Friday, November 14, 2003

 

Vesty!

To celebrate yesterday's chapter completion I worked like crazy on the Lovely Lavold Vest. The front is a bit more difficult than the back because there's a lot happening--neck shaping, arm hole shaping, cable motif--but with a pad of paper in hand I got it all done (well the left side):

Sorry the picture is so bad--I even took it outside--I don't get a lot of early-day sun at my place.

I should have added a selvage stitch to each edge because it's going to be hell to pick up all those stitches. I'm still not clear how/when to do selvages. My Big Book of Knitting will be bedtime reading for the next little while.

9:36 AM

Thursday, November 13, 2003

 

I just printed the 56 pages of my Introductory Chapter and Literature Review Chapter to hand in. This puts me past the hard writing and the half-way point of my first draft! Hooray! Just the results, discussion and conclusion to go. Well, then there's the revisions, but I'm focusing on one task at a time.

I've even added a progress bar to my WIPs.

4:10 PM

 

One down...

One more pair to go! I had my Wednesday night TV binge last night and finished the first pair of commissioned socks.

I was getting sick of them, but am oddly excited to cast on the next pair which will be made from Regia Stretch Color #88.

The colour is a varigated brown/green/olive mix; very manly and forgiving. I won't have to worry about making a perfectly matched pair, something which involved some creative work on this last pair.

I even had time to finish the first cable motif on the front left panel of the vest. I made a tiny boo boo on this project. I'm using Araucania Nature Wool which is sort of varigated with colour variations in the dyeing process. I didn't alternate between two balls every few rows for the back and now notice that it is a predominantly darker brown than the front piece. It isn't really noticable, but I know it's like that. I'm telling myself that this is the beauty of the yarn, but I do regret not alternating balls from the outset. I am now because the other 3 balls are much lighter--one has almost none of the darkest brown as far as I can see--and I want to avoid weird colour pooling. It sure is nice yarn and a nice vest though. I'm obsessed with getting this one done.

10:20 AM

Wednesday, November 12, 2003

 

It's so nice when...

You're knitting a well-written pattern. I worked away on the Lovely Lavold last night and it's just swimming along. The front has short rows to achieve the pointed angles at the middle and her instructions were clear and easy.

I'm more than half way through the first cable motif and it knits up fast. My ab-fab mom bought me the perfect black turtle neck to wear underneath so I'm anxious to get it done.

I turned the heel on the socks and have half the leg done which is good because men's socks do get boring after awhile. I find the teeny 2mm needles are making my fingers sore though so I have to put it down. I can knit other things though so all is not lost!

Did you check out the Knitty Fall Surprise? . This one is testing my resolve, especially because I fell in love with this colourway of Kureyon being knit into Rosedale by Sharlene. The number is 116 and it is fab. I will resist though (even though it's going for a great price on ebay) because I need to do this. Not only for my bank account, but because I actually am not a good stasher--I feel a bit overwhelmed by all the projects I have in mind. Those need to be knit up first before I plunge into new things. I'll just put this here to remind myself (another great button designed by Kate)

10:57 AM

Tuesday, November 11, 2003

 

Goodies

Since I didn't do much knitting last night--I worked on my sock a bit, and tried to knit a scarf with some oddballs of Rowan Biggie Print and Big Wool--I thought I would show you some pre-yarn-diet acquistions that will be knit up this winter.

First is the Noro by Debbie Bliss book I need to make my Garter Stitch Entrelac Jacket to be called my Anniversary Coat (since the yarn was my anniversary gift). It did not come as the result of the trade I made with a particular-person-who-decided-to-take-my-yarn-and-not-fulfill-her-part-of-the-bargain. She sucks, and she knows who she is. This one was purchased at Kangaroo in the UK and arrived in a week. I really really want to plunge into the coat, but I should get the socks done first.

And since I was shopping I picked up the Colinette Tagliatelli pattern book to knit up the Neptune Tagliatelli that was added to my stash this fall. I'm rather dissappointed with the book (the yarn is absolutely fab though). The photos are lousy, they obscure the sweaters in most cases, or are cropped so you can't see a sleeve or the hem. And the book has a bunch of errors. One pattern doesn't have the gauge! I think I've figured out which one I want to make. It's a yoked pullover. But I will radically change the construction because it's more difficult than it needs to be. In the end I think my sweater will be a pullover that takes design elements from a few of the patterns. Makes me think I should have designed something on my own--and I might still. The reason I don't most of the time is that my brain is mush after a day at the computer and there's nothing left to commit to design work. Another good reason to get it done.

9:37 AM

Monday, November 10, 2003

 

One Down...

I finished the first commissioned sock on Saturday, and in a fit of really smartness, cast on the second one. I knit up about half the foot, but had to stop because those little dpns make my hands sore.

But, knitting the Lovely Lavold Vest didn't cause me any pain, so that was my Sunday project. Here's my progress:

This is one of those projects that, while I appreciate the progress part, I really want the product to wear. A vest is encouraging since there are no sleeves to do. But, there's a lot of finishing work on this one--it might be a while yet.

I'm at day six of my yarn diet and I'm not wavering. To further crystallize my resolve, I'm even introducing some buttons:

It's designed by Missa who actually invites readers to ask her to make buttons.

If you want to join the yarn diet, take the button--there's no pressure to stick too it or anything, but making it public just might help you out--we can provide mutual reminders and support. Just be sure to follow proper net-ettiquette and save the button to your own server instead of merely linking to mine, bandwidth's in short supply around here. And while you're taking buttons, take this one too, also made by ab-fab Missa:

Thanks! My own button was the one thing I felt this blog was missing.

9:02 AM

Sunday, November 09, 2003

 

Barbie Fun

Met the girls at our Stitch and Bitch on Friday night and had a great time. There's nothing like hanging out with other knitting junkies and chatting about all things knitting. It also makes Craig happy because then he doesn't need to hear all about my knitting exploits. Jenna brought me a fun toy to play with. It's a barbie knitting machine designed to crank out knit tubes you transform into barbie clothes. I thought it would be a perfect way to crank out felted bag handles.

Yesterday we set it up and cranked out a worsted weight tube.

They are bigger than i-cord handles, but they should work fine. I find i-cord handles too tiny anyway. Besides, I cranked out about 2 feet of tube in under 5 minutes--that beats knitting miles of i-cord anyday.

It even makes flat pieces--though one size only--I'm not sure what I would use them for. And it wasn't as easy as making the tube. I messed it up and one side unravelled.

Finally since it is a Barbie clothes maker, Emma and I dug out some Paton's Look at Me acrylic and made Barbie a little something. Emma did the cranking, I did the finished work. In about 10 minutes Barbie looked ravishing:

Of course Emma wants me to produce an entire knitted wardrobe for her Barbies. We'll probably do a few more pieces later--there are patterns for bikinis, fancy tops, purses--I didn't have this much fun when I played Barbies as a kid. Probably because I wasn't a knitter yet.

12:59 PM