I have the most amazing sunburn ever. Blisters, puss, swelling, and amazing amounts of pain and grossness. Lee and I went on a 3-4 hour kayaking journey for 6 hours. Sunscreen does not last so long. Especially when it is on parts that are getting wet and have not seen the sun at all this summer. My knees. To combat the pain and requisite lying down, I started a test knit stole for Chrissy Gardiner, the Path of Flowers Shawl, which will probably be coming out not too soon after it gets test knit. I wanted something that would take my mind off of the pain of the sunburn, but not something that was amazingly finicky. As I was still on the first clue of the Mystery Stole and socks just didn't seem right, I started this one. It's really nice so far (I'm halfway through the first repeat, yay me) and I like the fact that though it is lace, it is only a 16 row repeat. The size 6 needles also make for not terribly finicky squinty knitting. Once getting back home, however, I felt confident enough to continue on with the Mystery Stole. I am halfway through the second repeat. Which means that if I only had started when the clues came out, I could have been keeping up. It is looking beautiful though; I love the silver beads! The wing sounds great and I can't wait until I am far enough along to start it. That was kind of my goal for this week, getting through Clue 4 by the time Clue 6 came out, so I can just wing it (hee hee) for the rest. Again with the stupid goals.
I did some alpaca spinning (another stupid goal, I was thinking to make my aunt and uncle socks for their birthdays THIS MONTH) and got almost an entire spindle full in the two hours I spun. The major problem with the spinning is that I have raw fleece. It needs carding. I don't enjoy carding. I'm not sure if I will ever get a raw fleece again due to my severe dislike of carding. Spinning is great, but carding, now carding should be done outside due to the bits of dust and loose hairs flying about. The llama and alpaca I have do not require scouring before spinning and are dusty. One of the llama fleeces is amazingly dirty, and I am considering doing something with it before spinning. If I could just take the time to card up the entire bag, give it an entire afternoon and just suck it up, it probably wouldn't be so bad. Then I could spin and spin to my heart's content, or I ran out of rolags. I suppose I really don't like carding because there isn't much else you can do while carding. I read while knitting, listen to music, watch movies, talk, but stuck outside having to watch the carding, there isn't much else to do. Boring and slow and just not as productive as I like activities to be.
I was carding three rolags, spinning them, then carding three last time, as the straight carding was annoying. I was also carding in the house (don't tell Lee!) over the Rubbermaid to catch any dirt since this was a pretty clean fleece. I got through nine rolags. I think twelve would fill the spindle, but I did not want to continue after nine. It was food time, and the hair was just getting everywhere and mixing with the aloe on my legs. Not cool. I want to make a pair of Thuja socks for my uncle and a pair of Thuja-inspired socks for my aunt. I love the pattern, think it would go very well with the alpaca, but want something to allow them to tell their socks apart. I'm thinking of taking the stockinette portions of the ribbing on the back of the legs of my aunt's socks and making them cables or twists or something. I'd like to spin some more today, but my legs are so gross that I really can't do that. I'm still not sure how many yards I'm going to get out of the spindle. I only need about 175 yards for a pair of Thujas, which really isn't much. I am planning on plying the yarn, two ply, as I'm spinning pretty consistently at half the size I want it. That's making me pretty happy. I need to spin 350 yards, then ply it to get about 175 yards. Not too bad, not too bad at all. If I'm spinning it similar to how I spun the llama that was last on the spindle (and I think I am), a full spindle is about 100 yards (if I remember correctly), and if a full spindle is twelve rolags, then I need 3.5 spindles at 12 rolags or 42 rolags total, and I've done nine, so about 33 more rolags to card. Yeah, I think I can do that in an afternoon. Probably Saturday. That sounds like a pretty good Saturday, carding up a Rubbermaid container full of rolags, then spinning them while watching a movie that evening. Sounds great to me! I'll be able to knit them at the Kenny Wayne Shepard concert on Sunday, and finish them during the week. I can spin the other pair up the next weekend, and the socks will be late but not too late. If I can only keep to my schedule...
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
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
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.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Need to Blog More
So I am a bad blogger. Mostly I am a bad picture taker/uploader. I feel bad when posting with no pictures, as this is a knitting blog and I knit pretty things. Sometimes. I've not touched the Mystery Stole since the last post. I was trying to work late and finish my Tempting. Tempting, she did not get finished quite when I wanted her to be. I was about 2 inches from the end when I wanted to wear it. Oh well.
(visualize picture of almost done Tempting in a purpley-fuschia here)
Also, I did not have the directions out when attaching the underarm stitches for the first sleeve (lazy me). I remembered that you were supposed to turn it inside-out. So I turned it inside-out and kitchenered. Did not work.
(visualize beautiful 2x2 ribbing grafted on the visible {albeit underarm} side with a hodgepodge of purl stitches)
It also left huge gaping holes on either side of the grafting. Apparently my join was not sufficient. The second one, however, was done using the three-needle-bind-off, which went much smoother. The wonky bit is inside the underarm, so I can raise my arm on a roller coaster or something and it's all nice.
(visualize nicely grafted 2x2 ribbing)
I also made sure to close up the holes with the long tail while binding off. They still aren't nice and smooth and beautiful and invisible, but they're much better. I may go back and attack them with more yarn later. At this point, I need to re-attach the underarm stitches of the first sleeve, and then finish the last four rows of the pullover. So it will be done, if not tonight, then tomorrow on the long car ride to New Hampshire. And then I will wear it, probably on Thursday, and dance around all day singing about my nice new sweater. I tend to do that with all wearables when finished, dance around annoying all those who cross my path. Particularly Lee. Though I think he gets more amused than angry when I dance around wearing new socks.
I also tend to dance around singing the praises of knitted garments each time I wear them. As my homemade clothing collection increases, the singing and dancing should decrease. Or I'll just be singing and dancing all the time. One or the other. I'm kinda betting on the latter, though. I think that in a year, I'll be wearing some item of handmade clothing daily. I have two skirts, a couple pairs of pants (pajama and snake skin corduroy) and about ten shirts in the sewing queue, plus two cardigans and three shirts in the knitting queue, and probably fifteen pairs of socks. At least eight, the rest of the yarn I own may or may not go for my own personal socks. I get unnaturally excited when I can throw out a pair of store-bought socks, as that means I am coming ever closer to having just homemade socks, yippee!
(visualize picture of almost done Tempting in a purpley-fuschia here)
Also, I did not have the directions out when attaching the underarm stitches for the first sleeve (lazy me). I remembered that you were supposed to turn it inside-out. So I turned it inside-out and kitchenered. Did not work.
(visualize beautiful 2x2 ribbing grafted on the visible {albeit underarm} side with a hodgepodge of purl stitches)
It also left huge gaping holes on either side of the grafting. Apparently my join was not sufficient. The second one, however, was done using the three-needle-bind-off, which went much smoother. The wonky bit is inside the underarm, so I can raise my arm on a roller coaster or something and it's all nice.
(visualize nicely grafted 2x2 ribbing)
I also made sure to close up the holes with the long tail while binding off. They still aren't nice and smooth and beautiful and invisible, but they're much better. I may go back and attack them with more yarn later. At this point, I need to re-attach the underarm stitches of the first sleeve, and then finish the last four rows of the pullover. So it will be done, if not tonight, then tomorrow on the long car ride to New Hampshire. And then I will wear it, probably on Thursday, and dance around all day singing about my nice new sweater. I tend to do that with all wearables when finished, dance around annoying all those who cross my path. Particularly Lee. Though I think he gets more amused than angry when I dance around wearing new socks.
I also tend to dance around singing the praises of knitted garments each time I wear them. As my homemade clothing collection increases, the singing and dancing should decrease. Or I'll just be singing and dancing all the time. One or the other. I'm kinda betting on the latter, though. I think that in a year, I'll be wearing some item of handmade clothing daily. I have two skirts, a couple pairs of pants (pajama and snake skin corduroy) and about ten shirts in the sewing queue, plus two cardigans and three shirts in the knitting queue, and probably fifteen pairs of socks. At least eight, the rest of the yarn I own may or may not go for my own personal socks. I get unnaturally excited when I can throw out a pair of store-bought socks, as that means I am coming ever closer to having just homemade socks, yippee!
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
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.
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.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Variation on Variation on a Frill
I just finished my Variation on a Frill stole (the first one). It's a variation on that pattern because I made it shorter. This was one of those projects that looked like it would work up quickly when I saw the pattern. I figured I wanted to wear it on my first real date with Lee (to see Handel's Messiah) and I had a couple of weeks, so I went for it. You know how they always tell you to buy enough of the same dye lot to complete a project? Yeah. I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics for some Red Heart LusterSheen, as it was about the correct weight for the project, and I got some size 6/0 E beads for the edging. I figured the two frill edges would be the hardest to do, so I just did those first, one from each skein I had bought. That way, once I got it to the desired length, ran out of yarn, or ran out of time while it was at a decent length, I could easily finish it off, having the end piece done. So I start knitting the middle, and lo and behold, the two end frills are different colors, which is easy to see in the light I was in at the time, but impossible to see in the dimly lit corridors of Jo-Ann's yarn section. Two different dye lots. In the same bin. When Red Heart yarns usually don't have dye lots. And yes, the frill bit was horrifically time consuming, 6-8 hours of knitting to drop 1/3 of the stitches. So I got one more skein of each of the dye lots to make two Frills.
I have one finished, one is begun, and I will have just enough yarn and beads left over to make a third one, if I so desire. I'd stripe the two different shades, and I haven't decide if I like making them enough to make another, much less a third. I hated knitting it for a lot of the time I was working on it, as it took much longer than I originally thought it should. I suppose if I think of someone to give it to, I'll make the second and third ones, but for now, that yarn is going deep down into the bin of yarnage, and will not be seen at least until I use up all my sock yarn. It was a good carrying project for work.
I have one finished, one is begun, and I will have just enough yarn and beads left over to make a third one, if I so desire. I'd stripe the two different shades, and I haven't decide if I like making them enough to make another, much less a third. I hated knitting it for a lot of the time I was working on it, as it took much longer than I originally thought it should. I suppose if I think of someone to give it to, I'll make the second and third ones, but for now, that yarn is going deep down into the bin of yarnage, and will not be seen at least until I use up all my sock yarn. It was a good carrying project for work.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Looks Like a Good Weekend To Me!
The new Harry Potter, everything I need for the Mystery Stole 3, and a bottle of tequila. Yup, it's going to be a good weekend!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Down To The Wire
So, my new yarn is expected in tomorrow. Tomorrow!!! That means I am supposed to be down to 25 projects, preferably before opening the box. We all know that that number is really, best case scenario, going to be 27, as two projects are supposed to be done using supplies that are coming in. However, for one of those last two straggling projects, I cannot find my pattern. I also cannot find my CD player. Including my favorite CDs. Which makes me believe that either I left a bag at home I wasn't supposed to, or I brought a bag to Goodwill that I wasn't supposed to. I am not yet open to the idea that I threw a bag away that I wasn't supposed to. So, one of those won't be finished. I really could fudge it. I have to do the second sleeve, which would be copying the first, I have to do the other side of the front (it has a small opening down the neck), but I also have to finish the first side of the neck opening. Which would be probably just taking it up so it matches the back decrease- and stitch-count-wise, but then I need to do the edging. With the yarn that I have to dye black. I don't remember exactly how the edging goes. I really don't want to deviate from the pattern. I started the pattern because I liked it; I'd like to finish it that way too!
Other than that, it looks like I'll be at 25 or 26 when I start something new. There is a possibility of 24, but I'll allow myself to start something at 27 too. Gotta put the buttons on the Lopi cardigan and Penguin mittens tonight, and finish the Awesome Mohair Sweater. It got put down a few days ago and never got picked back up. I did finish the evil Bathmat and the Hourglass Eyelet socks, the two that were in the queue that I was worried about finishing. Go me! I also started some small present amigurumi, some Hedwigs and a Chihuahua. Wasn't going to count those, as they're presents, but since it looks like all but the Chihuahua will be done (and I have to get the sewing machine out to finish that one), I suppose I can count them. Which will still bring me down to at least 27 by the time I open that box tomorrow, yay!
Picture Time:
I need to figure out how to better use the Macro function on my camera, but here he is, a felted penguin. Yay! His wings and head are pose-able, and he does stand on his own. Mostly.
I need to figure out how to better use the Macro function on my camera, but here he is, a felted penguin. Yay! His wings and head are pose-able, and he does stand on his own. Mostly.
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