knits, notes, etc.

Leafy Project
Originally uploaded by Sophy T. O'Donnell.

I started this project before Thanksgiving with the intention of making enough Autumn Leaves and Christmas Themed cell phone charms (or ornaments) to send out with Christmas cards this year. Then of course, I was really sick the week before and week of Thanksgiving, so I didn't get more than a handful of charms done.

I really like to knit leaves. Is that weird? With this, I kinda limited myself to five different leaf patterns: simple (the blue in the top middle), holly, ivy, maple, and rose. Shown here are really just the "prototypes", the leaves I knitted before I decided to standardize on the patterns. The final patterns for the leaves have such constraints as "no more than 20 rows" and "no more than 6 eyelet rows". I wanted the leaves to be the same size, at least approzimately the same size...

Soon to come, pictures of the different leaves and the finished charms!

I decided that my big Christmas knitting project would be a gift for my husband. But, before I even began his gift, I thought it would be great to finally knit those Christmas stockings I said I would make for us, ooh sometime last year...

Et voila! Adam's stocking is complete. At least, version 1 of his stocking. I will probably make another one, somewhat bigger and more decorative. Especially, one that will fit his stocking stuffers...

Adam's Stocking
Originally uploaded by Sophy T. O'Donnell.

Yarn: Lamb's Pride, Worsted
Colors: M-80 Blue Blood Red, M-11 White Frost
Needles: US 7 (4.5mm) dpns

I just followed a basic sock pattern. Then, I picked up stitches along half of the top to make the name-tab. I didn't want to attempt intarsia in-the-round and wanted to model the stocking after my favorite pair of boots.

Sophy's Favorite Boots
Originally uploaded by Sophy T. O'Donnell.

I was really surprised by how easy and fun it was to knit this sock. Leads me to many more ideas for sock-type projects. (I've already decided I will knit myself a pair of boot-socks in this shape. It will be super quick too!)

One day, I'll even make a Christmas stocking for myself. For now, back to Adam's present... while I have time enough to knit it.

Jarrett Progress


Jarrett Stash
Originally uploaded by Sophy T. O'Donnell.

Baby Bonnet's little sister
Originally uploaded by Sophy T. O'Donnell.

Kittenish Ears

Rabbitish Ears

What's this? If you knit, you probably know where this is going... yup. A gauge swatch for Adam's sweater. So, now I am back at zero progress - actually not true. I have two patches completed. (woohoo!) Now I need to finish my swatch, wash and measure... cause, darnnit! -- I want it to fit!

Now, why did I not do one before hand??? The age-old excuse... I've used Rowan Summer Tweed many times before and just wanted to start on Jarret right away without wasting time and yarn to swatch... am I that lazy? well, I vow never to be again now that I've started drawing out designs for future knits!

The first time I saw the book, Holiday Knits, I remember thinking, without reading their bios, that the authors (from their pictures on the back flap) looked vauely familiar. Well, for one reason or other, I have yet to purchase it... But today, I was thinking of the one Christmas stocking patterns from the book (was it the old fashioned stocking that had the snowflake?) and tried to peak inside to find it... What do you know, I read the back flap and discovered that the authors are none other than the owners of my favorite yarn shop in San Francisco, Imagiknit. I should get an autographed copy...

I just saw Eunny's Indigo Ripples Skirt. What perfect timing--I have 8 skeins of RowanDenim (probably in Nashville, as well) and was wondering what I could make with it for the summer... Now I can't wait to start!

I'm writing this as I sit in my in-law's kitchen watching baseball on tv. For this visit to Philly, I limited myself to Adam's sweater and the Noro granny squares. I hope to finish "Jarret" while I'm here (until Tuesday) and the squares are a reprieve from the monotony of stockinette stitches.

Just wanted to write a quick update ;D

And here I am, stuck on sleeves. Still. haha

I'm not really upset, though. I'm making progress: finished one sleeve, each, for Adam's Jarrett and my Lace-Leaf pullover. I have also casted-on for Jarrett's second sleeve, but haven't touched it for a couple days. (I've been getting home too late and too sore from the gym.)

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I was inspired to knit Jarret after reading about Brooklyn Tweed's experience. He mentioned that the sleeves, as written, were not very flattering--pretty boxy. (They really are, too.) He substituted the sleeve pattern with Almost Felted's Top-down sleeves, which applies short-rows and are knitted in-the-round. It doesn't look difficult at all--but, I didn't want to do the calculations. (Who's the engineer, here?)

Instead, I followed the pattern to the armholes (adjusting for added length, because Adam has long arms) and added extra decrease rows to the cap. Toping it off with alternate rows of dec 1 at each end and dec 2 at each end. (I hope it doesn't turn out looking like puffed sleeves! haha) After comparison with the armholes on the sweater's body, it really looks like a perfect fit. Let's hope this remains true after blocking.

Okay. I think i'll stop here before this becomes a longer pictureless post listing everything I wish I was knitting this moment but refuse to start until I finish (at least) Adam's sweater.

Hilary (or Xilary, as I like to spell it!), has FINALLY put together her own knitting blog! YAY! ...As though we didn't have enough to talk (im, sms) about all day long.

In the few months we've known each other, I think we've inspired/motivated/encouraged each other to try many new projects and techniques. At least, personally, that is how I feel! Knitting is so much more enjoyable when you have someone to talk about projects, colors, fibers, and blogging. Especially someone as equally obsessed with the craft! (Don't deny it!)

Well, Xilary's latest post just reminded me that I have some baby knitting to think about, and soon! My Uncle's wife is expecting a baby girl in August, and I just found out yesterday!

What to make? Elizabeth Zimmerman's February Cardigan? Hat? Booties? Everything???

I had the following basic plan for this bib:

• Use provisional CO and knit the cable pattern for width of the bib.
• On RS, knit across, pick up and knit sts along one edge, and knit the sts from the provisional cast on edge.
• Use short-row shaping to create the curved bottom for the bib.
• Knit in st st for body of bib, keeping edge sts in cable pattern.
• BO center sts for neck, while continuing the edge sts in the cable pattern to create buttonhole and button bands

I thought of this pattern while I watched a friend knit a pair of tiny braided-cable baby socks. The idea was to use the same braided cable pattern as the edge of a baby bib. But, because of the much larger gauge and because I really didn't want to think about it too hard (I am on vacation, after all), I opted for the simpler and more generic 4-st cable pattern. The truth is, you can use just about any pattern for the edging. Isn't that great?

The pattern is available here. Happy Knitting!

Teardrop lace scarf

I just wanted to show you some progress on my two current projects. I'm really enjoying knitting the Teardrop lace scarf--especially with the beads. This time around, it's progressing much faster, though I admit I haven't spent much time on it lately. Here, I'm just starting the second repeat of the pattern. I actually made a little change to the scarf, in fact, I wonder if there is an error in the pattern?

For a time, this scarf was my traveling project and, well, placing beads while on Caltrain is just silly haha So I switched to the Fiery bolero for my daily commutes.

You might recall that I was using this yarn to knit an original ribbed cardigan. But, ultimately, I just did not have enough yarn to make the cardigan I really wanted.

Fiery bolero

Enter, the Fiery Bolero.

I'm also pleased with how this bolero is taking shape. Here I tried to pin it out on a pillow so that you could see some of the modifications I made--short-row shaping on the back bottom edge and back sleeve edges. I hope it will be just as easy to shape the bottom front edges and front sleeve edges using short rows.

As you can see, we had a great view of the entire stadium from our seats in View Level, Section 311, Row 18. (Apparently, there were other Stitch 'n Pitch-ers in Section 327.) Boy, was it cold up there. Cold and windy. (Though I would not admit it to Adam, who kept suggesting I bring a sweater...)

Now, some of you might know that I'm not the biggest baseball fan, heck, not really a big sports spectator at all, really. But, I wanted to go to this event with friends; and, we had a great time! Erica and I yelled when everyone else yelled. (Granted, our "yells" were more along the lines of 'Did you see what happened?' and 'Did we miss something?') We took note of applause (though didn't join in, since we were either eating our yummy garlic fries and grande nachos, knitting our scarf and knuck-fingers, or warming up our hands inside our small pockets). For the most part, we huddled close for warmth. We did get a momentary reprieve from the chill blasts of wind when everyone in front of us stood up during the 7th inning stretch/break... haha Thanks!

We did see plenty of people knitting at their seats and many more people wearing knitted garments that I mentally drooled over... I received a few comments for my lace-leaf scarf, which made me realize that I have yet to post a finished picture of that here... Erica was knitting a beautiful lace scarf. Hilary was finishing her baby yoga pants. Stephanie was winding up some very pretty and very tangled yarn.

Sadly, I only managed to finish a thumb and 2 fingers of my denim knucks before I decided my hands were too cold to continue. Erica and I left just before the 8th inning, I think. By then, it was much colder and windier than before. I was ready to go huddle in a blanket with a cup of tea and watch the couple of episodes of Enterprise on the DVR... Hilary and Stephanie, real Giants fans that they are, braved the cold and wind until the 11th inning. (You can read Hilary's Stitch 'n Pitch post!)

A couple years ago, I saw someone wearing a cardigan that was knitted with ribbon yarn. It looked like the front sides and back panels were knitted in a very loose stockinette stitch, then edged with single crochet stitches (also very loosely) that were then seamed together using a crocheted stitch. The arms were attached similarly. It was such a cute and airy cardigan, and I always wondered how difficult it would be to replicate... And, because of it, I've always thought that knitting with ribbon yarns would be so much fun...

But, I really don't seem to have much luck with the ribbon yarn that I do have... I bought about 20 skeins of Ornaghi Filati Giglio ribbon yarn in cream and dark teal colors. (Oh. I bought them at an amazing discount price.) The dark teal I used last year to make Iris, from Rowan 35. My version was modified to have shorter sleeves, which ended up being too wide at the elbow. But, otherwise, I love the bolero.

I'm currently using the cream colored yarn for another bolero, the Fiery bolero, which I've practically finished (just the edging to go). I love the texture and how the stitches look... But, I'm very concerned about the measurements... Row gauge was slightly off, so I had to modify quite a bit. The pattern doesn't really adjust easily for off-gauge correctioning (okay, I think i'm making up words now). Also, I had already made plenty of modifications from the start: like, substituting short-row shaping for all of the cast-on and cast-off shaping... I'm really afraid I've made some serious errors. Anyway, now I just have this urge to finish this garment and it's killing me that the needles I need to do the edging are on the Teardrop lace scarf, which is about halfway complete. Imagiknit is still open. Do I dare? haha

Added to this, just yesterday I was flipping through some back issues of Interweave Knits and found another pattern I want to knit. I mean, I want to knit it right now, immediately, rather than add it to my ever-growing queue. What pattern is this? The Waterlily Top from Spring 2006. Another ribbon yarn pattern and this one, rather pricey. Is there a good substitute for ribbon yarns??

Ah. So, the drama.

You might have noticed that for now the Blush cat sweater pattern is offline while I work on it. I think, now that I've given a preview, I'll wait to post the complete pattern, instead of updating as I go (as I originally intended). Check back soon!

Adam has the camera with him in Las Vegas, so I really don't have any great photos to show. I've snapped pictures here and there with my phonecam to document some progress, but will wait for the camera to return (or when I will meet Adam in Vegas, tomorrow) to take final pictures.

I finished the Fiery Bolero, at last. Though it's rather shorter than intended, I quite like it. What do you think? I still need to block it a bit, but could not resist trying it on and snapping a picture right away. The ribbon yarn has a very crisp texture and the garment drapes very well. I don't know how many times I thought I'd completely ruined the piece with all the modifications I made... But, I'm very glad that I did not frog it. (I've had such bad luck with this yarn... must have frogged at least two other projects using it.) I will post my project notes for it as soon as I have some worthy pictures.

My Kitty Couture™ Blush pattern is still in the works. I need to redraw some schematics and rework some instructions. But, I hope to have that up by next week.

Do you remember the Bikini Top I started in early February and finished in two days but never seamed together? Well. My goal is to get it seamed so that I can wear it in Vegas. While Adam is there for a couple of computer security conferences, I don't plan to do much--just relax by the pool. Knit. Read. So, if the seaming goes as planned, I will post a mini project notes... super-mini-project that it was.

Meanwhile, I've just now cast-on for a new project: the Garter Stitch Wrap Top from Simple Knits for Cherished Babies, by Erika Knight. I'm modifying it to be a cropped top (gosh, when don't I *crop* garments, these days?)

Why the rush? My cousin just informed me that her aunt went into labor last night. I thought I had another month, at least, to knit something... But, this is great because I really could not decide what to make--there's so much to choose from for baby girls! And, now, this wrap top seems perfect with the pink Filatura di Crosa Millefili Fine cotton yarn I've had lying around for ages. Well, with it's modified cropped-ness, I should finish this today. Yet another project notes to be posted soon, perhaps??

^_^

I've mentioned how much I wanted to make the Waterlily top from Interweave Knits Spring 2006. I spent over an hour at Imagiknit last week browsing for a good yarn substitute to the rather pricey Colinette Giotto ribbon yarn. In the end, though, a substitute was not to be found.

All other wide ribbon yarns had very little, if any, cotton content: Crystal Palace's Deco ribbon, Louisa Harding's Sari ribbon and Thalia... But, after some calculation, I realized that for the money and yardage, the Colinette yarn was a better choice. Yay! I was in luck too, because Imagiknit actually had three hanks of a single color: #113 Velvet Leaf, with shades ranging from pastel greens to mossy greens and deep forest greens. I was very happy with it; though, instead of a Waterlily top, it will be more of a seaweed top, don't you think?

You see, I had this vision when I saw the pattern in the magazine last week. And, in this vision, I was wearing this tank dress over a 2-piece swimsuit. I was wading out in the water, even swimming a little. (Yes. In my vision, I can swim.) And the dress would billow out around me... and I would look like a flower, a waterlily, because you know, that's what the garment is named.

So, I bought it and took it home to wind up (preparing for Vegas). The first hank I placed on the swift slid right off after the first turn. It took almost an hour to sort out. The second hank was slightly tangled for the first 20 yards. By then, Erica was over for our knitting slumber party, so she got to watch me obsess over it. The last hank was a breeze. Thank goodness.

But, do you know what I realized after I finished untangling the first skein, that nightmare? The care instructions for the yarn tell you, "Do not soak." Seriously. Vision-me just drowned in disappointment.

Today is one of those days when I just want to hide away and do something other than the things I have to do. But, since that's not really possible, I just thought I'd get a quick post in and get back to work.

My uncle and his wife had their baby girl last week! I've been a slowpoke with my gift knitting; unlike my sister, who finished an entire set (sweater, socks, and hat) over a month ago. But, I think I will send them (1) the cropped placket-neck pullover, (2) the first cable-edged bib and (3) a pair of baby shoes I began last night. An odd assortment of gifts, I know, since nothing matches...

While I worked on the first shoe this morning, I was suddenly struck with an idea for an original baby shoe pattern... With a simple little cabled stitch... Maybe it'll be a mary-jane... I would use some short-rows for shaping... (Still on that kick!) This contributed to my edginess this morning... I just want to go home and draw this idea out. Will it work? Will it be as cute as it looks in my mind's eye? When will I get to it!?

Also, I have one more reason for excitement. I finally sent my cat sweater, Blush, to Deb—and she just quickly im-ed me to tell me that she loves it. And, even better, it fits [her sphinx] Piglet! (It could be longer, I'll keep that in mind for the next two sweaters.) Now, I feel so much more motivated to finalize the pattern.

Picture-less posts are a drag, I know. But, the pictures I wanted to add were all quite awful (they were taken this morning on the train and with my phonecam). So, instead, I'll leave you with progress on the Waterlily top. Since taking this picture, I've finished the front bodice and only have the back to knit.

Pattern Simple shoes, by Zoe Mellor.
Source 50 Baby Bootees to Knit.
Yarn Rowan 4-ply cotton.

Yup. I've taken a break from the Waterlily top to get these done and shipped to newborn cousin, Darany!

Twice, today, I pulled up Webs to browse their yarn closeouts. Both times, I added a monstrous amount of yarn into my shopping cart and then removed everything. Some of my choice picks were: Classic Elite's Skye Tweed in Rosey Glow (#1225) and Jaeger Sienna in Blue Grey (#430).

You see, I don't really need to buy more yarn. I have shelves of yarn waiting to be knit, and you can see my queue for yourself... That's a long list. And of course, I did just recently purchase some new yarns from Webs... There was the Valley Yarns English Tweed which will be made into Eunny Jang's Tangled Yoke cardigan. And, there was the box containing (my moment-of-insanity purchase of) 15 skeins of Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed Chunky, which will be made into Anna Bell's Flicca this winter. Let me not forget the 5 skeins of Elsebeth Lavolds' Silky Wool, which I bought on sale at Imagiknit and, honestly, because I thought it was Silky Tweed. (I am quite obsessed with tweed, if you couldn't tell.)

 

I thought to convince myself that I needed the Skye Tweed to make the Tangled Yoke cardigan, just in case I didn't like the Valley Yarns. And the Sienna would be a cotton Arisaig cardigan. In the blue grey color, I could use these cute little frog clasps I just recently bought at Imagiknit.

Now I'm trying to convince myself that I would not wear the tangled yoke cardigan nearly as often were I to make it in the bright pink Rosey Glow and not the more muted softgrape color. And, in fact, the English tweed isn't so muted. It's covered in flecks of bright pinks and lavender and, even, gold. Don't you think that would be much more lovely with the tangled cable motif and for the coming autumn?

Oh no! Don't you think the Rosey Glow would look wonderful as the Demi cabled pullover from Rowan's Vintage Knits? Have you seen Elliphantom's version? Must not go there...

And, ah—Arisaig. The more I see Hilary's amazing progress on this beautiful lace cardigan, the more I just want to cast-on immediately for it. But sadly, I just do not have the yarn for this at the moment. And, will it work in Jaeger's Sienna, a cotton yarn? Or should I indeed find a soft fingering-weight animal fiber? I've already missed the chance to grab Webs' closeout of Jaeger's Matchmaker 4-ply in a color I would want. Would Dale of Norway's Baby Ull be a good substitute? Jaeger's Baby Merino 4-ply? Recommendations?

The Silky Wool? I have no idea what I can do with only five skeins of it and in color Petrol (#35). Perhaps a vest? Well, regardless... I definitely don't need to add to my stash. Today, at least, I will be good.

And, if you're wondering what I've been up to these past few post-less days, here's a picture of my latest start on Adam's sweater. Do you remember this yarn? Rowan Summer Tweed. (Yup. Another tweed!) This time, I'm starting from scratch. No more modifying patterns to fit Adam's measurements. (I didn't do a very good job of it when I tried to knit him Kim Hargreave's Jarret.) And, for simplicity, I'm knitting it all in one piece on circular needles. (As much in one piece as is possible.) The sleeves will be knit separate and attached at the armpit... Raglan yoke... You get the idea. Since I didn't even want to have to pick up stitches for the button and buttonhole bands or collar, I'm knitting those as I go. Yup. The only finishing I want to do is grafting the armpits together... and I guess weaving in ends. *sigh* There are some things that can't be avoided...

In a way, I'm preparing myself for knitting the tangled yoke cardigan, since that is knitted similarly. And, I'm definitely preparing to knit a Flicca similar to Craftoholic's lovely version. (Although I've wanted to knit Flicca since Anna Bell made the pattern available on her site, I did not buy the donegal tweed until I read this post, perhaps the day I read her post, even.)

Ah. The second pair of simple shoes... I took my time with these, as you can see. This yarn was a gift from a friend at least three years ago. I've started and stopped many a project with it, so I'm glad to finally turn at least one skein of the yarn into something, especially as adorable a pair of shoes as these.

Pattern Simple shoes, by Zoe Mellor.
Source 50 Baby Bootees to Knit.
Yarn Millefili Fine by Filatura Di Crosa, #25 Lilac Mist, 1 skein.
Needles US2 (2.75 mm).
Start-to-end 16 Aug 2007 - 26 Aug 2007.
Modifications To fit a 1yr old, I added stitches to make the sole longer and added two roles to make the sole wider.

Do you notice the buttons? They were salvaged from a tank top I bought a few years back. I think they're perfect with the lilac/lavendar color of this cotton yarn. The buttons, themselves, have a garnet-purple color to them as well. I have four more buttons... Here's another picture of the shoes posing on top of my work laptop...

A practice in knitting styles

I knit comfortably, perhaps naturally, in the English style, that is to say holding the yarn in my right hand. I had taught myself to knit left-handed, in the Continental style, almost as soon as I realized there was a difference, which was really when I noticed that was the method my sister uses to knit. And, the competitive streak in me was annoyed that my sister, who didn't really like to knit as much as she liked to crochet, would speed through her rows. Of course, I had to learn to knit as she does. Still, I often don't bother to do so, though I will admit that it is more efficient with more economy of motion; I just haven't practiced it enough for it to be sufficiently effortless. Nor, have I wanted to interrupt the gauge or tension in any project I've worked on.

Now, why the concern with knitting efficiency? Have you noticed my queue lately? I've been adding and removing projects almost daily... Partly, to wean out all the projects I'm really not likely to ever start. And if I'm ever to get further into my queue, I need to knit faster... My hands tire pretty quickly with right-handed knitting, which for me requires a lot of wrist motion to throw the yarn over/under the needles. Is it no surprise though, since I spend my entire day on a computer, typing, and because I like to do so, writing?

I saw these Simple shoes as a perfect project to practice a little bit of left-handed knitting. They're such a small scale project that, if I were to make a mistake, it would not bother me to restart them. And, I did indeed have to redo a few rows now and then.

I don't think Continental knitting will ever come as effortlessly to my fingers as English knitting, but, I've made a happy compromise: using Continental style for knit rows and English style for purl rows. You see, I've always purled faster than I knit. So, now, using the continental style, I can knit quicker to match. And, since there's really no difference in speed with alternating knit/purl stitches, I can use either method. Yay!

I still need practice, but perhaps with some effort at increasing efficiency, I'll turn out projects with a more even and tighter gauge and shortened turnaround. I mean, gosh, I have Adam's sweater and two more cat sweaters to finish before I can start on all the cardigans and pullovers I've listed for myself.

When I started this blog in November 2006, I had no idea I would actually have so much to write and especially on the topic of my knitting. In fact, I named this blog "knits, notes, etc." to cover the likelihood that I wouldn't have much in the way of Knitting Narratives to relate to my readers. I didn't want visitors to feel cheated if they stopped by and found posts about every other topic under the sun.

"It's not just about knits, see! There're also notes and et ceteras, too!"

Now, even the notes have been overtaken by the knits! I've recently added subcategories: Design Notes, Pattern Notes, and Projects Notes for posts about design ideas, instructions for original patterns, and my thoughts on finished projects. In fact, I've made many modifications in the last few months. I've become quite obsessed with getting this blog to look just the way I want it—A far cry from the many months in the beginning when I didn't touch the layout and left it with the default settings.

Along the course of these 100 posts, I have completed:

• 16 knitting projects
• 1 crocheted project
• 2 original instructions

For the next 100, perhaps you'll see more of the same. I do have quite a queue to get through!

Thanks for reading. ^_^

I couldn't hold it in much longer, and just had to tell you. I've been looking forward to another crochet project and, since I received my copy of Rowan Magazine 42, I've had my eye on this lovely country jacket.

I know I know...

The last thing I need to do is divide my knitting attention between two major projects, especially when the first project is Adam's sweater. But after you look at this, can you really wonder at the attraction?

I love the simplicity of its shape. The pointed detail at the front hem. The ribby texture of the stiches—You should see how simple the pattern is, really. It was such fun to work that I just couldn't put it down... I'm already halfway through a skein of yarn.

Oh. I am substituting the 12 skeins of expensive Rowan Felted Tweed with 8 skeins of a worsted weight yarn I bought at Imagiknit's sale: Plymouth's Galway Highland in color #718, a heathery mauve. I completely fell in love with the yarn, when, after crocheting a few rows, I noticed a fleck of vibrant garnet peaking out from the single crochet (UK double crochet) stitch. I hope there are more of those!

What do you think, so far?

Because I knitted Adam's sweater during my day's commute, I worked some more of Malt last night. I began the decreases to shape the back waistline. But, 8 rows later, I didn't like how the "columns" were no longer lining up (because the stitches shift after you decrease, of course). I took a closer look at the photos in the magazine and saw that the columns were, indeed, aligned, so I unraveled back down to the point where I started. Hopefully, it's just an easy matter of reversing the pattern rows for this decrease section and then reverting back after the next decrease...

I feel much better now that I've started the jacket, and really don't have a driving urge to finish it immediately. The weather has been too warm lately for me to think of a wooly jacket... I might continue to do a few rows here and there, now and then; but, it's definitely on the back-burner until I finish Adam's sweater.

However, I may soon cast-on for the second of three cat sweaters for my friend Deb. They are very quick projects. Blush really only took a couple of days to knit up. Now that I know what I'm doing, the other two should be quicker, right?

Perhaps you didn't know this, but for as long as I can remember, I've always looked forward to the month of September. It used to be simply because nothing could be better, in my young mind, than going back to school and seeing all my friends again. And now, years later, the month never lacks in reasons for me to celebrate—Adam and I started dating in the first week of September. Six years later we had our wedding ceremony within the first week of September. We, then, celebrated our first anniversary a couple days after moving to San Francisco. This year, we celebrate our 3^rd anniversary.

Pretty crazy, huh?

It would have been great if I had started Adam's sweater in time to present it to him for our anniversary. Alas, I don't think I have the discipline to knit on a schedule. And then again, it's rather warm for a sweater these days... I love how it looks when it's stretched out a little more so you can see the 3×1 ribbing, which I'm sure is how it will look when worn. Here, I have about an inch and a half more of the bottom to knit before I can start the sleeves. Can you see the buttonholes?

The Plymouth Galway Highland I'm using for Malt is just too pretty to leave sitting for long, so I found myself itching to crochet some more yesterday. As you can see, I've practically finished my first skein for this project. I'm loving it.

I just wanted to drop a quick a post—Errands to run!

Remember, not that long ago, perhaps only just the week before last, when I wanted above all else to purchase more yarn? Well, I did manage not to buy those particular yarns. But, the very next day, or maybe it was a day later when it happened, I placed an order for another yarn altogether:

Ranco, by Araucania, in color #106 which includes variations of blue, from light to dark. For the most part, it's a lovely cornflower blue. Fiber content is 75% wool and 25% polyamide (a nylon?). Each hank is 376 yds per 100 g. The yarn, introduced as Araucania's newest sock yarn, has a gauge of 7.5 sts/in on size 3 needles.

I've always loved Araucania's yarns because of the subtle variations in color produced from being hand-dyed. I thought this would add a nice touch to a lace cardigan, namely Arisaig. Probably, it will be more durable than Baby Ull or other yarns I'd considered for the project?

Knitting and crocheting of the previous week caught up to me and I discovered a soreness in my palm around the base of my thumb that throbbed whenever I stretched my fingers. This week, I took a break and read some books, made some design decisions on Adam's sweater and planned out my second cat sweater, Chic.

Of course, I don't mean that I didn't knit at all, because I did. Only, I didn't spend hours at a time knitting, as I am wont to do. Just a couple rows here and there so that if I were to show you pictures, you really would think I hadn't made any progress at all. So, I won't bore you with those.

Instead, I want to show you my start on Kitty Couture™ Chic, which is a simple stripey cat sweater. I had planned a very different pattern to the stripes, but, as I knitted, this pattern emerged almost of its own accord. I do like it.

The end result will be very similar to Blush, though will not have ruffles. I hope to finish this over the weekend, a quick diversion before I start Adam's sleeves.

Get it? LaTeX... but, for KNITTING!

Much sooner than I expected ever to have one available, I give you my Cable-edged Baby Bib pattern in its new format (shown here are the cover and first pages).

 

Pretty nerdy, yeah? I love it.

Of course, the format still needs some tweaking. I've forgotten quite a bit of the syntax over the years. Thank goodness most of my friends still use it daily and don't mind my questions... I used to write my engineering lab reports exclusively in TeX, and really, I love how the result just looks beautifully professional and, quite unavoidably, academic. I can have fun with that.

The pattern itself does still need some editing, and for this, comments are very welcome. One definite issue right now is that the chart is somewhat blurred, so I'll need to redo it soon.

Some ideas I have are to append a glossary of abbreviations to all my patterns. (You might have noticed I haphazardly use abbreviations and neglect to explain them. Very bad! I do apologize.) I won't post any more patterns until I finalize the template and edit everything.

Valley Yarn's English Tweed in softgrape color. When this yarn arrived, I literally unpacked it, snapped a picture and threw it on my yarn shelf because I knew I wouldn't have time for it just then. Each time I looked at it, I noticed more and more variety of colors in the tweedy flecks. Eventually, I just had to see how it would look, knitted.

I think it's very pretty, though the flecks are too colorful and frequent. I would have loved more uninterrupted expanses of "softgrape". The swatch is a bit rough to the touch. I hope this softens up after washing/blocking.

I casted on for Adam's sleeves, at last, and decided to knit them both at the same time on two circular needles. I hope this saves me some time, though it's somewhat awkward at first.

Have a great weekend!

This was actually taken last week when the sweater was completed. Somehow, it doesn't seem right to have this sweater bathed in such brilliant sunlight. With a name like Chic and the color selection (black, pale pink, and deep purple), this sweater would look more appropriate in a gothy, night-clubbish, environment... I still haven't weaved in the ends. Actually, I have not knitted at all this week. Maybe that's why time seems to have stopped. I mean, it's still only Wednesday! Yarrrr!

Although I didn't touch any of my WIPs, I've had them on my mind along with all the projects I want to start... I'd love to ask for a bit of guidance on continuing Adam's sweater. In fact, that might be my next post—once I get some pictures and drawings together to illustrate my dilemma. I'm sure I can get through the sleeves. But, I don't know how I want to proceed with the yoke... There are many options, but what would work best with the number of stitches and 3×1 ribbing?

Ah, speaking of projects I want to start... Did other San Franciscans feel the chill in the air this morning? I left my apartment this morning and just wished for flicca. Soon. I promise.

I guess I really needed to start some new projects to help me get over my knitting funk of the last few weeks...

This weekend, I began and frogged a couple projects. First, there was a cap-sleeved top that I was making with Rowan cotton 4ply. I stopped after a couple rows because I'd had enough of pink for the past few months. Then, I thought I would make a sleeveless version of Arisaig using silky wool. After the ribbing and one repetition of the lace pattern, I quickly frogged it. It was beautiful, really, but I have the Araucania Ranco, also in a shade of blue, waiting for this project, after all.

Now that I knew how quickly I could knit something with the sillky wool, I was determined to use it for my next project. I thought I could mix it with double-stranded Rowan Yorkshire Tweed 4ply (since I have so many skeins!) to make a variation of the Fyne slipover from Rowan 42. But, when I got past the bottom ribbing, I decided that I would just knit a simple sweater vest instead.

I took this picture as my train slowed to stop at Mountain View this morning. I am really loving the silky smoothness of the plain stockinette. I can't wait to wear this vest... Imagine a very preppy outfit: The vest over a white buttoned blouse, perhaps three-quartered sleeves, with black slacks... Not a very creative outfit, I know.

This is a quick snapshot of my first ever (received) knitted gift: Embossed Leaves socks, made by my sister. She was so sneaky about it too!—She kept calling to tell me about her progress (her first time knitting socks) and then when she finished she tells me that they're for me! Aren't they awesome?! I'll take better pictures when I have more details to share about the project (e.g., yarn, needles, etc).

Ah. Malt. This was taken at least a week ago before I started the armholes for the back panel. It's a few inches longer now. Though I don't go on about it much, I really love this project and I really love the yarn.

I forgot that I also wanted to show the progress on my Silky Wool sweater vest!

Ah. Yesterday.

While I sipped some comforting peppermint tea and watched Bend it Like Beckham and the end of A&E's Pride & Prejudice miniseries, I knitted the front of my vest.

This morning, I knitted some more...

I've actually finished both front and back, now. It's so soft! I will block and seam it soon.

I'm waiting to see how this looks after blocking. It was meant for a friend, but may be more child-sized, as you can probably guess from the picture.

More details to follow soon.

Finally. Finally. I couldn't not start something herringbone. How can anyone resist tweed, much less herringbone tweed, as fall and winter near?? I was so excited too, really, because I thought I would finish this before I went back to Philly: A herringbone tweed hat just for me! I wanted a cover to tame my much shorter hair while visiting family back home.

I started this late yesterday, just casted on stitches, joined for knitting in the round, and proceeded to knit from a herringbone pattern I quickly sketched out for the colorwork. This is the two-color version, I have another for three colors.

Ah. I knitted away so happily with my happy herringbone pattern that I forgot to pick up the stitches for my turned hem. So here, I turned the hem using (funnily enough) a herringbone stitch. I'm just not sure if I like it...

So, do I (1) start over, and perhaps try out my three-color version, or (2) undo the hem, unravel my beautiful hat down to pick up the hem, or (3) just plain, redo it all? What do you think?

Or maybe I'm just being silly and should finish this as planned. I can always make another one (because it's such a quick project). I have plenty of Rowan Yorkshire Tweed 4ply, still. I can make green and pink versions... Later... If I continue with this, I may just have that hat to wear to Philly?

Nonetheless, I do need to put it down for now...

Update [10.24.2007]

I decided to just continue with this hat—Stay away from me, Un-raveling Imp! I think having two different options for the hem will be nice (when I finalize the pattern). Really, the challenge will be the decreases at the crown. I've drawn up at least three different versions and don't know what I'll choose yet. Ah, I'm quickly approaching the time when I will need to decide!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this hat.

What do you think, so far? This is the back view. The front has 2×2 ribbing. Knitting it all in-the-round is much more fun.

I took the picture this morning and have since added on another repeat. More and more I realize what a slow knitter I am. Very frustrating.

It's a slow Sunday, and it's time to shower and hit and the gym. This afternoon we're going to look at a house. EXCITING! ;D

Have fun!

I searched for my endpaper mitts almost the moment I got home and, happily, found them after all! Then, I proceeded to finish the second cat-eared baby hat I am making for my friend's twin girls:

Kahye, a friend and coworker, suggested that I use different buttons to give the hats some individuality. I quite wanted to make them exactly the same, but conceded in the end. I'm pretty sure, were I to have twins, I would greatly appreciate these little identifying hints. It's pretty adorable don't you think?

After blocking the second hat, I started on some long put-off tasks: generous gauge swatches:

At last, a swatch from the leftover Rowan Scottish Tweed 4ply from my Herringbone Tweed hat. Now I can feel more confident about the hat sizes as I write out the pattern.

Needles Size 3 (2.75 mm).
Gauge 24 sts and 33 rows to 4".

The forest green swatch is Silky Wool for Adam's gifts. They'll be mystery projects, for now. haha.

Needles Size 5 (3.75 mm).
Gauge 23 sts and 31 rows to 4".

Ah. A beautiful swatch of Debbie Bliss's Donegal Tweed Chunky. Someday this will be Flicca. Someday.

Needles Size 10 (6 mm).
Gauge 12.5 sts and 19 rows to 4".