UnFrogged

Heck Yes!

2012-02-01T10:00:00.000+09:00

I did not actually knit all of the yarn in the mile of downward slope there. I did however buy .5 miles of yarn, used .8 miles, and I managed to give away/put into the "to charity" pile the other .7 miles of yarn out this month, including some to a Raveler who needed it to finish a project. Will I be packing less than 30 miles of yarn to be shipped to the US? No. It'll get close though!

I'm keeping out 4,000 yards of cobweb weight yarn for my Summer of '12 project (a HUUUGE shawl to be knit while walking the Appalachian Trail), which is about 2.25 miles. I've got some bulky yarn that will either be a couple of cowls for the "random gifts" pile or will be in the "to charity" pile, but either way is not coming as yarn. I've also got two more months of knitting before I go, which may include nearly a mile of yarn that's already knit but not counted because it's in unfinished projects, but even if I knit as much yarn as I did this month, I'll only get it down to 31 miles at the lowest, and that doesn't count the stuff I'm going to finish spinning before I sell my wheel.

My sewing area is nearly all packed up and finished. Some last minute needed thread and zippers has caused a bit of a delay, so that should be done around January 34th. Maybe 36th. Soon! Productive month, I just gotta keep it up!

January Goals

2012-01-26T16:54:00.000+09:00

I bought more yarn this month. I bought it to make pairs of thank-you socks for the people who wrote my letters of recommendation (successfully, I might add!). I'm also trying to play along with the Harry Potter House Cup (HPHC), so I have some very specific crafting goals each month until I leave Japan. There are quite a few different categories and ways to earn points for your house. You can earn points for a maximum of six classes out of eight offered, so each month I'm trying to get six classes (projects) done. These aren't necessarily knit or crochet only, they can include spinning, dyeing, and sometimes WIPs or non-Ravelry crafts like sewing. There's also Quidditch, with three Challenges, one project each month that must be knit within a specified amount of time with a minimum amount of yarn to fit a specific prompt, and the ability to turn in any projects that don't fit class prompts or are past the six (hah!) to earn more points.There's also Detention, a place to turn in WIPs for house points, OWLs, projects that will take 2 - 3 months, Order of the Phoenix missions, projects that take 1.5 - 2 months, NEWTs, projects that will take up to 4 months, and a variety of House projects and challenges. Slytherin has won the House Cup the last two terms, so are going for a hat trick (three in a row) and to celebrate, are encouraging Slytherins to knit hats, one per month for a personal hat trick or three per month for a hat trick of hat tricks.

I'm trying for the Slytherin Order of the Serpent First Class, an award within Slytherin (my house) for those who really try to KNIT ALL THE THINGS and EARN ALL THE POINTS. I'm sticking with stash and queue only, aside from the thank-you socks. This particular goal includes the maximum six classes per month, as well as participating in Detention, Quidditch, and the Head of House Challenge at least once, along with an OWL or NEWT and an Order of the Phoenix mission. Lee says that if everyone put as much effort into a Real World Problem as they do for the HPHC we'd cure cancer or world hunger or something. He may be correct.

For my six classes, I've got two pairs of thank-you socks, that vest I've been posting about, the penguin keychain, the quick coffee cozy, and all that sewing to close out my sewing area and sell my machine. The elephant and Totoro keychain were Detention projects that also fit the Head of House Challenge, the Pocket Creature was for Quidditch, and I'll be knitting Gwendolyn (already swatched and ready to go) for my OWL and Evendium for the Order of the Phoenix. It's more important to me to get the two sweaters done so I can wear them this year, so if I have to cut back on the class projects to finish, that's okay by me. Order of the Serpent Third Class is for Slytherins who did ten rather than 18 total classes, one assignment in each of the ten classes offered over the three-month term, so I'll be sure I can earn that as well as the Order of the Serpent Silver Serpent, which is for an OWL and an Order of the Phoenix project, if I can't get the big one.

Thus far, the vest is nearly done (needs about 3" over 19 sts for the colorwork to be done, then a wash/block before knitting on the neck and armhole edgings), one pair of socks is nearly done (past the gusset on the second), sewing is moving along (skirt and pillows done, a few box bags under way), and I need to start the last pair of socks for my last class and Gwendolyn for my OWL so I have a chance of finishing it on time. I had hoped to finish a sleeve this month, but I don't think that will happen! To complete the post with a picture, here is my Gwendolyn swatch and supplies, ready for knitting:

Pocket Creature!

2012-01-25T13:51:00.000+09:00

I love these guys! They keep your hands warm and are so adorable! I lost one of my purple ones last year, but finally replaced it due in part to trying to draw down my stash and queue for moving and mostly due to the Quidditch Challenge prompt for the Harry Potter House Cup. New Creature:

Pattern: Toasty Pocket Creatures (Rav)
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool, Royal Purple and Burnt Orange

Needles: US6/4.0 mm
Timeframe: January 16-21, 2012

Mods: None.

Problems: Gauge is a bit tight so the rice packet didn't fit nicely. Works okay though!

Obviously, I didn't have, or at least couldn't find, a matching button. I swear I bought a 3-pack and used two the first time...I wonder if I used the other one in another project sometime. Or something. Either way, I now have Creatures for both of my pockets, some more stash used up, and another long-queued project finished and crossed of my list.

Keychains

2012-01-22T16:45:00.000+09:00

I used keychains as gift tags this year, since the keychains would be particular enough to signify whose present was whose. The four keychains for my sisters came out quite nicely, even if I did get the last two done at the last minute, needle felting the eyes on just before finishing the elephant. Also, I found two more felting needles I didn't know I had in my stash. Would have been much more helpful a couple of weeks ago!

Pattern: Mini Booties (Ravelry)

Yarn: CraftsMeow Banana Split in Kamikaze, love this yarn!

Needles: US1/2.25mm

Timeframe: October 11, 2011

Mods: None.

Problems: None.

Pattern: Dolphins (Ravelry)
Yarn: Hamanaka Paume Kusakizome (ポーム　草木染め)

Hook: 2.25mm/USB
Timeframe: September 21, 2011
Mods: None, unless you count the needle felted eyes
Problems: None

Pattern: Mini Totoro Keyring
Yarn: Brown Sheep Wildfoote Luxury Sock (gray), Louet Gems Fingering (white)

Hook: 2.25mm/USB
Timeframe: September 21, 2011 - January 11, 2012
Mods: None, unless you count the needle felted eyes and nose
Problems: None

Pattern: Amigurumi Penguin Cell Phone Strap (Ravelry)
Yarn: KnitPicks Essentials (now Stroll) (black), Louet Gems Fingering (white), Louet Gems Fingering (Old Gold)

Hook: 2.25mm/USB
Timeframe: January 9 - January 11, 2012
Mods: Needle felted eyes, made it a keychain rather than cell phone strap, didn't use a different color for the body

Problems: None

First 2012 Project!

2012-01-20T11:27:00.000+09:00

First project I took from start to finish in 2012, a coffee cup cozy for my sister, also for the Potions homework in the Harry Potter House Cup, a Ravelry game I'm playing. The assignment was to make something quick out of materials you have on hand, so a quick cup cozy from stash was just the ticket!

Pattern: Plaited Coffee Cozy (Ravelry)

Yarn: Patons Classic Wool

Needles: US8/5.0mm

Timeframe:January 7 - 8, 2012

Mods: None, mostly because this pattern is more of a recipe than a pattern. I followed the design, and then knit in pattern until it was just over 9".

Problems: None, except that it didn't say how long to make it, and I wasn't really sure how wide coffee cups are. I researched and couldn't find any reasonable answers, so this should be good enough! We tested it on this to-go mug and then later a Starbucks cup, which I believe are wider in the US, so it should fit around whatever size cup there is; it stretches a good amount and isn't too big either. Hope she gets to use it!

Still screwing it up...

2012-01-19T14:01:00.001+09:00

The vest is GORGEOUS, I'm loving it, can't wait for it to be done which should be soon! I'm also working on a pair of socks, today that's the only project I have for reading e-mails, papers, and watching TED Talks at work. Of course, with three unplanned hours left in the day and over 2" into the sock, I realized that I was using a US6, which is the perfect size for most Worsted Weight yarns for this pattern, but this particular yarn is more of an Aran weight. It was going fairly slowly and felt a bit rough, problems that do not happen when using the correct size needle, US7. A needle I do not have with me:

Looks like I'll be getting ahead on my class planning and other paperwork for the rest of the day!

Earwarmers

2012-01-18T16:39:00.000+09:00

I was so, so pleased with this project! I had decided to make a replacement earwarmer headband for my Mother in Law, as that is her preferred winter headgear. After Lee and I found a pattern and purchased yarn, she mentioned that she was interested in a headband or something, and I did a little happy dance - perfect present! So, I got to work on the lovely headband. She wanted it snug, so I knit the small size tightly:

Pattern: 126-2 Head band with pattern in "Delight" and "Fabel" from Drops (Ravelry)

Yarn: Classic Merino DK in Black, Clover Foresta in Pinks

Needles: US1/2.25mm

Timeframe: September 16 - October 31, 2011

Mods: A few, did a row of K2tog with the cast-on to fold up the initial hem, mirrored the pattern rather than making the opposite side different, made a hem on the second side too.

Problems: None, except the final snugness.

And promptly realized it was a bit too snug, unless her head was a bit smaller than mine! I'm quite happy with my colorwork, but wow look at that stretch!

With the remaining pink yarn and a new skein of black, I cast on for the larger size. This one turned out much better, though if it were me I might want a bit more room than that even:

Pattern: 126-2 Head band with pattern in "Delight" and "Fabel" from Drops (Ravelry)

Yarn: Anny Blatt Queen Anny in Black, Clover Foresta in Pinks

Needles: US1/2.25mm

Timeframe: October 23 - December 11, 2011

Mods: A few, did a row of K2tog with the cast-on to fold up the initial hem, mirrored the pattern rather than making the opposite side different, made a hem on the second side too.

Problems: None really.

Much better, and the double layer of stranded colorwork should be extra toasty. I don't particularly like my finished hem (dark pink side) on either of these. It tends to roll up. The cast-on hem was fine, but I think I should have used a smaller needle after the turning row to make it behave better. Oh well, should still work nicely!

WIPs Today

2012-01-17T19:40:00.000+09:00

Vest:

Would be a bit further, but there was some major pattern errata that I didn't find at first, then was confused about and had to rip back. Not far, but still, I was flying through and it caused me to grind to a halt for a bit. The surprising thing was only one Ravelry project mentioned the problem with the chart, so I assumed it was someone who didn't really know what they were doing, especially since they mentioned it was their first Fair Isle. Apparently she was the only knitter (on Ravelry who knit this pattern) to notice the major difference between the model sweater and the chart, as well as how the chart is just...off...when knit. I suppose since it is Vogue the others could have thought that it was just a design quirk, but it does annoy me that my first Vogue pattern had these problems, also annoying that I had to wade through a lot of errata for that particular issue to learn that this one hadn't been found yet. I reported it, and even though I was annoyed by the setback, I think I'll love the finished product!

Sewing:

This month, I am organizing my sewing area for moving. In fact, it's about good to go at this point; all the fabrics I'm taking are in the drawers, and the only less-than-organized part is the notions/etc. drawer that will probably just get tossed into a small box because I'm pretty sure it's all going. I'm selling off my machine here instead of taking it too.

As part of the organization, I'm using up all of the Japanese fabrics that I have lying around. That's enough for two pillows, a billionty box bags (billionty = 13 in this case), two shirts*, a skirt, all the cloth button magnets I have supplies for, and a partridge in a pear tree. At least the sewing machine things I'm planning to finish this month, the magnets I'll probably work on next month.

*The shirts are wonderfully stretchy tank tops, a pattern I had so many problems downloading but that ended up being absolutely perfect. It's my bottom-most layer for hiking gear, functioning as a bra tank while having straps wide enough to not be uncomfortable under the backpack straps. I'm making an extra out of scraps in the next size down and I bought fabric for an even smaller one because I'm likely to lose a bit of weight on the trail and I had enough problems trying to find a good tank in the first place that I decided to make one, so I'd better have a supply on hand!

Stuffed Things

2012-01-16T12:51:00.000+09:00

I knit two stuffed things for my nephew, and one for me! First off, my Celestine, a finished object I love to death though I probably wouldn't knit it again. A bit more fiddly than it's worth, in my opinion:

Pattern: Celestine (Ravelry)

Yarn: Knit Picks Telemark in Columbine

Needles: US2.5/3.0mm

Timeframe: November 2 - 29, 2011

Mods: None.

Problems: Only that it was a more time-consuming knit than I'd anticipated. I thought I'd roll right through it and have a lovely finished product in a couple of days, maybe make a second one and give the blue one to my nephew. Nope! Took me most of a month!

What I actually made for my nephew for Christmas was a lovely little knitted ball from my Patons Classic Wool scraps, and inside I added a bell I found at the 100 yen shop so it rattles nicely:

Pattern: Braided Ball

Yarn: Various Patons Classic Wool scraps, under 15 grams per color, six colors.

Needles: US6/4.0mm

Timeframe: November 27 - 30

Mods: Did a 3-needle bindoff rather than sewing the strips together.

Problems: None, lovely little pattern, now I'd like to try a felted version!

And for his birthday, I have made the creepiest elephant ever, from a combination of bad yarn choices and running out of said bad yarn while knitting. Also breaking my last needle felting needle while felting in the last eye after midnight the night before it had to be on a 6:20 AM bus out the door so I didn't have to pay to ship it.

Pattern: Elephante (Ravelry)

Yarn: The last of my Navy and Bright Red Patons Classic wool, also some Rich Red

Needles: US4/3.5mm

Timeframe: November 30, 2011 - January 11, 2012

Mods: Braided rather than I-corded tail, used a popular ear modification, did odd things with the colors, used long tails from casting on as the sewing thread.

Problems: Only bad decisions and finishing it at the last-minute with one last needle felting needle, from the 100 yen store no less. Of course it was going to break, I knew it the minute I realized I only had one left!

See what I mean about the odd color scheme?

He is adorable from this angle though!

Found My Mojo!

2012-01-15T19:22:00.000+09:00

I had minimal interest in things like knitting for most of November and December. Typically, I have something around all the time so if I'm walking, sitting at the lunch table conversing after I've finished my meal, reading papers, waiting in line, or any number of things that allow for my hands to be moving, I'm knitting. The last two months, not so much. I still got some stuff done, but not nearly as much as I should have, and nothing compared to October.

This month, however, I'm going strong. Whether it's the fact that I'm participating in the Harry Potter House Cup on Ravelry, the fact that we're in the final stretch of Japan and PhD applications are in, the fact that we're moving soon so the stash must be smaller, or the fact that I'm knitting selfishly until a few projects are done, I'm not sure. Probably a combination. Either way, I've finished a few things already this month, have plans for more, and have a very good start on a vest for me for work:

That's about 7" of the 12" of ribbing for the Rib and Fair Isle Vest I'm working on. It has ribbing up to the under bust and then colorwork on top, a nice cute little vest that works with stash yarn and seems to be working up quickly - maybe I can even wear it while there's snow on the ground!

Win Some, Lose Some

2012-01-14T16:28:00.002+09:00

I'm on the way out of Japan, less than three months, so it's time to really crack down on all the crafts I've got lying around. I used up some glass jars making mint hot fudge for relatives for Christmas:

If you're looking for a good basic hot fudge, one that thickens when it hits the cold ice cream, I highly recommend this one. You can add the mint or change it to any other flavor you want to make delicious orange, raspberry, or just plain vanilla flavoring. Delicious! This one was a win.

Next up, I wanted to use a candle making kit I had in the closet. The instructions clearly show you drilling a hole in the bottom of an egg shell, sticking up the wick through the hole, and I suppose praying. I was a bit skeptical, but figured it'd work.

Instead of the wick and metal bit creating a seal in the bottom of the egg, the wick fell out of the metal bit, creating a hole for all the wax to spill out. I re-melted the wax and made paper cup candles instead of egg candles, but was a bit annoyed by the instructions. Next time, metal bit goes inside the egg, with no holes!

2011 Sock Roundup

2012-01-12T15:31:00.001+09:00

Socks I finished in 2011 but never blogged:

Pattern: Thuja from Knitty (Ravelry)

Yarn: Random Scraps of Pierrot Drifting Colors

Needles: US6/4.0mm

Timeframe: June 25 - 30, 2011

Mods: None.

Problems: None. Love this pattern so, so, so much!

Pattern: Thuja from Knitty (Ravelry)

Yarn: Malabrigo Rios in Black

Needles: US6/4.0mm

Timeframe: June 9 - 30, 2011

Mods: None.

Problems: None. Love this pattern so, so, so much!

Pattern: Eminence Rouge Socks

Yarn: Knit Picks Swish DK in Hollyberry

Needles: US4/3.5mm

Timeframe: September 1 - 17, 2011

Mods: None.

Problems: Nice pattern, but the yarn may not have been the best choice. Seems as though it will fuzz and pill and obscure the lovely cables fairly quickly, since it was starting to do so while I was knitting it. Oh well, they will be nice and comfy, even if they won't be gorgeous for too long!

Pattern: Wedge (Ravelry)

Yarn: Fleece Artist BFL, Loopy Ewe Sock Club May 2010

Needles: US1.5/2.5mm

Timeframe: September 13 - October 31, 2011

Mods: None.

Problems: Kind of a lot, mostly just because this pattern is deceptively complex - it looks and is very simple, but if you don't keep a careful count of stitches and short rows, you will have to rip back. Multiple times. Like me. I didn't love either this pattern or the yarn in the skein, but wow, is it wonderful knit up! I loved it so much I considered keeping the socks! I must get myself some Fleece Artist BFL, as soon as I have less yarn. So, like, in a decade?

I finished another pair and a single sock that I am counting as done, but those are test knits so I can't show them off yet. Lovely socks though! I also knit one Rhiannon, two Treetop Socks (though I need to re-knit one), one other test knit sock that needs its mate, and that black sock. Methinks I have enough carry-around projects to last me until I leave Japan!

2012 Goals?

2012-01-09T11:25:00.000+09:00

Should I even make any this year? I'll be packing up and moving in a couple of months. What should I be working on until then?

I'll be selling my spinning wheel here instead of bringing it and possibly getting it damaged, so spinning the white Corriedale, dyeing it, and plying it is one goal. I have a sweater picked out for the bulky yarn I'm spinning up, so maybe I'll get to that, or maybe that will be my plane ride project.

I still have a bunch of Worsted Weight yarn that has lovely patterns chosen, I just need to knit them up and wear them. Since there's still some cold months ahead, I'll probably be focusing on that to slim down the yarn I'll pack.

I won't have my stash with me from April through August, just some cobweb weight yarn, so I need to choose the pattern for that project and whittle down my WIPs so I can start fresh with my stash when we meet again next fall.

I have three months and roughly two years' worth of knitting I want to do. This probably won't work. I'm just going to take it as it comes and see where I get!

Year's End

2011-12-31T16:10:00.000+09:00

Well, it's ~~almost~~ already 2012, I just didn't have internet on my vacation. This past year's goal was to finish WIPs, with carryover goals of using my non-laceweight stash so I don't end up bringing more back from Japan than I brought to Japan.

I started with 15 WIPs, so the largest difference between how many FOs and how many FOs this year should be 15. I decided that since I'd actually cut out 3 box bags, they were added to the WIP count, and then I counted an addition to an old project as a finish, so that was not technically a new project either. 19 official old WIPs. I did not finish all of my 2011 projects either, ending the year with 22 WIPs, five of which were Christmas presents and four unfinished socks.

Almost all of my pre-Japan WIPs (except for the pesky cross-stitches and a stole) were finished, hooray!

As for yarn count, well...I have a lot of yarn. More than I'd like. More than I started the year with, even. I am disappointed by that, since I was hoping to use all the yarn I'd brought to Japan and ship minimal crafting stash home. I blame the internet - too many pretty yarns that all can be shipped anywhere in the world! Sure, maybe somebody had to click the correct buttons, but if it weren't for the internet...who am I kidding, I'd've bought more yarn anyway! Just probably not quite so much.

If I counted the skeins of yarn used in unfinished projects, I did in fact knit more yarn than I purchased this year. Officially, however, I did not.

I do have some lovely new additions to my wardrobe, though not as many as I'd like, and some gorgeous yarns I'm happy to have on hand. I also have a large number of overestimated yarn leftovers that are really annoying. I'd rather have that extra skein if it's going to be close, but nearly two full skeins leftover from a three skein purchase is a bit much. I have more worsted weight yarn than I'd like right now, but most of it is project leftovers.

All in all, I sucked at knitting goals this year. I finished 68 total projects, 59 of which were started and finished in 2011. 11 of the 19 pre-2011 projects were finished, meaning I have 15 2011 WIPs. I'm going to try to start January off with a bang and finish a few things!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T23:32:00.000+09:00

100 days left in Japan, and we celebrate with Christmas (on the 23rd, before we head to Okinawa for break!)

As you can (maybe) see in this picture, I made a Portal turret to guard the presents against early openers, and a Darth Vader and Yoda snowflake. Yup, I am that dorky!

Happy Holidays, and Joyous Crafting in the New Year!

Goodbye, my friend...

2011-12-23T23:31:00.001+09:00

This was the nicest yarn I'd ever tried until that point, gifted through a swap, and I will sorely miss the socks:

I've patched them and loved them as long as I could. Now, one has a hole in one heel, an almost-hole in the other heel, and both are about to become holey right around the patches as well. Time to let go; doesn't make it easy. Goodbye my friend, you will be missed!

Potholders!

2011-12-20T16:07:00.000+09:00

The rest of the potholders have been completed without incident. Well, without major incident - of course there were a few times where I had to rip back to the row below, realizing that I'd miscounted or skipped a stitch or something like that, but no major mistakes or mishaps. Enough yarn for all of them, enough petals too, and on time, early even!

Pattern: Gehaekelte Topflappen (Rav)
Yarn: All were made using two colors of DMC Senso, mostly 100% Cotton but the green/orange one was Microfiber Cotton like the first.

Hook: 3.25mm/USD
Timeframe: Started the first on September 12, finally blocked them on October 31, except the pink/blue (September 4 - 17) and the green/orange (December 14 - 17).
Mods: I made a 14 petal flower and went around the center with the contrast color too. Final pattern I used is here.
Problems: Inability to count to 14 on one of the blue/orange ones.

This one wasn't early. I finished it on the bus ride to gift it and wove in the ends while I was at the cookie party I was gifting it at. I also forgot to get a picture of the back, but it'll be just like all the others, except light orange.

Love the finished potholders, and I'm now looking at what I've got left and wondering which color combinations would look good in our kitchen. Though what I should be doing is finishing the Christmas presents so I can get some of the bulkier worsted weight out of my stash and into my wardrobe in the form of sweaters and things!

Large Illusion #2

2011-12-17T16:05:00.000+09:00

I love this piece. I finished it very, very quickly for the size and amount of yarn. Apparently October was a good month for knitting. November and December, not so much.

Pattern: Tiger's Head Illusion (Ravelry)

Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Cloud and Fedora, 4 skeins of each

Needles: US6/4.0mm

Timeframe: October 4 - 31, 2011

Mods: None really, 2-color cast on/bind off and slipped the side stitches rather than giving it a garter edging.

Problems: None, though it turned out so large (28.5" x 33.25") I kind of wish I'd knit it from a sport weight yarn instead.

I'm also really happy with this one because I used it for Transfiguration homework for the Harry Potter House Cup. That's a group of people on Ravelry, sorted into the four houses of Hogwarts, who complete homework for classes to earn house points, where the classes are project categories or prompts and the homework, or projects, have to be started and completed in the same month. You have to complete at least one homework in any class every month of the three month term in order to remain in good standing, and every homework you complete gets you house points. There are other activities to play along with as well, but one homework project per month that matches a prompt in some way is the bare minimum. Anyway, I was playing as a not quite first year for the Fall 2011 term, and this project matched the prompt of knitting something representing your animagus form. Not only did I take it from start to finish in October, this project was also nominated for a prize. Didn't win, but to be nominated my first time playing along was great!

Final Christmas Scarf

2011-12-15T16:00:00.004+09:00

We've got the Snowflake Scarf, the Dark Mark Scarf, the Penguin Scarf, and finally the last one, the UB scarf:

Pattern: My own, based off of the Oh You Illusion Scarf (Ravelry)

Yarn: Anny Blatt Princess Anny, 2 skeins of each (blue and white)

Needles: US4/3.5mm

Timeframe: October 4 - December 11

Mods: Technically the whole thing was a mod because it's my pattern. So there.

Problems: None I noticed while knitting...

As you can see, I accidentally knit a row of white towards the end. If I'd noticed and either fixed it or added a couple more, it could have been a design feature, but now it sticks out like the mistake that it is. Oh well, not going back to fix it now! I was originally going to put the "UB" logo along the entire scarf, but decided against that. Love how it turned out, just hope my sister feels the same way!

All of the illusion scarves are now done, hopefully to their recipients' liking, the in-laws gifts have already been wrapped and sent, and now I just need to finish up the last few things for my family's gifts, like the three HUGE, what-was-I-thinking?!?! illusion pieces and the little keychains as gift tags to go with the scarves. I also have a dismembered elephant to piece together.

Black Sock Down

2011-12-09T18:46:00.001+09:00

It's the home stretch for holiday knits. One of the last few things on my plate are socks for Lee. Nice black socks in a yarn and pattern we'd chosen awhile back that I just hadn't gotten to yet, but now, I was finally going to give him some more warm socks to wear to work.

My work computer is very, very, very slow, and decided to be extra derpy yesterday, so while waiting for pages to load and Word to cooperate (never happened!) I knit on his socks and got almost the full 3" heel flap and a good chunk of the gusset decreases done:

Guitar Man Socks. They look great but black is so difficult to photograph!

Last night, we had a work party, and since we'd be taking our shoes off, he wore the Malabrigo Rios Thujas I'd made for him a few months back. Since Rios is not a generous skein, the legs are not as tall as one might like, but I intended for them to be house socks so I wasn't too worried. Of course, he was ribbing me all night regarding the length of the socks, and we got into a discussion of the heights of the legs of the other socks I knit him.

When I first knit him socks, I noticed that he always rolled down the cuff of his work socks, so I assumed he liked that height, and when I told him I was knitting him socks and I wanted to measure it so I made them the length he liked, he didn't object. Now, I come to find out that actually, he rolls them down so the elastic isn't a problem, and also, he wouldn't mind having another half inch to an inch on the legs of the socks I'd knit for him.

Of course, I already had in my file of knit measurements that he likes his cuffs at 5", rather than the standard 6", so I have to change that. Have you picked up on the problem yet? I already knit the leg of the first sock. To 5". And my only accomplishment at work Thursday was in fact the inches of sock I have to rip out. So, now that I've also mentioned that these socks are for him (work parties are all you can drink, and the sake was pretty good!), I think they'll be sitting in the WIP basket for a bit. At least until the other couple socks I'm working on are done. He should still get them sometime this winter!

Another Whoops

2011-12-04T18:28:00.000+09:00

I made an adorable ball from Paton's Classic Wool scraps for my nephew for Christmas. I was going to knit him a Celestine, but decided that it was too much work for me to make a second one, so I kept it. Bad aunt, but hey, who's going to know? Aside from everyone who reads this blog?

Ahem.

I also planned to knit an elephant, Elephante to be exact, from some of those same scraps. I made the ball first, though had I been thinking correctly, I'd've made the elephant first to be sure I didn't run out of the yarn I wanted to use for it.

I suppose you can guess where this is going.

While I'm not actually out of yarn, I am going to run out before I finish. So, should I keep going and pretend I don't notice the lack of yarn until it is very, very obvious, and figure it out then? Should I rip out the blue and use the lighter blue? Should I rip out the head and make the trunk, legs, tail, and ear edging dark blue while the body is the lighter blue? Or, and I think this is what I'm leaning towards, should I use red to make the body? I just hope I have enough red. It won't be a gorgeous elephant, and I don't know why I just didn't do it as a solid color with the lighter blue from the outset, but I think a red body will work. Babies like bright colors and contrasts, right?

November's Numbers

2011-12-02T15:23:00.001+09:00

Here's the final November count:

Down nearly a mile, though not quite. I also went through and figured out how much yarn I've knit up this year and how much I've purchased. I've purchased just under 10 miles of yarn (most of it was for presents! I swear! And the Loopy Ewe summer camp...), and knit just over 9 miles so far. So basically, for this year, I may barely be able to squeak by with less yarn than I had at the beginning. If I knit like a crazy person this month. Which I probably will what with Christmas only 23 days away and two long vacations coming up. Looks like a safe, conservative estimate of how much yarn I knit per month is about half a mile, roughly two and a bit pairs of socks. That will likely change next year; I'll have only one project with me from April through July, and with (hopefully) grad school starting up in the fall, I have no clue how much knitting time I'll have!

The big conundrum for this month: I know I cannot finish all of my 2011 WIPs. I still have some Christmas stuff to finish and Rhiannon is a very time-consuming sock, so there's no way I'll be able to finish the gifts and the two pairs of long socks I've started but not finished this year. Which are the only non-gift WIPs that require more than a couple of minutes of finishing work. So, do I attack those in a vain attempt to finish all the 2011 projects like I wanted to this year, or do I do one or two quick projects for me? The rest of the gifts are not really travel-able projects, so I need something in my bag this month after I finish Lee's socks. I can either start in on the second Treetop Sock and probably finish that, or I can likely make both a pair of Thujas for me (first one out of, according to Ravelry, 18) and a vest for work out of some Patons Classic Wool, a quick worsted weight knit. Hmmm....decisions, decisions. Probably will go for the socks since I didn't realize that they should be the only non-finished knits of 2011.

Posting, yay!

2011-11-24T14:28:00.001+09:00

Very, very, very busy week! Some of this:

Bit of that:

And a touch of this:

As well as all kinds of work stuff and meetings and baking and preparing the house for guests and planning a vacation and planning people coming to visit and OMG PhD APPLICATIONS and...

Winter Wear

2011-11-21T18:45:00.000+09:00

for Siberia.

Lee and I are planning to walk the entire Appalachian Trail next spring/summer, after Japan but before Grad School (ohgodohgodohgod), and one of the recommendations was to bring a warm wool hat and a balaclava, for the really cold bits towards the end. I'd already decided to make us hats, because what's the point of being a knitter if you don't knit the simple wool hiking hats you need? Instead of carrying a hat and a balaclava, I decided that a hat plus a ninja mask/cowl/half balaclava of some sort was the way to go. Not like these though:

I found this lovely pattern that is meant to be form-fitting for a ninja mask that is perfect for biking. I probably won't test that since I don't usually bike when it's that bad out, but may use it for walking to work this winter! I used thicker wool than recommended, so that they'd match the hats and be extra warm, but I'm not sure they're as comfortable as they could be. I may re-knit this pattern in the future if I live in an area where such winter wear makes sense, in a thinner, softer yarn. As they are, they'll be perfect for the Trail, and any other winter activity we might ever want to do. Like go to the South Pole. Or scale Everest.

Hats:

Pattern: A Hat Fit for a Boyfriend (Rav)

Yarn: Patons Classic Wool, roughly half a skein.

Needles: US8/5.0mm
Timeframe: Roughly a day for the hats, maybe a couple of evenings - quick easy pattern!
Mods: I knit a nice rolled hem on mine and an extra inch fold-up brim on Lee's. Same hat pattern, different personalities in the details.
Problems: None.

Masks:

Pattern: Ninja Bike Mask (of awesomeness)
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool, same as the hats, a little over one skein for the masks

Needles: US6/4.0
Timeframe: April 17 for mine, 29 for his, finished both with a block on May 11.
Mods: None, it's a fill-in-the-blanks with your gauge pattern.

Problems: None really, though a thinner yarn would have been better.

My mask doesn't like to play nicely with the amount of hair I currently have, but I won't have any when we do the Trail, so it should be fine! I just hope they don't stretch out. Two skeins was a good amount for the hat plus mask, and you can also get a pair of mittens or fingerless gloves with the leftovers if you want a full set of worsted weight snow gear.

Sewing Useful Things

2011-11-20T18:21:00.000+09:00

I have a sewing machine. Sometimes I even use it! Unlike the poor, dusty spinning wheel - I promise, once the Christmas presents are done, we will have some quality time!

Anyway, sewing machine. I bought a cute little kit from the 100 yen store ($1 store) that came with three pieces of fabric, a ribbon, a small piece of fabric for a button loop, a button, and a small piece of fabric for a pincushion. The directions, though they were in Japanese, were very clear and mostly explicit drawings. This, plus some thread (I luckily had the perfect blue) and a cotton ball for the pincushion, as well as some machine- and hand-sewing time made a lovely little notions case, perfect for some scissors, a tape measure, darning needles, paper clips, and anything else that catches my fancy to easily travel in my travel knitting bag. All of those items had previously been just floating around in there, and while I hadn't yet lost a darning needle, I know it was coming!

First, you sewed the ribbon to the outer fabric. Then, the inner two fabrics were sewn together, hemming the pocket fabric and creating separate pockets with lines of sewing:

Cute, no? Next the outer be-ribboned fabric and the inner be-pocketed fabric were attached, making sure to place the buttonhole loop correctly while doing so. Once those were turned inside-in and the turning hole was sewn up, it was time for the final two embellishments, the pincushion, which was just gathering the small fabric bit around a cotton ball and then attaching it to the center pocket, and the button, which was placed where it would hold everything together when the packet was closed. To close, the top is folded over the tools and then it's a simple tri-fold, securing the tools with the button:

I used a similar method to make a roll-up case for a set of Tunisian crochet hooks I bought on eBay and all of my DPNs, which have previously been floating in a rubber-banded bunch in my crafting bags. This is much more convenient! I followed the same general sewing steps, using a recycled happi coat that I also used for box bags for the fabric. I made more pockets, roughly the size of the correct crochet hook, and leaving two large pockets for all the DPNs and/or whatever else I decide to put into it later.

There's no button or ribbon on this one, but it rolls up nicely and ties so that it's all kept in. The top part folds down to keep the tools safe as well, and the DPNs and other things that would be more likely to fall out are in the inner pockets, so will have less opportunity.

While it's not the most impressive roll-up needle/hook case I've ever seen, it works for me and was an excellent use of scrap fabric! I only have a couple of box bags worth of this fabric left, which I'm planning to make before I leave Japan. I just need more interfacing and zippers first!

Baby Knits

2011-11-19T23:30:00.000+09:00

I made another Placket Neck Pullover since the first one turned out so well and I had enough yarn to make the next size up. This is a nice quick knit, I think it looks great, and it should fit the kid nicely next year and probably the year after. Maybe even the year after that. I'll have to find a different pattern for next year though if I'm going to keep knitting things for him!

Pattern: Child's Placket Neck Pullover (Rav)
Yarn: Almost exactly four skeins of a very soft Japanese acrylic/wool called Mamarm.

Needles: US7/4.5 mm

Timeframe: October 15 - 31
Mods: None, if you don't count omitting the buttons.
Problems: None!

I also figured I should make something for him to wear now, rather than something that won't fit yet, so I took a look through my stash to make the hat. Found the perfect yarns, now I'm just hoping it fits! Cute hat, very quick knit, and my submission to the House Cup* Care of Magical Creatures October homework:

Pattern: Cozy (Rav)
Yarn: Multiple Japanese aran/bulky weight acrylics

Needles: US8/5.0 mm

Timeframe: October 23 - 31
Mods: No intentional ones.

Problems: Slight problem - I misinterpreted the pattern at one point, knitting a bit too far after the stripes. The pattern meant to measure from the bottom of the earflaps and I knit about a half inch extra before realizing my mistake. Not a huge problem, I just left it in and kept going!

I finished the knitting on this one in a single day, but didn't block it until the end of the month with all of my other finished knits. It does look warm and cozy, and I hope it fits and the baby likes it!

*The House Cup is a Harry Potter themed knitting group/competition on Ravelry. Every three months, they sort people into different houses, and you earn points for your house by completing homework and extra assignments (Ravelry projects) each month. You must complete one homework assignment from any class each month to be eligible for sorting for the next round because so many people are interested, and additional homework or a lot of yardage earns extra points for your house. I've joined as a NQFY, Not Quite First Year student, so that I can learn the rules and play along so I can be sorted next time. There are multiple classes each month that assign homework, all from the Harry Potter series (Transfiguration, Potions, Muggle Studies, etc.), and each one has a specific theme for the month. For Care of Magical Creatures, the theme was zombies, and one possible way of meeting that theme was making something that would protect someone's head from a zombie looking for brains. This project fit perfectly!

Box Bags

2011-11-18T10:54:00.000+09:00

I sew a bit. I seem to have a natural EMP though, any electronics I purchase for myself are likely to break shortly after I get them. Any drive I've purchased for myself, any electronic device, begins to behave in a funny manner shortly after getting it. This seems to have been the case with my sewing machine.

We fixed it once. Then I took it to the repair shop when it needed it after we fixed it. Now, a different problem is happening, the thread is catching the floating plastic bit the bobbin sits in and unseating it.* I am using a different bobbin, and it could be that the bobbin is just not heavy enough to keep the plastic bit seated, but I've no idea. I am so close to completion with my Tunisian crochet hooks and DPN case, I just need seven straight lines, two only 1/2", and a buttonhole to complete it. So close, yet, so far!

I have, however, finished three box bags and a wall hanging that I've never shown off. The last one took me only an hour or two - they really are easy, once you get the hang of it! The nice thing is that the kimono come have the nice outer fabric and the matching liner. There were even thin straps that I could use for key clips if I wanted. All I needed to choose was matching thread and zipper, which were pretty easy to choose for the most part:

I made the first one for myself, and it's been my traveling project bag ever since. It's got my current sock, glove, scarf, or what-have-you in it all the time, along with necessary notions, and is typically hanging from my wrist as I knit and walk to and from work. They're all made from recycled silk kimonos, and the silk really isn't all that hard-wearing. I've had my bag for, oh, I don't know - two years? and it is wearing through at the corners. Not a problem, it's served me well and I will keep using it until it is completely dead. I will just have to make a few more for when it dies:

Pattern: Box Bag Tutorial

Fabric: Recycled kimono with medium-weight interfacing

Timeframe: No idea, but it took a while, I know that much!

Mods: Tried the sew all the way across mod from the comments, not necessary, but useful, and tried to add a strap for a key clip. It didn't work so well this time.

Problems: Lining up everything correctly the first time. The seam ripper, it was my friend!

Pattern: Box Bag Tutorial

Fabric: Recycled kimono with medium-weight interfacing

Timeframe: No idea, this one sat around mostly finished because I couldn't line up the triangles when I was first trying. Didn't need to rip at all when I picked it back up though!

Mods: Added a strap with a clip for keys. Love this bag, hope my mom likes it too!

Problems: Sewing the zipper onto the correct side the first time. I got it in the end.

Pattern: Box Bag Tutorial

Fabric: Recycled kimono with medium-weight interfacing

Timeframe: A couple of hours - though it was already cut out. This time, it went very smoothly.

Mods: None except for mistakes!

Problems: Sewing the zipper onto the correct side the first time. I left it long this time.

Apparently, my subconscious deals with things when I'm not working on them. I pick up the box bags, and the go together smoothly after having issues the first time and a half. I put down the paper baskets, and when I pick them up again, they go together like magic. I don't get it, but it works for me!

Pattern: None

Fabric: 1 m of fabric from the craft store

Timeframe: An afternoon, I believe.

Mods: No pattern, no mods.

Problems: No real problems aside from the learning curve, used this as a simple project to learn a new technique.

* This was a long-ago post, written before this one mentioning the fixing of the bobbin case (sandpaper on a rough edge of the plastic bit). Didn't realize I never posted it, so fixing the bobbin case made no sense to readers at the time, d'oh!

Takarazuka Revue

2011-11-17T15:57:00.000+09:00

Last weekend I traveled to Osaka with some friends to watch the Takarazuka Revue put on an all-female musical version of Ocean's 11, in Japanese. Yes, you read that correctly. As you may have guessed, Lee decided to stay home rather than accompany the all-girl crowd to the all-girl show.

Friday night we took the train to Osaka and watched the movie (it's based on the Clooney version, not Sinatra's) to prepare ourselves for the show and hopefully to follow the plot a little bit better. This was especially a good idea for me because my Japanese is the worst in the group (most of them studied Japanese in college). We went out for scones the next morning:

Then headed on over to the theater itself:

The show had just opened the day before. Ocean's 11 in honor of 11/11/11 I do believe, and we went to the 11 am showing of it. The theater itself is pretty small, and our seats weren't particularly close. We rented opera glasses in order to get a better look, and wow do they ever work! You could see every expression, which was great when one character was being highlighted but not so good when you were trying to follow two characters at opposite ends of the stage.

The show had singing, dancing, sequins, and some very odd plotlines, so much so that watching the movie wasn't really a great help! Of course, it was still about a Las Vegas casino heist, but the similarities ended soon after. No pictures during the show, though there were one or two things I wish I'd taken a picture of anyway to show off. During one of the Vegas numbers, the supporting showgirls were all in costumes that looked suspiciously like these guys, but with capes, for no discernible reason. We certainly weren't expecting the Spanish Inquisition during a Japanese version of Ocean's 11!

After the show, we still had most of Saturday left. We went out for frozen yogurt (Lee's note - she created this dish, not the staff, it was a create-your-own-and-they-weigh-it place):

And Mexican food with Yuzu (Japanese citrus) margaritas:

Yes, in that order. We ended the night with two hours of karaoke and a Mister Donut (chain doughnut store like Dunkin' Donuts) run. An excellent time was had by all!

FO: Blaze

2011-11-16T20:12:00.000+09:00

This one's been around for awhile. I started it way back in 2007, thinking I'd have a nice fall sweater. With over 300 stitches in a round for the yoke and lots of cabling every other row, this is a nice fall sweater...for 2010. It's finally done, less than ten minutes before I wore it out to a nice dinner on Halloween, all decked out for the occasion! A year later, I re-did the cast-off (it contributed to the gapping) and had a friend take good pictures of it, so here, a year later than I originally finished it, is the official FO post!

Pattern: Blaze, 36" bust
Yarn: Peru DK Luxury in Orange, around 11 skeins.

Needles: US5/2.75 mm and US6/3.0, DPNs and Boye Interchangeables.
Timeframe: September 4, 2007 - November 1, 2010, with a 2+ year break when I left it in the US and didn't have enough yarn to finish it.
Mods: None.
Problems: None except the cabling takes FOREVER and I think the sizing is a bit off. The arms are great, lengths are awesome, but I think the body stitch count might have looked better with a smaller size. No way in hell am I re-doing that to fix it though!

I think that while I don't love the sizing, I'll still wear it a bunch, and this just confirms my inherent mistrust of circular yoke shaping. If I stand straight, the back should be smaller than the front, at least for my body type, so standing straight up with my shoulders back, the back gaps. I have the same problem with my Valencia, the back gaps a bit if I'm standing correctly. Ah well, live and learn, and I shall continue to stay away from sweaters with such shaping, no matter how much I think they're cute. I may do a Bohus at some point, but I have culled (nearly) all others from my Ravelry queue.

In ripping out the cast-off, it took me much, much longer than it should have to find the end. Plus for my knitting skill, minus for spending a long time going 'round and 'round the yoke! Then, I realized that I'd originally done a sewn bind-off for stretchiness (hah!), so that took a bit of time to pick out once I found the woven-in end. I also found a dropped stitch that I apparently didn't in fact bind off, so there's another plus with the re-do - that stitch would have been quite problematic had it decided to run later on, though considering how sticky and prone to felting this yarn is, it may not have been a problem.

A note on the yarn - this is my favorite yarn EVER and I would absolutely love it if the base could be found again. I think I had found it once, but have no idea. It's a very smooshy 70% merino, 20% alpaca, 10% silk yarn that I love, love, love, and would stockipile some in every color if it hadn't been discontinued years ago. Sadface!

Doesn't work if you don't push Publish...

2011-11-15T14:51:00.001+09:00

I went away last weekend. I went with some friend to see the Takarazuka Revue, an all-women troupe of singers and dancers, full of sequins, sparkles, and gender-bending. We saw an all female musical version of Ocean's 11 (the Clooney version) in Japanese. It was an experience. More on that later.

I tried not to over-pack a weekend's worth of knitting, but managed to anyway because the current sock has cables so is slower than average. I was planning to finish it, having about 1" of the cuff done before heading out, and then start Guitar Man Socks in the black yarn, but I only got to the end of the heel flap instead:

I also brought some chocolate covered flavored fondant (plain, peppermint, and orange-vanilla) on the trip, to get rid of the chocolate in the fridge and the fondant in the freezer:

I had also lined up a few posts, but apparently left them all as drafts. Oops!

Finally, a Lopi FO Post

2011-11-09T12:13:00.000+09:00

I did drag out the camera and the sweater for better pictures this time - I've been using really bad ones with my dalmation shorts on Ravelry for the longest time ever! See:

This is a very warm sweater - so warm that I really can't wear it all that often! In addition to how warm it is, it gaps, which is the style and I knew that's what it'd do when I was knitting it, but I don't particularly like it. I do enjoy the sweater and wear it instead of a jacket on cold fall days. It's warmer than my leather jacket, as long as there's no wind!

Pattern: Toggle Cardigan
Yarn: Reynolds Lopi

Needles: US9/5.5mm and 10/6.0mm
Timeframe: Not sure
Mods: None

Problems: Not really, first sweater, lots of learning! I do wish the front edges wouldn't curl so much. I have extra yarn for a matching earflap hat, and I may make some kind of insert or flap so it doesn't hang open so much.

So Freaking Close!

2011-11-09T11:13:00.000+09:00

Originally written May of 2007, the final saga of the Lopi cardigan.

Well, the seaming is done, the collar is done, the front edging is done, and I have decided on toggles. Now I just need to buy the stupid things!

Trying it on, I was still worried about the bust. It really seemed to want a zipper, as I just automatically reached down to zip it up the first couple times trying it on. I think that's just because all of my knitted (all store-bought) cardigans have zippers. After wearing it around for a bit, I decided I should probably knit the collar on. Those seven inches of ribbing took FOREVER! Hours and hours of mindless ribbing, I hate ribbing! Though I must say, I finally have fixed the problem I used to have of ugly knit stitches next to the purl stitches. Practice does make perfect, who woulda thunk?

When the skein of yarn I was working with ran out most of the way through the collar, I decided to do the edging of the front bit next to save myself from the miles of ribbing, at least for a little while. Since the side with the buttons was going to be straight single crochet no matter what I did with the final product, I did that one first. It added enough to the edge that I decided that toggles were the way to go. So, I did that edging, and now I can pull the cardigan closed over my bust and not have the color changing bits next to the raglan seams go all wonky.

Now I just need to find somewhere that sells toggles. I was at Jo-Ann's because I needed a new Tunisian crochet hook for my washcloths/handtowels project and looked quickly for toggles, but could not find them. I think AC Moore may have them as I recall them having a macrame section, and it might be there. Who knows? I certainly don't.

I found that spit-splicing when you've recently put on lotion actually helps the fibers to join faster. Kinda gross when doing it, but there you are. I finished the collar, the last bit of knitting, while going out to dinner with friends. Actually, I was binding off when we pulled in, so bound off the last fifteen stitches at the table, cut the yarn, realized I neglected to bring a crochet hook to hide the end of the yarn, and wore it anyway. I like it a lot! The collar needs to be blocked a bit though; the ribbing needs to be more relaxed as right now it just all bunches up in the back. Easily fixable. So all that needs to be done is weaving in that last end (I did all the others in my break from the endless ribbing), adding toggles and blocking the collar. And then I have a sweater, yay!!!

It Seamed Like A Good Idea...

2011-11-08T11:11:00.000+09:00

Another one from cleaning out the drafts, this one was from before Japan even, May of 2007!

Yup, I've been seaming. And honestly, it ain't so bad! In fact, I'm rather happy with my seams. Not so happy that each piece didn't quite have the same number of rows, but apparently I was angry working on the right front piece and my tension was tighter.

Here is my beautiful seaming job:

I'm just so freaking happy with it and proud of myself for getting it so nice (on my first try, no less) that I was dancing around. Lee was even impressed.

Here's a half-done shot:

I'm just so freaking happy with this thing! Though I tried it on when it was half done, and it seems as though the front is a bit more open than I'd like it to be. Gotta finish to be sure, but I do believe that it is a bit snugger in the chest area than desired. Then I gotta figure out what to do for closures...

Extra Panels in Blanket of Awesome

2011-11-07T09:55:00.000+09:00

I got a comment on my original post regarding the extra panels, and realized that as a reader of blogs, I would find the process of adding to the original design interesting, so as a writer, should probably write about that!

The original blanket is meant to be more of a lap blanket, perfect for keeping on the couch. I wanted a blanket that could be used on a queen- or king-sized bed. This required lengthening the blanket in all dimensions. Making it longer was easy, just knit more repeats until it's as long as desired, roughly 80". I did that for the three original pieces, and then had to figure out how to make it wider. Some people also widened theirs, knitting the edges or inner piece again. I didn't like that solution. Instead, I wanted to make something that looked like it could have been part of the original pattern, if the pattern were originally made for a queen-sized bed. I tend to be better at taking something that exists and improving it (changing the decreases, ways things are attached, small technical details) rather than coming up with something 100% from scratch, so a knitting designer I am not. However, I think this modification turned out well!

In the original panels, the main panel is a nice mix of a lot of cables:

The side panels have one main cable, a lot of background stitches, and a nice border on either end, separating the panels. The edging braid is repeated in the last two pieces knit for the blanket, a top and bottom border as well:

I knew I needed roughly the equivalent of two more edge panels to bring the blanket to the size I wanted. I decided I liked the outside panels as-is so I wanted to add something in between the two original panels, something with some background stitching (the trinity stitch on either side of the main cable in that second picture) and some cables. I wanted the panel with many cables to fade into a panel of few cables to fade into the panel of one cable. I also wanted to keep the border braid in between each panel; the outside panels had one on either side so I would just need one on the side closest to the center in the new panels. Thus far, the general stitch count was set (about as many as the edge panels, give or take a few to make the patterns work), two motifs (more than zero trinity stitch, one braid on the edge by the center panel), and I knew that there would be more than one cable but less than three.

Both original panels have a fairly intricate and large cable down the center. Since I was trying to match them, I decided I should have a large-ish cable down the center, with trinity stitch on either side. I didn't want any stretch of trinity stitch as large as the stretches on the end, in keeping with the fading from many cables to a lot of background. I'd knit Valencia from Gardiner Yarn Works somewhat recently, and really, really, really liked the front cable motif. It fit the general cable requirements, fancy, large-ish, so I chose that one as my main cable:

Ooh la la, I know!

I also needed another smaller cable to break up the trinity stitch on either side of the main cable for this panel, so I chose a little fun one that I think I used somewhere sometime but I don't remember anymore because this was over a year ago. For that one, I decided how much of the trinity stitch I wanted on either side (one repeat on one side, two on the other, because it worked out nicely that way and you really can't do half-repeats) and then figured out roughly what size cable I needed to fill the rest of the space. I recall looking online, but am not sure where exactly I got that little cable from. Either way, it fit, I love it, and here's the panel I ended up with, shown off in blocked and unblocked format:

I love this blanket, love how well the panel I came up with works with it, and really truly am planning to knit it again, even if it was months and months and months of knitting. It ended up being late, actually, and I was knitting it in the car on the way to the wedding, frantically trying to finish the borders so I could give it to them there:

Had I not knit one of the borders 10" too far, it would have been fine, but I'm almost happier I didn't finish, because then I was able to give it one final block and take finished pictures of it!

As Promised

2011-11-06T11:33:00.000+09:00

Here's a final post for my Mystery Stole III, something that gets A LOT of use! I love this thing, I wear it as a scarf in the winter and give it a good wet block whenever I want to wear it out as a shawl. I never really got good pictures of it or did a final post showing it off, so I pulled out the camera and the shawl and got ~~some~~ a ~~good~~ shots:

The beads were originally silver, but I suppose when you buy beads from a big-box craft store for $1, you can't complain too hard when the silver wears off! At least they're clear underneath, so still work well for the shawl. Not as nice as the silver was originally against the black, but not bad.

Pattern: Swan Lake/ Mystery Stole III (Rav)
Yarn: Knit Picks Bare, dyed black

Needles: US3/3.25mm
Timeframe: July 2007 - January 2008
Mods: None

Now, knowing more about lace (this was my first major project), I'd use larger needles by a size or two. This one came out much smaller than anticipated, and while I love the design, would much prefer a larger, more open piece!

Hemlock Ring from Way Back

2011-11-05T11:25:00.000+09:00

Along with that Blocking Part III post, I never did a final post for the other two projects that I blocked in that session. I never even took better pictures of them after blocking! To rectify that, here's an FO post and usage recap for the Hemlock Ring.

It's made from acrylic, so it was never going to keep its shape well since I didn't melt it into place well enough. I left this one with my mom and it's a lap blanket kept on the couch and I believe mostly used by the dogs at this point. Being in Japan, I can't get a better picture of it, but that's all right. My grandfather absolutely loves his, the first one I made, and keeps it by his chair in the winter for constant use. It's always gratifying when the objects you make are actually used by the people you make them for. I'd love to knit my grandfather a sweater, I just need to make the sweaters I have stash for first and get a bit better at understanding shaping and construction. The blanket:

Pattern: Hemlock Ring Blanket (Rav)
Yarn: Lion Brand Vanna's Choice, 4 skeins of Taupe

Needles: US10/6.0mm
Timeframe: November 2007 - January 2008
Mods: None

I really liked this yarn for an acrylic and would use it again anywhere that shaping or holding its shape (like lace) wasn't an issue. A plain blanket, a stockinette sweater, a scarf, they would all be great in this yarn if you wanted an easy care, low-cost acrylic. Not the best for this pattern though and I would definitely recommend wool if you're thinking of knitting it!

Blocking Part III, or I Knit THAT?!?!

2011-11-04T11:08:00.000+09:00

Here's a post from waaaaaaaaay back that is the final post of a series. I also apparently never did a final project post for this project or probably the other two associated with it, so here you go!

As you'll recall from my last post the Aaaargh-yle socks did not require massive blocking. As I said, I "Laid them into place, made sure the toe was rounded correctly, and left them to dry"... for three days. Three days these things took! Granted, it was four strands of yarn at the skulls it had to dry through, but still...

They are now with their intended recipient, and I will show the blocking picture again, since there isn't really a difference between seeing them on the blanket and seeing them anywhere else.

Yarn: Was supposed to be four colors of KnitPicks Essential, but that yarn order never made it, which is a good part of the problem of why it's not done for Christmas. (The other part is that it takes like 20 - 25 hours to make one of these instead of the 10 - 15 I was estimating. Whoops.)
I also used Wildfoote for the white and gray and Lang Jawoll for the brown. The Jawoll is slightly thinner than the other two which are about the same thickness, but a knitter's gotta do what a knitter's gotta do, and it's not really noticeable.

Needles: US1.5/2.5mm KnitPicks 6" metal DPNs from the set of six.

Pattern: Adaptation of others. 82 stitches for the leg, 1" 2x2 cuff and then the argyle pattern, all knit flat and adapted from the Aaargh-yle .pdf and the 82 st chart found at MothHeaven. Instead of continuing the pattern down the foot like a traditional argyle, I made the foot all black for ease of knitting and fewer seams. Standard heel flap (sl1, k1 row, *sl1, p1* next row) with gusset and a French toe.

Next up, MS3! I am so amazingly happy with this. While it's more of a stole-ette, it's perfect for going just over the shoulders in something strappy. I am so amazed at how well it came out after blocking, every time I walk near it I have to pick it up and start dancing with it.

Going Rogue

2011-11-03T11:51:00.000+09:00

Or at least, finally posting about finishing this well-worn sweater!

Pattern: Rogue (Rav)
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, Fern

Needles: US7/4.5mm and 8/5.0mm
Timeframe: March 9, 2008 - February 14, 2009
Mods: I lengthened it by an inch.

Problems: I should have lengthened the body by another inch or two and I didn't start the pocket correctly, so it doesn't look quite right. There was also a LOT of lag time in between the start and finish of this one!

I wear it all the time, and I love it so much! The only real problem with the wear is that it pills easily. This would probably not be a problem if it were knit in a tighter gauge, but I like the gauge and just need to go over it more often than I do with a de-pilling device. Love the cable details, it was really an easy sweater, it just needs to be longer to look good on my torso!

The main picture is from our trip to Taiwan, and is actually a pretty good photo so I'll just use it rather than having this post sit in my drafts forever waiting for me to pull out the sweater and the camera at the same time on a day where the lighting is good enough to get a better finished picture.

Blanket of Awesome

2011-11-02T11:24:00.000+09:00

This blanket has got to be the hardest, most rewarding piece I've ever made and gifted. Possibly second to the Sierpinski Carpet blanket, but they're close. It's lovely, awesome, amazing, took ever-so-many hours and then some, and came out absolutely gorgeous. I will likely make another one for one other friend's wedding, if she gets married someday, and may someday make one for me as well. I loved the yarn I used, however, and getting more of that, especially at the price I got it at, would be difficult. This is one yarn that, if I do manage to find it again, would buy 120 more skeins in a heartbeat for two more blankets. This was the absolute perfect marriage of yarn and pattern, and for the amount of yarn required, highly inexpensive!

This was for a friend's wedding in August (of 2009). I spent most of my vacation in July and a good portion of the first part of my travels in the US working on it. The edging took a heck of a lot more time than I'd've thought, considering how long everything else took! It may have also been because I'd seamed all the blocked panels and was thoroughly finished with working on the huge, warm pile of wool in my lap in August, and so was slower than I could/should have been.

I cannot describe my love for this yarn enough. It is so warm but light and gives great cable definition with a soft halo from the cashmere content, it is thin yet does what it needs to, and is just perfect all around. This amazing wool/cashmere yarn was on sale when I got it for a mere $2/skein. Yes, $2/skein at a New Year's sale in Tokyo. Well, $20 for a bag of 10 skeins. I estimated 60 skeins for the project, and used 54, absolutely perfect. Had I realized how amazing this stuff was, yes, I would have spend $500 right then and there and gotten enough for two blankets in white and one in charcoal, probably, and maybe even an extra blanket's worth, just in case.

Pattern: Burridge Lake Aran Afghan (Rav)
Yarn: Cashmere Wool Nature, 53.5 skeins

Needles: US7/4.5mm
Timeframe: February 1 - August 15, 2010
Mods: Some. I wanted a queen-sized bedspread, so I lengthened the panels (22 repeats for Panel B and 33 for the side panels). I also designed additional panels to complete the bedspread, which I am planning to write up nicely and offer for anyone else who wants to do the same. I think the new panels complement the rest of the amazing design well.

Love, love, love the way this turned out. Absolutely love it.

October Totals

2011-11-01T14:06:00.000+09:00

It's November now, solidly Fall. Time to be wearing those cute sweaters that are still yarn in my stash! Oh well - I did do a lot of Christmas knitting (and a bit of yarn acquisition), so with a last-minute blocking session finishing 8 projects on the 31st, I managed to barely continue the downward trend. By 11 yards. First is without the fun yarn (Wollmeise/Noro), and the jump up counts the incoming yarn:

This month I also finished off three nailpolishes. I haven't been posting, but I have still been polishing, and I finished off the base coat, Cover Girl's Hue Thrill Me, and L'Oreal's Spirited Plum, though I have a second bottle of that. I should buy another OPI base, but I probably won't until I'm back in the US again.

About that yarn acquisition - I received my skein of Wollmeise this month for finishing the Loopy Ewe Summer Camp Projects and I found some Noro Kureyon at the yarn store while buying more DMC Senso for potholders, so got enough of that for a Lanesplitter. The Christmas yarns I bought, while adding to the total, are mostly used or at least, started at this point. I finally went through and added all the Senso given to me by a friend before she left Japan in July; with the potholders I decided they were now my stash rather than in the free yarn for others pile. Nine new balls (not all 100% though) plus the three I bought to supplement what I had, and I am nearing 40 miles of yarn. Again. Still. Forever. Probably actually over 40 miles due to the secret yarn I can't add and the no-label laceweight I have that I haven't tried to weigh/measure. Sigh. First world problem - I'm complaining about having too much nice yarn. Hey look, yarn!

The color on the Wollmeise is really not so good - it's more of a purple and puce, and I think it'll look awesome in...something. No idea what. It's on the shelf for now. I've been in love with the Lanesplitter skirt since I saw it and finally my local store stocked Noro. Well, semi-local, my really local store had none. Amazing how difficult it is to find one of the major Japanese yarns that nearly everyone knows in the US around here. I finally got some, figuring that I should have some kind of very Japanese yarn souvenir from my three and a half years of living in Japan. Yes, they are all the same dye lot, they just start at different areas of the skein. Can't wait to see how the colors play together!

Third Scarf

2011-10-31T13:52:00.000+09:00

We've got the Snowflake Scarf, the Dark Mark Scarf, an in-progress UB Scarf, and here's the finished penguin scarf:

Pattern: Linux Illusion Scarf (Ravelry)

Yarn: Anny Blatt Princess Anny, 3 skeins of each (pink and black)

Needles: US4/3.5mm

Timeframe: June 1 - September 17

Mods: Some. Cast on/Bind off to match sides, used instructions from the two-row Noro scarf slipping the first and last stitch of every second row to make a nice edge. Did the penguin on both ends.

Problems: None really, though I incorrectly reversed the pattern so it's the same penguin rather than mirrored penguins. Oh well, no big deal!

I discussed the scarf a bit here, so I won't get into it too much. This one is wide and long, and I hope my sister likes it! One scarf left, as well as a few other illusion pieces before I'm finished with the Christmas knits.

Mymymymyy Corona

2011-10-30T14:13:00.000+09:00

That song gets stuck in my head every single time I thought about or picked up this project. I used just under four skeins of Cascade 220, making it just barely count for the Loopy Ewe project. To count, it needed to be 800 yards or more, and I made it. I think that it would have looked better in a larger size for the body up through the "v", but I love how the arms fit, the collar works very well, and I absolutely adore the sleeves and everything about it from the "v" up. I don't always like how raglan sleeves look and fit, but these are absolutely perfect and I think I will use this as a raglan example in the future. Love it!

I'm not in love with either the color or the feel of the yarn, but I'm not all that upset either. It will be a good sweater for fall and unless I finish another sweater soon, people may get sick of seeing me in it!

Pattern: My Corona (Ravelry)

Yarn: Cascade 220 in 7178 Blue Velvet

Needles: US8/5.0mm

Timeframe: August 16 - 31, 2011

Mods: Lengthened the sleeves, raised the collar, changed the hood into a complete collar, made the increases/decreases matching, more details here.

Problems: Nothing really, just wish I'd've knit the lower body a bit larger than I did. Though if I had and kept the larger size through the top, I wouldn't be as happy with the collar and shoulders, so I can't complain too much!

Oops

2011-10-23T15:19:00.000+09:00

I'm knitting potholders. I knit one for a housewarming party, another for a different friend, and I'm planning to knit a total of five for Christmas gifts. To make these, you make two centers, in my case, each in a different color, and instead of breaking the yarn for the back one, use it to connect the two sides along the edges, in along the "petals", and around the center. This only works if you have the same number of petals for both pieces:

If the back side has 13 petals and the front side has the correct 14 petals, you are screwed. Even more so if you don't realize this fact until you get down to the last petal or two. As the Yarn Harlot says, more experienced knitters don't make fewer mistakes, they just make larger mistakes faster. I've done eight of these, stopped counting petals after the first one or two, and obviously, that was a mistake.

Now this potholder will be going into time out while I make the yellow pieces for another two potholders, and then I'll come back to fix it. Grumblegrumblegrumble. I was hoping to have all of Lee's family's Christmas knitting done by his birthday on Friday, but with this potholder setback, that may or may not happen. Grrrrr, stupid potholder and stupid crocheter for not counting the stupid number of petals on the stupid blue one!

Walking and Knitting

2011-10-19T20:57:00.001+09:00

Still working on the Christmas presents. Still wanting to knit things that are not Christmas presents. Sigh.

Really, it's not that bad. I'm loving one of the illusion knits I'm working on, the keychains are quick and adorable, and I just started a baby sweater that is flying off the needles. It's just the scarf that is, like many scarves, long and boring, and it has a pattern that is just complex enough to have me checking the pattern all the time so it's not mindless, and just boring enough that the fact that I have to look at the pattern annoys me. It has been my carry-along project, but I've been not really knitting on it, just carrying it around recently due to project boredom:

Want to make people look at you like you're crazy? Knit a scarf like this one that is ostensibly a simple striped pattern, and then go to check the pattern and count stitches. I found the confusion to be quite amusing! It's another illusion scarf, the last of four I'm knitting for Christmas, and rather than motoring through because the end (of the scarves at least) is in sight, I'm just about halfway done and dawdling.

In order to make better progress on the Christmas front, I've switched up to a nice little DK weight baby sweater for my nephew, and it's really coming along quickly:

One sleeve done (instead of swatching, I start the sleeve and rip it out if it isn't working), and the body over 2" so far. That's really good because I had the sleeve plus the first row of the body done this morning and only worked on it while walking around today. Hopefully the quick sweater will give me the boost I need to enjoy working on the scarf again, or at least get me motivated to finish it!

A note on the bags - a supermarket just opened near us and gave away these cute little bags for their opening weekend. I got two, and love how they have a little pocket that's perfect for my iPod and fit a carry-along knitting project nicely. My typical bag is suffering from a broken zipper pull, so these bags have come in handy. They say "refill our green earth" and I'm not exactly sure what they're going for there, but I do like the bags!

Distracted Knitting

2011-10-11T18:58:00.003+09:00

I keep looking at all my other yarns and wanting to knit things that I should not knit until the Christmas things are done. Getting things done early is a good thing! Just because it's not yet Christmas time doesn't mean I should hold off on that knitting! In fact, if I finish the Christmas stuff, I can cast on ALL THE THINGS and knit whatever the heck I want for however long I want! Or so I keep telling myself, as I continue to look over at the pile of yarns already paired with season-appropriate patterns. Sigh.

Since I can't seem to buckle down and just FINISH STUFF ALREADY, even the small crochet things I'm mostly done with, I decided to just go ahead and cast on all of the Christmas things I have open needles for. This way I can switch up to a different pattern if I'm bored or restless but am still moving forward on deadline crafting. So many things I want to knit, so little time to do so!

And completely apropos to this post, I started it a week ago and didn't post it because I wanted to get some pictures, but never did. I am now on a finishing jag, which started with this skirt:

Made from a recycled Happi Coat, from a kimono recycle shop/secondhand store. Today, I'll be finishing some small-ish things, though most of the things on the needles are not in that category. Just the crochet/sewing stuff. In fact, judging by the progress I've been making with one of the Christmas presents, I am now somewhat worried that I either won't have enough yarn to finish or I won't finish them all for Christmas, and I was doing fairly well on that front! Ah well, I'll just keep going and see where that gets me.

Love this skirt!

September

2011-10-02T13:25:00.001+09:00

Why yes, it has been a bit since I've last posted. I had friends over, work stuff, and just haven't photographed things much, though I have been burning through some Christmas knitting. I may, just may, have all of the Christmas gifts ready to go in time to be shipped back to the US for Christmas rather than New Year's or later! Amazing!

Of course, I finished knitting a pair of socks on October 1, rather than during September, but I still have a downward trend going on and now a nice head start on a downward trend for October too with that pair done. See:

I am itching to knit a couple of sweaters and sweater vests for myself. Christmas first, then selfish knitting!

Blahhh

2011-09-17T21:10:00.001+09:00

I seem to be lacking the ability to do those last little finishing touches that actually complete a project. Two projects have been sitting around since August just needing to be washed, joined recently by a third. Three shirts just need buttons, though I put them on one this morning to wear to work. And of course, instead of finishing up that stuff or sewing up the fabric that's been cut already, I start something completely new, thinking it would be a fast finish. Which it will be, a simple skirt with only five pieces, one of which is interfacing, but then it was time for dinner and not too long after that, bed, so it's still sitting on the sewing table rather than in my closet. It will look amazing with a shirt that is still in uncut fabric form, waiting for its turn for the cutting board. Sigh. I'd better get on that!

I also managed to destroy a brand-new worn only once shirt because apparently I did not pre-wash the fabric and it shrunk. I can still wear it, but now it's a belly shirt. Which I should probably not wear. Wharrrrrrrgarble!

Biscuit Blanket (with Bread) and a Topflappen

2011-09-04T17:31:00.000+09:00

I made this awhile back, for a Thanksgiving party, and never actually photographed it in use. It's much prettier when used rather than lying flat like a sad little blanket. I had a housewarming party to go to and decided to make a walnut bread (Joy of Cooking's Nut Bread) and this was the perfect way to transport it. I even managed to remember to take pictures of it before I left!

Pattern: Biscuit Blanket (Ravelry)

Yarn: Bernat Handicrafter Cotton Naturals

Needles: US7/4.5mm

Timeframe: November 8 - December 12, 2010

Mods: None - nice pattern!

Problems: None!

In addition to finally photographing the Biscuit Blanket, I made a potholder (Topflappen in German) as a housewarming gift. Originally, I had wanted to do two, using the same colors but switching the main and contrast colors, but ran out of time when I had one center bit of each color done. They are small and quick projects, but very few projects are small and quick enough to start the project, experiment with it, rip one mostly-finished center, and then re-do on the same day, especially with the number of times I had to rip back because I missed an increase on the row below or somesuch. I don't crochet all that often. I will be making a few of these for Christmas, so it was a good excuse to test out the pattern and use up some available yarn. When friends left Japan this past summer, I was given a pile of yarn including a bunch of DMC Senso. I haven't put it into my stash because some are partially used and they have large cardboard bobbins in the middle making it difficult to weigh how much yarn there is, but they are great for potholders! I did a bit of Facebook snooping to see what colors could match my friend's kitchen, and upon finding a couple of kitchen implements in lime green, decided that of my available colors, orange and green should work:

Pattern: Gehaekelte Topflappen (Rav)
Yarn: DMC Senso Microfiber Cotton

Hook: 3.25mm/USD
Timeframe: September 3, 2011.
Mods: I made a 14 petal flower and went around the center with the contrast color too.
Problems: Not really problems so much as figuring out which translations/modifications I wanted to use! Final pattern I used is here.

September 1

2011-09-01T07:38:00.002+09:00

No polish today because I like the gold and am being lazy.

That is in fact a downward slope there! I changed to straight, rather than smoothed lines, to get a better idea of when it goes up and down rather than inflection points at odd places. I was worried, but a late-night finish to the Penguin Scarf did allow for another month of negative slope - that's every month since March, though some more than others!

Right now I have two single socks whose yarn is still in the count. Those will be easy finishes for a nice chunk of negative yarn, but I am not touching those until at least a couple more Christmas presents are done! That huge jump up, the last time my numbers went up? That was the Christmas KnitPicks order. A large percentage of that yarn still needs to be knit. It's September, time to focus on that!

Another One

2011-08-31T19:48:00.005+09:00

Yay gold:

I'm very nearly done with the Penguin Scarf:

The original scarf is full of geekery, with Tux on one side and the word Linux on the other. I'm making it for my sister who likes penguins, since there were no other penguin patterns and I did not want to make my own. I decided to put a penguin on either end, mirrored. I marked where the first skeins ended, so I could use up the yarn as completely as possible, and that is working nicely. I also, in order to get the mirrored look, read the chart from one direction for one side and the other direction for the second penguin. Obviously the way to do it, right?

Wrong. I knit from the bottom up the first time, and instead of knitting two sides and grafting, I knit from the top down on the other side. If I'd've knit the chart in the same direction both times (i.e. left to right), that would have given me the desired mirrored penguins. Instead I've got two penguins facing the same way, and I just hope she's not as picky about things as I am because I am not going back to fix this one!

It's that time of year again...

2011-08-31T07:47:00.000+09:00

Class is in session!

That is all.

Corona Progress

2011-08-28T14:05:00.000+09:00

There's been a lot! This sweater has gone quite quickly so far, especially since the sleeves and body 'til now were great travel pieces and I've been doing a lot of out and about bus rides and such things. Also knitting while walking around UNESCO tourist sites:

Yup, that's the yarn around my arm (I didn't wind it into a ball) and the look on my face is me dropping a stitch while posing for the camera. D'oh!

At this point, the sleeves are attached to the body, so it's no longer a travel piece. Back to the penguin scarf for traveling, and hopefully I'll finish up the sweater yoke and collar soon! I'm really happy with the fit and length of the sleeves; this is the first time I've really made modifications to a garment, and I love how the sleeves came out. It's the little things. I'm not so happy with the fit of the hips. I didn't check the pattern schematic, I just cast on based on bust size, which was how the pattern was sized. It's supposed to be a tight-fitting sweater with 5" of negative ease, but the hips on the schematic are about 10" smaller than my hips. At least it's ribbed, but the ribbing is definitely stretched to the limit! I think it's not problematic enough to rip and re-do; while I might like it a bit looser, I don't hate it as-is and I'll just take that as a learning experience. I'm also not loving the yarn, at least not as an against the skin yarn. If the yarn were a better quality, I'd probably re-do it so I was really happy with it, but since it's not likely to be a favorite, I'll just let it be. Lovely color and I like the pattern and how it's turning out, I'm just not loving Cascade 220 and may not buy it again, at least not for against the skin garments. I think I prefer Patons Classic as my go-to widely available and relatively inexpensive workhorse yarn, though I'm sure I'll have more of an opinion when I've made the vest out of Patons that's next in my queue.

Camp Loopy Project 3 - Field Day!

2011-08-22T16:57:00.037+09:00

For the final project of Camp Loopy, you have to use at least 800 yards of yarn. I used about that much on my last project, grumble grumble, but this does give me a good excuse to knit a large-ish project from my queue! I decided that I wanted to keep it close to the 800 yard limit, because, well, summer's over at the end of August, I have to write exams for two classes, prepare and teach four two-hour classes, create a presentation for a conference, go to said (in-Japan) conference and present, and work on grad school/fellowship applications in that time. An intricate lace piece, clothing in any weight smaller than worsted, or (another) pair of knee-high socks are just not what I need on my plate right now. The same could be said of any new project, with my WIP count creeping ever closer to 20, but I've done the first two so just need one more to actually finish a knitting project goal/deadline on time and get the prize. Crap, I think I just jinxed myself.

Sticking to the not-much-more-than-800-yards rule, I chose to knit Corona (Ravelry), using Cascade 220 in Stratosphere. There were only three skeins of that color left when I ordered, so I changed to Blue Velvet. I chose this pattern because it's mostly simple, in the round, ribbing and stockinette, with a lovely cable panel along the collar that I will modify to be a full collar rather than a hood. I'm also going to lengthen the sleeves and keep the start of the collar high to turn this into a nicer sweater that I will be able to wear in an office setting rather than a spiffy hoodie.

I've cast on, and have a summer open campus where I won't have much to do, and may be able to get a sleeve done while the students and parents are in informational sessions. Really, I should have gotten one more skein of yarn to be sure that I'll have enough, but I should be okay with cutting out the hood. I hope.

Wish me luck!

Camp Loopy Project 2 - Hiking in the Mountains

2011-08-19T16:12:00.011+09:00

Finished and Not Finished. This project's theme was warm accessories for hiking in the mountains, specifically patterns with cables, either mittens, gloves, or socks. I chose socks, if you'll recall. I then had a bit of a problem. After realizing the first sock was not working, I put it on a stitch holder and started the second sock, size large, with a size small-plus-4-stitches foot. I should have added another inch by using the 3-stitch bars between the cables modification used to make the size medium, but then I'd've had to deal with figuring out where the decreases need to go to flow into the foot correctly, and that was just more work than I wanted to deal with. At 13", it's still a bit tighter than it should be, because with the cables on the diagonal, there is not much give, but it fits better than the 12" and doesn't look like it's obviously wrong.

I have finished off both socks at this point, for the Loopy Ewe Summer Camp, but I am going to rip back and re-knit the smaller sock to match the larger one. It's going in the WIP pile for the time being, and I probably won't get around to touching it again until after all the Christmas presents are done. Sigh. I love the color and how they look, I just wish I'd re-printed the pattern in the larger size when I first thought I might need to do that! Knitting intuition, it seems I have it but don't listen. Still. Finished two-sock pictures, but no final details because, well, it's not actually finished yet! This brings me up to three socks and one glove that are sitting pair-less in my WIP basket. Not only do I not have an excellent new pair of socks, I also have an increasing yarn count this month because this is not a finished project. Very, very sad indeed!

Camp Loopy Project 1 - Campfire Nights

2011-08-16T16:12:00.004+09:00

For this one, the rules were a two-color shawl, scarf, or wrap of some sort to keep you warm while sitting around the campfire on the cooler summer evenings. For these projects, if you bought all your yarn from The Loopy Ewe, you would win some Wollmeise at the end, so I decided to jump on the bandwagon. I limited myself to things that were already in my Ravelry queue (not very limiting, over 700 patterns right now) that I did not already have yarn for. This first project took only two 50-gram skeins of sock yarn, enough for a pair of socks, and was perfect for the conference I had in Denmark:

A nice, quick, easy project. I was disappointed in the yarn somewhat, as the ball I got was absolutely gorgeous on the outside, but only had that gorgeous stretch of colors on the outside of the ball. Nowhere else was there quite the same purple color. I do like the finished product anyway, but would have liked a colorway that was more like what I thought it'd be rather than the heavily green stripes I got. The scarf did serve its purpose quite well on a hiking trip up a local mountain:

This is a cute little triangular shawl and was really easy to work on without looking at it - which means I have two places where I didn't slip the colored stitch correctly. Whoops! Well, I won't be entering it in a fair and the only person who will notice will be me (and you if you remember and try to spot the errors) so I'm not all that fussed.

Pattern: Aham's Scarf

Yarn: Jojoland Melody Superwash in Amethyst Emerald and The Loopy Ewe Solid Series in Black, one skein of each

Needles: US3/3.25mm

Timeframe: June 20 - 30, 2011

Mods: Only in the edging. Did the edging in a different manner based on available yarn and used M1L/M1R for the increases there. Go here for additional edging info if desired. I kind of wish I'd done the solid increases for the entire scarf, at least for the center increases, but no real issues there. It's only obvious when it was laid out to block, not so much when scrunched up in use.

Problems: No real problems, just the couple of non-slipped stitches that were supposed to be slipped.

See the gorgeous dark purple to light purple band along the outside near the edging? Yeah, that's what I thought it would be more like, with just a little bit of green peeking through. Obviously not. It's grown on me though and now I'm really happy with it!

A Picture

2011-08-09T13:19:00.003+09:00

Of my interchangeable needle set:

Why, you may ask? Because, dear reader, this is the first time probably since I bought it that everything is in its place. All of the needles are there. All of the cords. Nothing is sitting in a different project, just waiting to be picked up again.

Not that I don't have any more projects that are waiting to be picked up again - they're just on different needles/hooks/stitch holders/what-have-you.

Of course, this won't last for long. It will last until approximately August 15, when I can cast on for Camp Loopy Project III - Field Day. Maybe August 19, depending on when exactly we get back from our trip and if my yarn comes in before or, more likely, after we leave.

I will save this picture for posterity - my needle case can in fact actually be full again!

Japanese Sweets (Wagashi) Making

2011-08-06T11:52:00.001+09:00

I can't exactly call these candy, but I went to a workshop on how to make Japanese sweets from bean paste. Yup, bean paste. The flavor takes a bit of getting used to, but now I kind of like the creamy sweetness once or twice a year, as long as there's some really bitter Matcha, Japanese powdered green tea, to go with it. It is a very fall thing for me now, and one of the things I think I'll miss from Japan. I'll probably be able to find the sweets and tea powder in the US, or make some bean paste from scratch if I really wanted some, which is good.

Anyway, on to the sweets! No pictures of the actual process, because this stuff is like sticky Play-Doh, and bean paste covered hands just don't mix with cameras well. Basically, you take the more savory center bit, typically one large chunk of red bean paste, roll it into a ball, and then take the colored, sweeter pastes, cover the center with them, and make any designs you want. We made three different sweets, and it really was just a chance to play with edible Play-Doh for grown-ups. I will have to keep this in mind as a good Girl-Scout-type future activity, with cultural, edible, and creative components. My finished sweets:

For this one, when we had finished covering the inner bit with the green and white outer stuff, we wrapped it up in a clean cloth to create the wrinkled outer shell.

This one is a peach. Or at least, it's supposed to be. I'm not sure if the leaf is bean paste too or not, but it was edible!

For this one, the outer shell is something similar to the leaf from the peach, a more solid jelly-like thing. You break up the large square into small strips using a strainer, and then just pile it around the red bean paste ball.

Of course, they look nothing like professional sweets, and if you want to see a gorgeous sampling of them, search for "Wagashi", or go here.

Admitting it....

2011-08-04T12:12:00.000+09:00

This sock, it is not working:

Gorgeous, yes. I love the yarn, it's Cascade Heritage Silk. However, I am definitely knitting the wrong size. I'm knitting the Medium, for a 12" calf circumference, and my calves are not 12". I like a bit of negative ease, but this is too much. It technically fits, but is definitely stretched and doesn't like going over my heel much due to the cables on the diagonal.

Of course, I realized this at the beginning - I chose medium because it fit my food, but what I should have done was knit the large calf and decreased to a medium foot. Instead of being smart and re-printing the correct pages at the outset when I realized it, but I didn't and thought it might fit anyway. Technically it does. Technically.

Now it's on a stitch holder, I'm not ripping back yet because it's for the Loopy Ewe Summer Camp. Instead, I'll knit the other one on the other skein in the correct size, see how much time I have left, and decide if I finish the sock to finish the project on time and rip and re-knit later, or if I have enough time to re-do it before the deadline. Sigh.

Things I Haven't Photographed

2011-08-03T13:43:00.001+09:00

The sidebar is filling with finished projects. Some have been photographed and not talked about, some have not been photographed, and some have been given away and not photographed.

The two that I may or may not ever be able to photograph are the Crane Stamp, a stamp I made for my mom and never stamped in my book o'stamps, and the Ski Sweater that she bound off when leaving because it is cursed but finally finished!

Things I can take pictures of, but haven't yet:
All of the sewing
Final pictures of the framed Cinderella's Castle cross stitch
Red Vest
Both hats and both masks
Biscuit Blanket
Unders
Millicents (have pictures, need better ones that don't get favorited by fetishists on Flickr)
Blaze (again, should get better pictures)
Lace Rib Raglan yarn
Bike Ear Warmers

Things with photos but not yet blogged:
Burridge Lake Aran Afghan
Christmas Knotty Gloves
Rogue
Cable Braided Necklace
Camp Loopy Campfire Nights
Requested Thuja
Black Thuja
Sierpinski Carpet Blanket

For now, I will leave you with a picture of the sunrise from a recent hiking trip:

July

2011-08-01T13:33:00.001+09:00

Hey! Hey look!

I even bought two skeins of sock yarn this month for Camp Loopy!

Both the blanket and the sweater were in fact finished as anticipated, though the recipient ended up finishing the sweater. I felt bad about that, but it was either she finished the bind off on the way to the airport or I sent it home later! It's nice to have all of that finished and off to where it's supposed to be. I still have 38 miles of yarn though, so more knitting is required!

Summertiiiiiiime!

2011-07-15T22:03:00.000+09:00

I have the center of the blanket finished. 1215 stitches picked up around the edges. Luckily my interchangeable needle set, with the three longest cords connected, can fit all the stitches. Now I'm adding a simple stockinette border, probably 9 rows, and then it will be done. Or at least, the knitting will be done.

The sweater is going, though I had to steal the cord from that to make the border of the blanket. As long as the blanket is all knitted and the sweater has the sleeves attached, I will have no problem sending both home with my mom, who arrives in just a few days. I also have about ten hours of train/bus travel time before she gets here with my Loopy Ewe yarn, so I should be able to make it!

Camp Loopy Project Two

2011-07-08T21:57:00.020+09:00

So. Camp Loopy, Project Two, "Hiking in the Mountains". Socks or gloves. I love socks, and gloves take me awhile, so I chose socks. They have to have cables - okay, can do. I love cables. I checked my Ravelry queue because it has a handful of cabled sock patterns. A few of them I already have yarn for, so they don't count, at least not if I want the final "prize", and many of the rest are full of twisted stitches and intricate cables, which look awesome but tend to take some time. I also didn't want anything too easy, or something that technically used cables but not traditional cables like Denature, and I was staying away from kilt hose or really any longer sock. After combing the queue (but not searching all of Ravelry, that would be a rabbit hole I do not want to jump down), I decided on Treetop Socks. These are knee-highs. What was I thinking? I will get the yarn on the 19th, since I'm sending it to my mom to save on shipping, and have until the 15th of August to knit up a full pair of knee-highs, while entertaining my mom and then camping in Hokkaido. A bit of travel time, but a pair of knee-high socks...? Difficult, but do-able. With my luck I'll finish the socks at the last minute but have no way to post my finished pictures!

Like this one, flowers:

What I should have done, rather than deciding to work on knee-high cabled socks, was to have checked through the pattern books I own, since I own both of Cookie A.'s books. I did not queue the patterns I want to knit from those books since I own them, but forgot about it. There are some awesome socks with cables, like Stricken or Kristi. Stricken would have been perfect, gorgeous socks, some awesome intricate details, but not too much, and lots of stockinette in between. Yes, that would have been a great sock to knit for this.

Flowers closeup:

Unfortunately, I already ordered two skeins of Cascade Heritage Silk, in Purple Hyacinth. Can't wait, will love the finished socks to death I'm sure, but I'm not positive that I'll finish them on time, at least not without really trying. I do have quite a few hours on some trains and planes coming up...and will hopefully have everything else done that should be done before getting the yarn...maybe I'll make it?