My List

So I realized that I tend to add new projects to the top of my list, not the bottom, on my blog. It is much the same in real life. I get so excited starting something new. And then the shiny wears off when I realize it's going to take me HOW LONG!?!?!? to finish it. Based on my track record, I really am too much of an instant gratification person to knit. I mean, I love it and all, and I have never not finished something I've begun (even though the Hobbit took me years of picking it up and putting it down to trudge my way through, and Punch Drunk Love was bad enough that I really should have gotten my money back halfway through...), but some things take a veeeeeeeeeery long time to get there. I have blankets and cross stitches that have been languishing for over a year. Or two. Or three. Though I don't think I have anything that I personally started that is over ten years old. I'd better finish that one cross stitch before it gets there! I also truly enjoy intricate things and I like putting the time into them to come out right. The main problem is that I have horrendous start-itis, and will have started (and sometimes finished) a whole bunch of things before going back to work on the time consuming project that had enthralled me so when I started it. Like the Frill, for example. It was on the needles since November, and I just picked it up the other day when I had myriads of knitting time at work and figured I could just finish the (&(^&$ thing if I had nothing else to do. It worked. I've had the Awesome Mohair Sweater in the works for over a year. That one is my own design, so is thrashing me soundly. What I had envisioned is just not working with the chosen yarn. Another design has been chosen and will be undertaken when I have the willpower to attempt such a thing. So maybe next summer.

Anyway, look at all the new pretty things that have been cast on and worked on instead of finishing those other projects! I think the reason the Mohair sweater just won't work is that it's jealous of all the attention the other yarns tend to get. It is like a poodle, thinks that it is the only one worthy of such adoration. I have alpaca, merino, peruvian wool, and it all deserves its time. Besides, the damn mohair has taken up waaaaaaay more than its fair share already!

Oh, also, I finished a pair of socks (Socks of Doom) which will be photographed and posted on soon. They are my first pair for August for the Sock a Month Knitalong, so they will definitely be discussed. Tempting is complete, though she could not be worn at the barbecue. Wool and hot, humid weather do not mix so well. This fall she will be shown off all the time, though!

Pretty fibery things (so you don't have to imagine anymore!):

Holy Sleeve

Better Sleeve (that looks even better now!)

Almost Finished Tempting (though farther than when in NYC)

Mystery Stole 3, Clue 1, Chart B

I finished Clue 1 finally too! It looks pretty good, though it's not all stretched out. The yellow bits are pins, the silvery bits are beads. Though the beads actually look more like yarn overs in this picture. Oh well.

Yay Mystery Stole 3!

So, I dyed the yarn. First time I dyed it, there were a few spots that were still white, and some bits that were blue or brown instead of black. I considered just going with it, but I got the nice silver beads to offset the black, and I'm really looking for a solid black stole. So, back into the crock pot the yarn went. This time, there's only a nickel-sized spot that didn't quite get inundated with dye, so that's as good as it gets. It's my first time dyeing yarn, so I felt that two dunks in the pot weren't bad at all! Apparently I just need to stir more next time. Putting it back in when I had allowed it to dry overnight was quite difficult though. Quite. I really, really wanted to just start the stole! When it was finally all black and all dry (with the help of a fan), I made this swatch:


Only two repeats of the pattern with (though you can't really see them) silver beads at the point of the first repeats. I gotta work on bead placement, they didn't really come out too well, kinda off-centered. I figure there's time for that later. And I probably won't be putting the beads on a triple decrease either. It is my first time knitting with beads in any way but stringing them onto the yarn and using them while casting on, which I did for the Frill (see last post). It is also my first time knitting with laceweight and making real lace. I've done some for Frill, some for Reid, and some for random socks, but this is hardcore lace. My goal for the weekend was to read Harry Potter, get through Chart A and start Tempting. I was quite happy, I started the stole on Sunday and finished Chart A the same day, in a rather short amount of time. The silver beads look amazing against the black yarn, but not so much in picture format. I assure you, it looks great!


Tempting is supposed to be for when I'm watching a movie or reading a book and therefore can't concentrate on the lace instructions. K2, P2 rib is for very simple not-paying-attention knitting. So of course I've been motoring through it. The goal was to have ten rows done per day, with the sweater at approximately 7 rows/inch and 20 inches long, that's about 140 rows so two weeks. There's minimal joining/weaving/seaming to do, and I'm going to make the sleeves much smaller than called for. The ones on the model that Jenna is wearing can't actually be 2.5 inches long, and I've really hated how the sleeves look on the larger sizes when people follow the pattern, so 1-2 inch sleeves for me, thanks. I should be able to fit in the sleeves, underarm graft, weaving the four ends, and threading the ribbon through by the barbecue. I want to wear it to Lee's big summer barbecue. He says I shouldn't. I suppose he's looking out for the knitting, as at a barbecue, it'll probably be not so much clean. If I finish, I will anyway. It looks like I will finish, as it's Tuesday, I started on Sunday, and I'm already 50 rows into it, almost doubling the goal pace. In fact, if I work on it at the knitting group I'll be joining this evening, I may finish it by my trip to New York City this weekend and wear it there. This is one of those that I just can't wait to get finished and get wearing!

I enjoyed Harry Potter, but thought it went out with less of a bang than I was expecting. Ah well, all's well that ends well, and that ended well enough, though in a very interesting way. Don't worry, no spoilers here.

It's Not The Fall...

...it's the sudden stop at the end that gets you. Yup, I fell down. Hard. Okay, so I'm really still falling. I finally figured out what this Mystery Stole thing that everyone on Ravelry's doing. And I found out that today is the last day that I can sign up. Not to be the one to miss out on a party ("come on, everybody's doing it!"), especially one where the intoxication is based on wool fumes (and one where there's basically a time-out for the release of Harry Potter 7), I just had to sign up. No, I don't own any laceweight yarn. However, I've been quite enamored of it and really itching to make a shawl or stole. Particularly a beaded black one I can wear with my cocktail-type dresses. A dark burgundy one would look nice too. Also beaded. I haven't really looked into patterns, as I know I should not buy any more yarn for any more projects; my queue is large enough. However, it is that time of year for my Great Yarn Purchase, and if I can add the laceweight and beads without going over my $150 budget, I'm gonna do it! If not, oh well, no harm, no foul, I just become one of the many who have signed up but won't finish. I'd love to finish, but we'll see. I have to start first!

I'm thinking of getting this:

Lane Borgosesia Baruffa Cashwool

I was already planning on buying a bunch of yarn from Little Knits, and some from KnitPicks, and I don't like any of the colors from KnitPicks laceweight selections. It seems to me that you need to go with a neutral (or bold) solid color. I like the way the dark green and the bright purple ones are looking on the images on the Mystery Stole 3 site. And all the dresses I'd wear this with are black, so do I want a black on black with just some shiny beads to spice it up, or do I want a bright color to contrast, or...

It seems as though many other Mystery Stole 3 knitters also went the Little Knits route, as many of their neutral-type colors of this particular yarn (the cheapest) are also out of stock. I'm thinking I'll probably just get whatever is still there, as this yarn order is waiting for my paycheck. Jeez, I'll be on clue 3 or 4 by the time I start! Which just means that I have time to rapidly finish a couple things - I'm supposed to get down to 25 officially open projects before starting any new ones. Something tells me it won't quite happen - the real purpose is to stay below 30, which is why getting down to 25 was the goal, because I know myself, and I know that once I finish that many while not working on any new ones, I'll start a bunch. I always have major start-itis. After this weekend, I should be down to 30. I am quite sure that I'll be able to keep it in the 20s by the time I start the stole. Part of the yarn order will be to finish a pair of socks that are 3/4 done, so it won't take much time at all, and then I have another pair of socks that I can finish and be down to 28 by the time I start the shawl. Though I do believe that I'll be wanting to make a couple amigurumi for some people and start one of the four sweaters worth of yarn I'll be ordering. I also want to sew a couple of skirts before I go on a trip in a month. Hmmm....maybe I am in trouble!