Jan update

I have done a small bit of knitting. I just made this scarf with some handspun. It was a fun accomplishment to take some of the yarn I spun from roving and knit it into a scarf. The yarn was actually a lot nicer then I thought. I really didn’t do a bad job and I am happy to have a warm scarf to show for it.

Yarn: Handspun from corriedale roving

Needles: size 9 (brittany wood)

Pattern: CO 22, knit 1×1 for about 6 plus feet.

Here is a little something I was knitting on before Christmas but didn’t finish. I probably will hibernate it until November and then finish it. No sense finishing it now. I am just in the process of sewing on ornaments, then need to stuff it and crochet a bottom for it.

My new class started last week.  I already have made some waves in it.  The class was not allowed a break and after 5 hours, I got the worst headache last Monday.  The teacher told us that class didn’t get a break.  After a phone call to the department division, the counseling off, and then to the dean of teacher’s, I was able to get a break for the class.  It will be announced tomorrow. 

I am unhappy about another thing.  Apparantly Monday labs are due Wednesday, but people who have Wednesday lab time have theirs due the following Monday.  So I get 1 day to work on a lab and they get 4.  I don’t find that fair at all and am going to work on how to get equality for that.

My work scheduled has finally lightened, the money was nice, but I am happy to have a break from cashiering. I really needed the break to get down to studying.  I already have my first test on Wednesday.

Finally, girl scouts is getting interesting.  I am starting up my own troop in March after cookie sales (going on now.)  It is a good thing.

Freak’n gauge!

I swear sometimes trying to get the right gauge is so frustrating. Last May, I bought some yarn to make the Boobalicious tank in the Big Girl Knits book. The yarn it calls for is Dale Svale. The pattern says it is 22 st on size 5 needles.

I am trying to substitute with Elann Sonata (which on the ball band says it is 22 st on size 6.) I knit it on size 5′s and can only get 20 st. With the front and the back, this would be an 8 inch difference. Also, the Sonata seems to stretch really wide, so the thing just looks HUGE! I honestly, don’t think I like this yarn for this project.  It feels sort of wire like and is rough.

I have some Debbie Bliss Cathay, but I don’t have enough for my size. I would need at least 3 more balls. I guess I will have to check out ebay…when I have some extra $$ (not this month.)

Straps

I am still working on Prosperous Plum, and am up to the straps. The pattern calls for you to measure to get the right strap size. Since I am not knitting this to my size, I don’t have anyone to measure. Any suggestions? I guess I could call around to some size small friends tomorrow…

I am happy with this progress. I have no doubts I will have this finished by Friday.

ETA:  I did a bit of reading and it seems that standard size “small” armhole length is 7.5 to 8 inches, so that is what I am going to do.

Prosperous Plum…and…pics…

First, I am madly knitting the Prosperous Plum tank.  It is knitted in cotton-ease in violet.  I am knitting a small as it will be the sample that I will be teaching in my classes.  It has a provisional cast on, picot hem, lace and cable knitting, shaping…basically lots of things I can teach on.  I rarely actually get to teach the projects that I plan out, so hopefully this will be one of those times as this is really one of the funnest projects I have done in a long, long time.

Seriously, the chart is really interesting.  It is easy to remember and is really working up fast.  Of course, I am knitting the small (rarely get to do that) but it is still a fun knit.

I casted on for this on Saturday.  As of tonight, this is where I am at.

Front:

Back:

There is this cool asymmetrical-ness, yet oddly symmetrical that this top has.

I need to be finished with it before Saturday and at my current pace I think that is possible.

I started out using size 5 needles for the picot hem, then switched to size 7.  However, as I got a few inches up, I realized my gauge was off and so I dropped down to a size 6 and am getting the 19 st/4 inch gauge.  It actually worked out good doing it this way since the hip part is a little bit wider than when it decreases into the waist, so the change in gauge isn’t noticeable in a bad way.

Once I get my class knitting out of the way, I hopefully will have more knit/crochet time for myself again for the next few months.  I love my classes, but the prep for them is very time consuming.

I did do a little bit more knitting on my sock (not shown.)  I am almost at the toe decreases.

Here is a picture of my dad’s sweater:

Sorry dad…it is hard to wear this way, I know.  I don’t have the back to block this as I would have to pin it to my floor.  I am sort of waiting for Tony to help me.  I swear I will finish this soon…luckily it is still cold and rainy where you live even in the summer.

Speaking of rain.  This was Saturday:

And lastly, as if there are not enough pictures on this post, a picture Sierra drew.  Her teacher suggested in a report card that Sierra needed to color better within the lines.  Seriously…something is wrong with her teacher.  Isn’t coloring outside of the lines better?

She has Tony’s artistic ability.  I NEVER colored like this in kindergarten.

Finished Socks

Pattern:  Basic Sock pattern with 2×2 ribbing, short row heel, and a regular decreased toe.  Next time, I am going to try the short row toe.

Yarn:   Trekking XXL in colorway 133

The yarn has been raved about all over the internet, and when I bought it I kind of thought it felt rough and thin.  It doesn’t have the softness that some of the other sock yarns I have used.  However, the thinnes makes these socks great for wearing inside shoes and they really fit my feet like a glove.  I am hoping after their first washing they will soften up a lot.

These socks are pretty basic.  I started them back in August and put them down for awhile as knitting on size 1 needles gets a little boring for me.

I don’t get stuck with having the one sock problem that other people have because after I finish one sock I immediately cast on for the second.  Then, I have been telling myself I can only have one pair of socks going at one time.  Or atleast one pair per needle size.  I am sure as life goes on I will continually make exceptions to my silly rules as I always do.

I am happy to finish them, especially since I haven’t been feeling well lately.  Last night was particularly bad.

Well, I will continue trying to clear my plate of all my WIP’s.  I really don’t have very many left.  Yay!

I swear…..

I have been doing stuff. I should be blogging more. I made a something-or-other, but won’t share it here as it is a gift. Then, I made another something-or-other (different other) and it is also a gift. (so sorry…no picture.) Oh, and I am designing a pattern for a book with tricksy yarn doing tricksy stitch maneuvering (cabling) and other color type things, and since I haven’t submitted it yet (by Nov. 3) I am trying to keep this a secret. (so…again, no picture.)

However, have you ever wondered what it would look like if you were in Sleeve Hell Island forever?
Yes, it takes up most of the couch. It is the Simple Shrug, which is a free pattern from Caron. It is a mindless, simple boring pattern. If you need a project to practice your knitting and purling, this is the pattern for you. In fact, I learned how to combination knit because I was bored experimenting with new ideas.

I wish I could show it to you as a finished project, but I ran out of yarn. Yes, I am notorious for doing that. My Michaels has tons of yarn in stock, yet for 2 weeks that haven’t had anymore skeins of this yarn (or this colorway.) I am hoping that when I go there tomorrow they will have some. I have been carrying around a strand of the yarn in case they do, to match up colors.

**ETA:  I drove the next town over and found the yarn I needed to finish this.  YAY!

“I knit at night…”

…and go to school during the day.” That is what she tells her grandma on the phone. She started off with long size 10 needles and some spare green yarn. With the long needles I was able to direct were to put them by holding the ends. However, after one night of helping I was no longer needed and it was apparant she needed her own needles. Oh, and her own yarn (and grandma if you read this…pretend you didn’t see the color of the yarn…it would break her heart if she knew that you knew her surprise.)

Finally finishing things…

The first one is Knitty’s Anouk. It is done in Cotton-ease. You have seen the pics before, just finally found the perfect buttons for it, at Walmart of all places. I have realized there are not a lot of places in my area that sales buttons.

There are some imperfections, but overall I am happy with it. As much as I love cotton-ease (and am excited about its come-back,) I have realized it isn’t very forgiving. It splits easily and when you mess with it it doesn’t spring back.
This next finished project is one you didn’t even know I started, because I am shameful and pretty much broke my September challenge rule. Yes, I lied to you all, but not intentionally. I was crocheting this scarf thinking it would make for a fun beginner’s project for my classes. The first row wasn’t too bad, but the second row took me a couple of nights of crocheting…so it isn’t a 2 hour project to say the least. It was fun, though and makes for a very pretty scarf. It is Patons Curly Q Scarf. It took almost 4 balls of Patons SWS with a size K hook. The pattern calls for an L hook, which I don’t have, so I figured K is next best and would use less yarn.

This next project is one that will be in my beginner’s crochet class. It is a credit card/cash wallet. It is made with Patons Classic Merino with a size H hook. It is very easy. I still wonder if this is pushing it for a 2 hour class, but if I can get them past the button hole then I think it won’t be too bad.
Oh, and too my friend Amy, mentioned I am doing well. I am.! I have lost 10 pounds since I started my vegetarian diet. That isn’t a lot, but it is better than nothing. Tony has lost a lot more than me. My back has been killing me, but I noticed it goes in waves and is because I do things like carry Madeleine on my back and wrestle with the kids.

Dropping that class has made my stress go from a 10 to a 2. Seriously, I didn’t even realized I was that frazzled until in retrospect looking back. I think everyone around me knew it though.

Sierra is doing well, too. She has a “boyfriend” at school and kissed him on the cheek. I told her not to, but she told me she wasn’t in school, so it was okay (we were walking to the truck.) Sigh… He was nice and told me, “it is okay, I like it.” In school she is doing better. Her homework is coming back just fine. She isn’t crying after school and I think overall the teacher and her are communicating better. Either that or she is preoccupied with her “boyfriend” and so isn’t getting upset over the other stuff, I don’t know.

Madeleine has been “rough and tumble” lately. She is skinned up on her knees, on her chin, and has a bruise on her head. She is a little daredevil and is also sometimes clumsy. She is very much a comedian, always looking for a laugh.

She is talking more, full sentences. Though really only Sierra and I understand her. Tony doesn’t. She leaves the ends of words off, still and I am trying to work with her on it. Sometimes she says something to me and I don’t know what she is saying and it is frusterating to both of us. Also, I guess and she acts like I guessed right, but I wonder if she is just faking that and just being happy that I am giving her something.

Tricksy yarn, progress, and a frog

First, I offered to test a scarf pattern for Ev. Hopefully she is okay with me showing pics of my progress. She is using dk cashmere (yum.) I am using Cascade Quatro, which is a WW 100% wool on size 6 needles. I like how it is turning out.

The color tricks you. For the last 6 months, I have thought this was blue, with some green. I asked Tony what color the yarn was and he glanced over at it and said blue. Guess what. It is not blue. Then as I was knitting away, it hit me that it was purple and green. The purple goes from dark to light, as does the green. The green does have a bluish tone to is, but it is not blue. The yarn is purple and green, not blue…man, that is weird. Look at it, what do you think? Fools the eye, huh?

I was going to make this scarf for my dad, but now am wondering what he will think of purple and green…or maybe he will always think it is blue?

I am making progress on the sock. I am almost ready to do the heel, less than 2 inches to go. Not that I am constantly measuring

I wanted to be able to show you progress on Anouk or even finish it, but I have to be honest. I tried a provisional cast on and started to work on the pocket in intarsia and had to frog it all. Let’s just say it was a sick mess. It won’t defeat me though. I decided I will try again tonight. I need to finish something.

Maybe I will pick up the sleeve of the Angelica Tunic and start knitting on that? My goal this weekend is to be able to post some finished projects. I only have a short time before I start school back up and then it is study all the time. Sad but true. In fact, if I was a good student I would start memorizing bones and muscles right now and get a head start, but then that is just silly…

Finished Hat and Sock Progress

I finished another hat. This one turned out wonderful. I am going to mail this to Cordelia. Maybe she won’t read this? I actually did this a week ago or maybe more and hesitated if I should post it on my blog. I have been very lazy with my mailings. Send positive thoughts her way today.

The hat is crocheted from a pattern about 10 posts before this one, too tired to look right now.  It is in Plymouth Wildflower DK yarn, color green (or whatever fancy name they have for green.)

With the hat is the “dreaded” second sock. It is a jaywalker sock. I am working on this at a snail’s pace.

What have I been doing? Well, since you asked (okay, you really didn’t but humor me…) I have been setting up the new bulletin board Fiber Freaks. I have told you about it, right? It is an online community where knitters AND crocheters can talk about both with each other. We are breaking down the walls here. Knitters and crocheters can socialize. Good stuff!

Actually, it was my discovery at a crochet only board that there were “closet knitters.” They showed there crochet on the bulletin board and their knitting on their blogs. We all know that knitting and crochet have their place and there is a lot of grey (as well as a multitude of other colors) that overlap so it just isn’t all black and white. Okay, you get the point and I am tired and my eyes are blurring…

Tomorrow I am going to go to my yarn activity group with a local club so I should have some progress to show you tomorrow on something! (promise…yeah, yeah…you have heard that before…)