (or even started!). I do have a few things planned for others, but I can't post about them here.

By the way, as a progress update, I can say that it turns out I still need to work a bit on SS before the neck shaping, the darn messed up cables on GG are driving me nuts and I should have ripped it, but now I'm too stubborn, since I've already invested this time into fixing it without ripping, and I finished one stockinette project awhile back - a fabric knit purse. I don't know when I'll be able to line it, and finish putting it together, so it's not TECHNICALLY finished, but it's not my fault I have NO ROOM for cutting fabrics in this dorm! Otherwise, I'd have cut out the fabric for that darling little tweed skirt I've been planning for months... ANYWAY. So I started another stockinette project, and am, I'd say, around 40% done with it if you don't include the finishing time (and let's be realistic - I DON'T include the finishing time, because that means I'd have to think about it! That might slow progress).

Well, this was a good 15 min wasted. :-p

Monday, October 09, 2006

Mermaid

Why doesn't Hanne Falkenberg sell her patterns outside of kits? I would knit Mermaid in a second if I could get just the pattern. I could knit it in colors I actually like, for, I think, way less than 1/3 of the price of the kit. Sigh...

I feel the same way about a few of the designs from Kim Hargreaves' site.

I wonder if they really make that much more money selling only kits.

Spencer is going well. But I'm getting to the hard part. The neck shaping. Oh yay. I feel frustration coming on. :-(

My feet are freezing! I really should knit those Pomatomus socks soon. And some fingerless gloves for my hands. And maybe a shawl, since I'm wrapped in my cozy blanket right now. My room is actually cold for a change! Brr! Could the a/c finally be working? Unlikely.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

I Hate the 80s (fashions)

I really, really do. So why do I LOVE this look (on the model; I'm sure I wouldn't like it on myself)?!


Image from Newport News website.

Other things I'm loving - the ballet flats (particularly with bows). Also, faux animal skin, but only in the form of shoes (and one particularly hot dress I own but have never worn). Pointy toe slides. Vintage 40s and 50s dresses, or new dresses made from vintage patterns in that time period. Round toe tweed heels... actually anything tweed! Pointy, red, mid-calf boots, with a heel, of course, and military style jackets (though I doubt I'd wear one, the style is really cute). Trumpet skirts. My beloved button-down shirts. Pink, red, turquiose/blue-green, seafoam/mint, grey. And, of course, lacy or cabled knits. The Kara Janx Kimono dresses (see below).


Apparently I even love red and pink together now.
Here's a link to Kara Janx

Things I am definitely NOT feeling: skinny pants, tunic length anything, leggings, jeans under skirts, balloon skirts, those boots with all the fur... this list could get long... very, very long.

On the knitting front, I've gone into the body of the Spencer, but not very far. That's it. School is not leaving me much time for knitting! :-(

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Whoops.

My stockinette project turned out to be a mostly stockinette with a few hidden tricks, which means there are parts of it on which I cannot work and study at the same time. I can read and knit st. st., keep track of a couple of increases/decreases, but nothing else. I knew there was a little shaping, which didn't interfere... guess I need to learn to read ahead in my instructions! Instead of just looking at the picture, and thinking, "Hmm, that looks like it will require no attention!" Ah well, it is still MOSTLY stockinette, which means most of it can be worked on during study time with no negative impact on my grades (!! not even knitting is allowed to interfere with school). But it also means I'm going to have to use a little real knitting time, or, more likely, tv-knitting time, to work on it as well, as it doesn't require MUCH attention, just a little. It is an awesome knit though, and I'm wondering why I haven't seen anyone else online make this.

I also have one entire sleeve of the Spencer finished! YAY! Now only a whole lot more to knit. Good thing I loooove working this pattern. I enjoy it so much, and it goes by so fast, the thing seems to be knitting itself. I'm half convinced my needles are sneaking a little work in when I'm not around. The body is looking a bit more complicated, so I've hesitated working on it. I'm afraid the chart + new shaping is going to give me fits again. BUT... ohmygosh, I am so in love with this sweater. I want it to be done already so I can wear it! Argh! Annie Modesitt, you are a freakin' genius!

For GG, I totally screwed up the beginnings of the front (back? they are both exactly the same, so I don't guess it matters which). I did the cables wrong, and didn't catch it for quite a few rows. When I finally did catch it, I thought surely there could be an easy way of fixing the cables without ripping all those rows. So I dropped the stitches on the cables, and had to figure out how to reknit them... which, I believe, may be taking longer than just redoing the whole thing! Argh!!!! It is aggravating, because every time I glance over at my bag with this project in it, I want to pick it up... I adore the yarn so! But I need to save it for when I can give it all of my attention to finish fixing the cables. Two are ok now, but the other two still need to be redone.

The only thing worse than having a project that frustrates you, is having a couple of projects that are wonderful, and not being able to work on them ALL THE TIME! :-)