Torture in the form of lace weight yarn...

So y'all remember the Citron I was working on last year? The Citron has loads of issues. I missed pattern repeats, had weird yarn snags and generally I didn't give it the attention it deserved. After the last mistake of cutting one of the pattern repeats short I just stuffed it into my yarn box to hangout in the naughty corner for awhile until I felt like dealing with it again. Well, it's that time again.

I pulled it out of the box the other night and studied on it and thought maybe I could thread a lifeline so I would only need to rip out the last pattern repeat. But the fact that it was lace weight and there were rows with increases and decreases and I couldn't tell which was which I quickly gave up on that thought. The fact that I couldn't even remember where I was in the pattern didn't really help much either. So with a heavy heart I frogged it. It was being knit with Malabrigo Lace so I wasn't about to let that languish in my yarn stash forever.

Once I finish my last hat for my Christmas knitting I may try again with the Citron in January and really give it the old college try. It's such a pretty little shawl and the yarn is a magnificent shade of blue. It must be knit, just not while riding the T in Boston.


Until then, I'm working on a cute honey comb pattern hat and I think I'll knit myself up a Star Cross Slouchy Beret or a Jane.  In some Malabrigo worsted that I have sitting around pleading to be knit into something warm and cozy for myself. I also have plans to make Kevin a Christopher in Pats colors in January. So I've got plenty of plans for knitting and I don't think I'm going to lose any steam anytime soon. It's going to be a productive winter!

Minor Gripes

So I'm normally the type of knitter that hates screwing up. I'm not talking about minor things like stitch counting being off by one or two  since I can fudge that with making new stitches. Or even repeating a row too many. As long as it doesn't effect the over all look of the knitted item I leave it alone. But if there's an epic screw up like missing a pattern repeat or screwing up a heel gusset or anything that involved ripping out and starting over I usually just opt to throw the project into some dark corner and forget about it. I HATE do overs. It's strange, since I knit because I enjoy it you'd think that just reknitting the same project is the same as any other knitting but it's not. It just annoys me and makes me hate that project. I guess I'm more into the results rather than the process.

The point to this post is that I'm working on another pair of Bella's Mittens for one of my nieces (I don't like just giving gift cards as gifts so I'm knitting up some quick projects to add to the gift cards). I thought I was almost finished with my 2nd mitten last night. I had gotten as far as closing up the top and weaving in the ends and was ready to start the thumb. I tried it on just to make sure it fit and it was SHORT. Like a good two pattern repeats short. It was dwarf mitten compared to the first one. I have no idea how that happened or how I completely missed it when I was knitting it (and trying it on!). So I got annoyed and shoved it into my miscellaneous box of knitting and went to go wind up some yarn for the rest of my Christmas knitting.

I got through 3 skeins of cascade 220 (that's quickly becoming my go to worsted weight yarn, it's warm and comes in great colors and it's cheap!) and finally calmed down enough to look at the midget mitten again. I had to cheat and snip the top open because I couldn't figure out how to pull my yarn end out and then I had to rip back pretty much the entire hand to the thumb stitches after trying and failing to pick up my stitches 3 times without dropping any. I'm most of the way through the hand again, fortunately for me this is a super fast knit, but it still doesn't look completely right. I'm still not sure where I came up short so I'm adding an extra pattern repeat to make it long enough. If I'm unhappy with it after I finish it I might wind up keeping these for myself and just doing two hats cause I'll be damned if I'm going to reknit this stupid mitten a 3rd time. I'm not that dedicated.

I'm also trying to decide on what hat pattern I want to use. It'd be for a teenage girl. I don't think they're into berets but I could be wrong. I keep going back to the same patterns I've already done and it feels repetitive. I'm drawing a blank so I'm definitely open to suggestions. It needs to be for worsted weight and I've got 3 pretty bold colors to choose from.

In other news, I got my latest shipment yesterday from The Loopy Ewe and I'm an official Loopy Groupie. They sent me a neat little tote with a calendar,  some free yarn and a sock pattern! They're probably my favorite place to order yarn from and have definitely cemented themselves as my go to online yarn shop. I highly recommend them to anyone!

Baby Knits

I've got a friend having a baby at the beginning of the year. I knew I wanted to knit up something for her for the baby, but it kept getting pushed aside for Christmas knitting. Well she invited us out to dinner last night so when I got up in the morning I decided I wanted to have something to give her since I only get to see her every few weeks and wanted to make sure she got something before the baby came. I cast on for the hat around 10:00am yesterday and around 5:15pm I finished up the last mitten. I was a knitting machine yesterday. Though I did manage to go to the gym and color my hair too. All in all,  a good Saturday.



The hat is Cabled Baby Hat and the mittens are just Baby Mitts. Anna might wind up being the recipient of all sorts of neat baby things in the future now that I know just how quick baby stuff is to knit. It's perfect for getting that instant gratification feeling and for getting a knitting fix when I'm not really interested in diving into something complicated or time consuming.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth is done.






The yarn I knit it with isn't as drapey as the yarn in the pattern but it is warm and cozy. I did it one repeat short, I got impatient, but I like it fine as is. This one will probably be a keeper for me.

Now I'm stuck. I really want to cast on for another hat, but the yarn I want to use is yarn I want to keep for myself but I feel like I should keep knitting things to give away but I can't really think of anything to give to anyone I haven't  knit for that would appreciate it. I could knit something for Mom, but I've already given her a hat and mittens and I don't really have the patience for a scarf.

Decisions, decisions.

Pictures!

Pictures! Proof that I really have been knitting all of these things I've said I knit! First up, Bella's Mittens. I mostly did this pattern because I had this yarn and wasn't quite sure what it would look good as. I didn't think it'd work as a hat, it needed to be smaller. So I did mittens. I basically did the pattern as written but I had to add a few extra repeats of the horse shoe cable to make them long enough for my hands since I was using smaller yarn.



If you look closely you can probably tell that I knit one longer than the other. It was the second mitten and I'm not exactly sure where I went wrong but somehow it came out maybe about a half inch longer. Nobody but me really notices though.


Second up, Hermione's Cable and Eyelet Hat. This is probably for Kev's Mom. It's really, really cozy. I definitely want to make one for myself at some point.





After finishing this up last night I cast on for Elizabeth. I bought some Lion Brand Alpine Wool bulky yarn at Joanne's the other day with a gift card I got last Christmas. It was more or less the only yarn there that tripped my trigger. I thought of making Shroom with that but I think I'd really like to have some Spud and Chole Outer to knit that with. But Elizabeth is going swimmingly. I'm about a 1/3 of the way through it right now. Bulky Yarn + Hats = Instant Gratification. (I'm thinking part of the reason I got so burned out was small yarn + tedious socks = OMG I don't want to knit!) I know, I love having handmade socks. And I'm proud of them. But I can't get over my need for instant gratification. I'll have to learn how to stagger my projects better.

Pictures of the other mittens and Star Crossed will come after Christmas once they've made it to their rightful owners.

Fin!

I finished Hermione's Cable hat. It fits my head beautifully! It actually covers my ears completely which is a nice change considering I suffer from a severe case of short hat syndrome.

I think this will be Kev's Mom's present, but I'm still undecided. I've got yarn that's calling to be made into a hat and if I can find the right pattern and whip another one up she might get it.

Either way, I think I'll be making one of these for myself in some lovely purple Cascade I got in my last shipment from the Loopy Ewe.

I'm on fire.

Seriously y'all, there's smoke comin' off my needles. Since my last update I've finished the Bella Mittens, a Star Crossed Slouchy Beret (in some luscious Malabrigo) and I'm halfway through Hermione's Cable & Eyelet Hat (and I just cast on for that hat today!). My hands are actually starting to cramp up a little from all this knitting. But Christmas is coming soon and there's no rest for the procrastinator.

I've decided to keep the mittens, and I know who the Star Crossed is going to, but I'm undecided on Hermione's hat. I was going to give it to Kev's Mom, but he made a fuss about how she asked for a matching hat for her mittens. I don't have enough yarn to do a matching hat, so I was doing a beige one that sort of goes with the roving I used for the thrum's in her mittens but now I have my doubts. I could order some more yarn to make the hat. But beige is a neutral and goes with anything... Thoughts? Stories? Good jokes?

If Hermione's hat doesn't go to Kev's Mom then I might give it to one of my nieces. It's cute, right? Teenage girls like Harry Potter, yeah? Anyway, I've enjoyed this knitting I've been getting done. It's nice to be motivated and inspired again. I did take some pictures but I'm not sure how many will get posted before Christmas. Can't be giving away too many secrets!

Confession...

I have a small confession to make. Tonight I FINALLY got around to learning how to do the magic loop. I was always intimidated by 2-circs and magic loop. It just seemed so complicated and fiddly with all those loops and cables (and yet somehow I never flinched at DPNs). Honestly, magic loop isn't bad at all! I don't mind it and may start doing it more frequently. I don't get the DPN stabbing me in the palm pain or ladders. That sounds like a win-win to me.

Also, I did finally finish those mittens. There may or may not be pictures to come. I'm not entirely sure if the intended recipient of them reads this blog or not.

I've started a new pair of mittens (the new magic loop project). They're the Bella's Mittens (ravelry link). Not that I have any interested in Twilight but I like the look of them and they're for a niece and most teenage girls are into that sort of thing so hopefully they'll be appreciated. I'm working on these since I had to order yarn for my other present ideas and it'll be a few more days before that gets in. Maybe I'll actually work on these at a reasonable rate and get 'em finished for Christmas.

Neglect

I'm sorry. I'm a lousy blogger and a lousy knitter. I'm a total slack ass about updating and keeping up with my knitting. And I haven't even paid any attention to you guys either! My apologies!

Basically all I've accomplished in the past month is one thrummed mitten. ONE. Maybe at this rate I'll finish the pair before Christmas. I'm just lacking the excitement that I had last winter and I can't quite figure out why. It's not even like the wedding planning has completely over taken my brain. I'm stalled on that too as I am unable to make decisions about anything.

So basically there's a whole lotta nothin' going on in my neck of the woods.

Ugly toes!

I realized I promised pictures of my ugly toes like...oh 5 days ago but I'm lazy so here they are now. I haven't fully decided exactly what I'm going to do about this sock yet. Knit sock two and figure out how to do it right then come back? Go ahead and rip this one up and redo it? Frogging still terrifies me a bit so I'm hesitant do jump right into it but one way or another it will need to be done. The toe on this thing is AWFUL. And the heel is holey. And not the good kind of holey either.







I haven't been completely unproductive. I did start a pair of thrummed mittens as my first Christmas project. I'm about halfway through the first mitten and it's coming along swimmingly. It is kind of hard to knit a mitten when it's still 80 degrees here in VA. Dude, seriously, the weather has no idea what it's doing anymore.

Back into the swing of things...

Alright, so my brain has finally slowed down on Wedding Mode. We have a venue selected and I'm putting the deposit down on the photographer today. Those were the two things that mattered most to me so now that they're taken care of I can not obsess quite so much over wedding stuff. (though I do enjoy looking at pretty dresses!)

I picked up my Nutkin last night and finished off the toe but I have to say, I'm not very happy with it. I'll take pictures of it today when I get home and the lighting is better. It's a square looking toe and it's kind of gappy where I did the short row toe. And the 3 needle bind off just looks weird. I'll watch a few videos to see what may have went wrong but I think I'll knit the second sock and use the usual heel/toe method that I'm used to and then go back and fix the first sock. Overall I do like the sock, the body is nice and the pattern was easy to remember. I'm just not satisfied with the heel and toe.

Also, I'm considering knitting myself a cute little shrug for my wedding. It's in September but at the top of the mountain so I anticipate it getting chilly in the evening once the sun goes down. Right now the top contender is the Dream in Color shrug (ravelry link). If anyone else has any nice suggestions I'm all ears!

Distractions...

Sorry I got quiet again guys. I was on quite the knitting kick, tearing through my first Nutkin and back on ravelry browsing for more knitting patterns and ideas for Christmas knitting. But something happened that got me right back off track and my mind is preoccupied...My boyfriend and I went on vacation and...



He proposed!

Iiiieeeeeee!! *squee*

So now I am currently obsessed with wedding thoughts and ideas. My poor sock is still missing a toe. But I'm hung up on the short row toe anyway. My heel came out holey and my toe is having the same problem and I'm not a big fan of it. Any suggestions as to what I might be doing wrong? I may find the will power to tear myself away from etsy and the knot long enough to finish the toe if anybody has any suggestions.

I'm getting married guys! September 17th, 2011!:)

Short row heel?

So the Nutkins have something new that I haven't encountered yet. The short row heel. I'm following the pattern but I think I keep screwing up the yos on the purl rows. It kind of looks like a hot mess right now but I'll keep going with it and hope that it starts to make sense soon.

See, don't these stitches look so...wack?





I'm not sure how this technique is better than the usual way heels are done but I'll stick with it until the end just in case I wind up liking it more. I think the toe is going to be short row too so no grafting at the end! I was just finally getting the hang of that too.

I may actually get this sock done in the next week or so, which is like some sort of record for me and sock knitting. Nice.

Nutkin Pt 1

So the Nutkins are coming along swimmingly! I'm really loving this pattern. I love that it's simple and easy to memorize. I don't have any problems putting it down and then picking it back up again. I can always tell where I am in the pattern. I love it when stitches are easy to read like that. I love the red color of this yarn. It makes me think of candy apples and cherries and suckers. I love the fact that I've knit this much of the first so and I've been working on it for less than a week. It took me like 3 months to do this much of the Hedera's. I think I'm discovering more of my pattern preferences when it comes to knitting. I really don't dig complicated patterns that require concentration. I don't like yoing after purling. I like simple patterns with minor interesting details in them to keep them from being a total stockinette snoozefest. But just a few details so I can still watch Psych and Project Runway without messing things up.

The only thing I wasn't a big fan of was the folding over of the cuff and knitting it together. I'm not exactly sure what the point of that was.

Anyway, yay! I'm knitting again!

Finished Hedera

Here is the finished product.




I'm still not in love with it. Maybe it will grow on me while I work on a pair of Nutkins in the meantime. It took me a while to pick a new project. I really debated on doing a shawl or a new pair of socks. In the end socks won, but if I'm not digging it once I really get into the pattern then I'll start something else to hopefully keep the mojo going.

Finished!

OMG y'all, you won't believe it! I finally finished my Hedera sock. It only took 7 months to complete! Unfortunately I don't really think I enjoyed the pattern that much over all and I'm not sure if I'm crazy about how it looks so I don't know if I will do the mate yet. I'm seriously considering doing a second Spring Forward pair because I love those socks and that pattern was wicked fun. Now that fall is creeping ever so closer my knitting mojo is finally coming back.

I did make a sad discovery though. My previous sock I finished, Synesthesia has a hole in it in the soul of the foot. I have no idea how to deal with that atm. Boo. :(

Pictures to come tomorrow when it's daylight and I can get some decent lighting.

Not dead yet...

I'm not dead yet. Just still on a knitting hiatus thanks to my seasonal hobby switch. My poor sock is still 2/3 of the way finished (and just the first one!) and I just can't bring myself to knit right now. I do need to get on it soon though. Kev's sister's birthday is coming up in September and she requested a pair of thrummed mittens like I made for their Mum. I figure I might as well get them out of the way for her birthday instead of Christmas so she can actually enjoy them when it starts getting cold up there (which it does way sooner than down here). Maybe I'll get crazy and start working on those next month. Mittens (made with worsted weight yarn) work up wicked fast and can feed my instant gratification need.

Until then I'm reading Un Lun Dun by China Mieville. It's a children's book but it's a very quirky, fun, easy read. I got bored by his Iron Council. Way too political and it just drags on and on. Not his best work in my opinion which is a shame since I adored Perdido Street Station and The Scar.

So that's what is up here. I promise, I will get back to knitting eventually!

Totally not knitting related....

But I don't think you guys will mind.

What's been going on you ask? Why have you been too busy to knit? Why are their no updates on that one sock you've been working on since like January?

Well, to answer your questions, I will post a picture.

Meet Gracie.



She's my new kitten!

Kevin and I adopted her this past weekend from the local SPCA shelter.



She's 3 months old and enjoys running around the house like a bat out of hell, playing with the dangling rope toy, pestering Jack and Mischief into being friends and taking turns sleeping on mine and Kevin's heads at night.



She also is fascinated by my knitting and has taken to trying to "help" me with the yarn when I'm working. This slows me down significantly (and it's not like I'm very fast to begin with!).

We're not completely settled on the name Gracie. It's the name she came with from the shelter. We're contemplating other options but haven't decided what we like best yet. It's between Willow, Neko, and V(iolet) right now. (Her face looks like the Guy Fawks mask from V for Vendetta) Or we could just keep it as Gracie. We'll see.

So I hope you can forgive my lack of knitting updates (and book updates. Kittens are much cuter than books.). Enjoy the pictures!:)

Summer hobby switch...

Dang, it's been over a month since I last blogged! I feel like such a slacker. I promise I haven't given up knitting completely. I've got my Hedera sock that I'm limping along with, maybe an hour here and there through the week. It's about 2/3 of the way through and looks nice so far. I've mostly put my knitting needles down though and started reading again. I seem to switch my hobbies when the weather changes. Knitting for fall/winter and reading for the summer. I'll update once I finish the sock, but don't expect it to be anytime soon.;)

On the other hand if you want to know about the books I've been reading I can tell you all about a pig's orgasm. (Reading Bonk, by Mary Roach)

Synesthesia pictures

Here are the pictures I promised and proof that I have indeed been knitting (sparingly, but still knitting).







I haven't decided if I want to go ahead and cast on for the second sock yet. I did find this pattern a little tedious after awhile. I don't think it helped that this yarn is closer to lace weight than fingering weight and takes FOREVER to work up into anything. I may go back to the blue socks I was working on during the Olympics for a change of pace.

The Citron is still living in the naughty corner. I think I just need to start over on it completely but the thought of frogging a couple hundred yards of lace weight yarn is really daunting. Ugh.

6 months to knit a sock?

That's a reasonable pace, right?


I finally finished my first Synesthesia sock. Pictures to come tomorrow when I have some natural light (I always finish when it gets dark!). I do my best knitting when binging on Dexter.

Arg.

So after looking at my Citron a bit more closely, something definitely seems off on my section 5. I'm now at the point of either needing to rip out about 6-7 rows or just have two 'bunched' sections spaced a lot closer together than all of the other bunched sections. If I can't even manage to knit this simple shawl without screwing it up, there's no hope for me to do lace.

I do think Citron is going to hang out in the naughty pile for awhile and I'll bring out some of the socks I had been working on. That seems to be more my speed (and it's much less painful when I need to go back a few rows).

Citron Part fourhundredeleventymillion

Ok, I'm still working on the Citron. I'm up to section 5 now, so there really isn't much left to do, but now that I'm at like 400+ stitches (or something like that, I can't bear to count that high) it takes ages to do like one row. Even more so if it's a purl row. I keep screwing the pattern up too with the increases so I know my stitch count is off but I can't really be arsed to rip it out and fix it. Not when it takes like a half hour for me to do a row. It still looks more or less the same as the picture so I'm even less inclined to fix it.

I only get snatches of time here and there to knit so that's the only project I'm really working on right now. I pick it up during 24 and get a row or two done. Then maybe I'll take it outside for a few minutes when Kev is brewing on the weekend and work on a row. I'm the type that hates to put a project down midrow too so I usually only work on it when I know I have a decent chunk of free time.

I'm concerned about the size of it though. It still seems rather small even though I'm on section 5. My ball is getting small, but I've probably got 1 or 2 hundred yards left to work with so I can finish it but it may be tiny. I guess I'll finally get to try some blocking magic once it's done.

Hopefully once my class is done this semester I'll have more time to knit and be inspired. Though I am taking on a few spring time projects (scraping, cleaning and repainting the bathroom walls and ceiling) and starting a container garden for fresh herbs and vegetables.

So that's all I have going on now. Eventually, one day, maybe, this Citron will get finished. It does discourage me a bit from thinking about tackling a larger shawl. Maybe I am meant to stick with just sock knitting.

Knitting lull...

I worked through the mess that I created in my Citron. I think it was just a stitch that was pulled really taunt that created one big loop. It's still a little messy looking there but not so much that I care enough to rip it out and redo it.

But I haven't worked on it much lately. I've had a lot of outside forces taking me away from my knitting time. My Dad had a mild heart attack last week so I was distracted then. There was a movie night out with friends. Mom and my niece came up for a visit and didn't leave me much free time this weekend.

Then my poor, dear cat Frodo was hit by a car on Sunday and I had to put him down last night. I spent Sunday night and all day yesterday torn to pieces and trying to hold myself together while trying to figure out what to do for him. I feel kind of silly being so upset over the loss of a cat, but Frodo was pretty special. He was the nicest cat I've ever known, and he never met a stranger. He loved people and he loved being the center of attention. He was friendly and playful and enjoyed playing with children. He tolerated being held and carried around in all sorts of crazy manners. He slept at my feet every night and drank the milk out of my cereal bowl. He was just a fantastically awesome cat.

I've got loads of homework to do today that I put off during all of this and then there's class tomorrow night so knitting will still have to wait a bit before I can get back to it. Which is ok, I guess. I'm still having a hard time feeling inspired by anything.

The perils of urban knitting.

So Kevin and I went to Boston for a long weekend. Just a quick trip up to visit his family and see my friend Manda (and I didn't even get to see her in her scarf! Stupid warm weather!).

I decided to get in some urban knitting on my T ride into the city. I took the Citron since it's basic and straight stockinette right now. Things went swell until my needle came unscrewed a little from the cable and my stitches got caught in the thread. I tried getting it unstuck and screwed back in but there was a snag I had trouble getting loose. I was left with this mess once I got it all cleared up.



Honestly, I don't know what that is or how it happened. It almost looks like a stitch that was pulled super tight and now has a lot of slack on top. I'm concerned and worried this is going to cause a massive frogging of the Citron.

Arg.

I'm swearing off urban knitting.

Many projects = little progress

The problem with working on a lot of different projects is that all of your progress is spread out in a bunch of different directions making it hard to judge and keep track of (it also makes for very boring photographs). I'm most of the way through section 3 of my Citron. I'm halfway down the leg of my first Hedera sock. I gave up on the Riply and just started making a striped beanie instead. That's 3/4 of the way finished. I've even worked on my poor little neglected brown sock and it's halfway down my foot now. I tried it on the other night.  I'm not sure if I love it. So that has me stymied.

I'm feeling uninspired still and not very motivated to knit much. I may get in a hour or so most days, and I'm a slow knitter so I don't see much progress in that time. I think the biggest problem is that I'm not knitting With A Purpose like I was for Christmas gifts. Therefore I tend to slack off and get distracted and start lots of little projects. I need to Focus Danielsan.

I need some sort of Instant Gratification project that is also challenging and interesting. The hat I started was supposed to be IG, but it's boring (stockinette w/stripes. Blah!). Things take so long in fingering so even small projects like socks take forever. I need something small but in worsted weight that will work up quickly and give me something to show off to people. Any ideas?

Citron complications.

So I got my Knit Picks Options last week. I was so excited to slip the Citron over to them and start working on it I screwed up my pattern. The slipping was fine. Starting section 3 was great. The Citron slides around smoothly on the cable, no snags, no bunches. The needles are a little slick, I prefer mine to have a bit of grippyness to them, but overall they're great. And it comes with TWO 24" cables and TWO 32" cables so I still have extra cables laying about if I want to cast on something else if I get bored. Yay.

But anyway, back to the Citron. I started section 3. I did the increases for row 1. Then I did row 2 in pattern. Then I did the k2tog row and then did another row in pattern and then I realized that I skipped...oh about 5 pattern rows that come before the k2tog row. Doh! (Actually in my brain it was more 'shitshitfuckcockersuckermotherfucker') I thought I was epically screwed. I couldn't unknit a row of k2tog! I really didn't want to frog the whole thing. That's a lot of work with little tiny yarn! Then I remembered those little thing called lifelines. I'm not sure what kind of pansy ass would need to do a lifeline on a project like Citron, but apparently that pansy ass would be me. I took my next smallest needle from the options (the smallest needle left in the set) my second 24 cable (yay for two cables!) and carefully tried to pick up what I thought were the stitches from the original increase row for section 3. Approximately 3 rows down. It wasn't pretty, and the frogging of those 3 rows resulted in broken yarn at least once. But it was done and pretty close to the actual stitch count (I.E. Good Enough).

That row isn't quite as pretty as I'd like it to be now, but once the whole thing is finished I doubt it'll be that noticeable. And I learned how to fix a stupid mistake that I would've easily thrown across the room in frustration before. I think that's called Growing Up.

So I've got that going on, and I started another pair of socks (I don't know why, I was just bored and wanted to cast on for something while waiting on the options). They are Hedera socks. I'm not entirely convinced that the socks look like the ones in the picture, but it's hard to tell as I'm knitting them with the midnight blue knit pick's gloss yarn. I know I'm doing the pattern right, it just looks...different. I'm not even sure I love the pattern. It's interesting but the Love At First Sight feeling isn't there like it was with the Spring Forward socks. Maybe they'll wind up being a gift in the future. That is if they ever get finished. I've only got oh...4 projects going right now.

I'm still trying to do a Ripley. I did the lace band version, but I can't quite figure out the picking up stitches then turning it into a hat. I keep winding up with purls on the outside. It's not a hard pattern but it's frustrating the crap out of me. I just want a cute hat dang it.

So that's what's going on in my world. Lots of little progress on lots of little projects. I think it'll be awhile before I have a FO to brag about.

Knitting block

I'm having a knitting block. I've got two projects going right now. The Citron and some socks. I'm on a pause on the Citron right now until my knit picks options show up. I'm not enjoying knitting it on my denise needles so I want the smoother feel of the options and hopefully a thinner cable that will make my yarn catch less. I'm not feeling the socks right now. I kept casting on for different projects yesterday. I wanted a hat. Something quick and easy. I cast on for a ripley using my purple/green malabrigo worsted. Unfortunately it looked like dinosaur vomit. So I scrapped that. Then I cast on using my sandy cascade 220. But I think the needles are too big for the cascade and it looks too...airy. So then I worked on a hat from the boutique knits book I started like, ages ago. But that is just going too slow and I'm not making any progress there. I want some socks but I couldn't decide on a pattern. I want a hat, but I need the right sized needles. I want to work on my Citron but I need my new options.

I'm feeling so uninspired. Blah!

It's almost enough to make me miss the Peak Island.

She likes it!

Manda modeling her new scarf. She seems to like it.

Peak Island Hood Pictures

Photographic proof of completeness.



Just an idea of how long it is.


Get a load of all that f'n seed stitch.

Finished!

I finished and blocked the Peak Island Monday night. It's definitely cozy and warm. I tried a few different ways wearing it but couldn't really settle on the best place to put the buttons on. So I'm gonna send them to Manda with the scarf, let her figure out how she likes to wear it best then she can put the buttons where they work for her. The beast has finally been slain! I was going to stick it in the mail today on my lunch break but then realized I hadn't taken any pictures! So sorry Manda, it'll have to wait until I take a few quick pictures for posterity's sake.:)

The Citron is going along quite nicely right now. I'm not too far into it yet since I've had like 6 hours of homework to do and I've been furiously working on the Peak Island, trying to get it finished. I've only finished the first section and am 3 or 4 rows into the second. I am LOVING this Malabrigo lace. It's SO soft. I imagine once it's finished it will be my go to wrap/scarf for pretty much everything (I never match my accessories to what I'm wearing. Or to each other really. Today I'm wearing a blue scarf, purple hat and pink gloves.). If I had more patience I would knit a sweater with it. It's just that wonderful. I'm not really enjoying knitting it on my denise interchangeables though. The yarn keeps getting stuck at the join. I'm tempted to order some knit picks circs in 24" just to make the process that much nicer. I've been eyeing their harmony interchangeables lately but $70 is a lot to part with at the moment...

Pictures tonight! Promise!

Quick update on the Peak Island Hood

I officially have 15 rows left to do on the Peak Island Hood. Then I am D-O-N-E. Well...there are buttons to be sewn on. But then I am D-O-N-E. Well...I should probably block it. But after THAT I am DONE! Really and truly done! I may have to put off doing homework tonight just to finish this darn thing off so I won't have to worry about it anymore and can start on a new project (who am I kidding? I already started a Citron!).

So be on the look out for pictures within the next few days. Oh I'm so excited, it's almost over!

Lace weight vs Fingering Weight

I've never really thought that fingering weight was a very thick yarn. And it's not. Really. But when you wind 470 yards of lace weight yarn by hand and then turn around and wind up 420 yards of fingering weight by hand it sure does feel a lot heavier!

Just take a look at this picture for comparison.



The blue ball actually is 470 yards. The red ball is 420. But the red ball is much bigger and it wound up so much faster (probably just as fast as worsted).

Even Jack finds the discrepency curious.




And I'm toying with starting a shawlette in the lace today. God, people who work w/lace must be completely crazy.

Thorpe V 2.0

I decided since I was snow bound this weekend I wanted an instant gratification project. You know, for sanity's sake and all. I wanted a hat, and I had some yummy purple Malabrigo to use so I spent late Friday evening browsing through hat patterns trying to settle on one. I almost made an Amanda hat. And I was tempted by the Star Crossed Beret but I didn't have the right needles for it. I kind of wanted a Koolhaas but that totally doesn't seem like an instant gratification project at all. After all that I just settled on making myself a Thrope. I wanted a warm hat (my Odessa doesn't cover my ears and my Divine hat is kind of drafty) and I wanted something that I knew I could finish fast enough to wear while the snow was still around and Thrope just totally fit the bill. I started it late yesterday morning and finished the second ear flap late last night (I would've had it done by 7ish but we had plans for dinner at a friend's place). I did the trim and braids this morning just to finish it off.

My dear friend Chris modeling my hat for me.

The colors are a bit twee and more suitable for a 12 year old girl, but I don't really care. It's adorable and warm and that makes me happy.

I love the purple. The striping is subtle but interesting.

You can see the spot where I joined the new yarn in garter stitch and doubled it a bit is a hot mess. I made the large size since the yarn I used was thinner than what was called for in the pattern. That worked out nicely. It's pretty much the perfect size and my ears are no longer cold.

General consensus is that it needs a ball on top. Maybe I'll get around to adding one to it this week just to finish the look.

OMG Y'all!

I need this yarn. Like, seriously.

Zombie BBQ? That yarn was made for me!

Free yarn!

There are few things I love more than getting free yarn. My lovely boyfriend gave me a $25 gift certificate to the Loopy Ewe for my birthday on Thursday. I just picked out what I wanted and I'm pretty excited about my purchase.

I got a hank of Cherry Tree Hill Fingering Semi-solid in Cherry (on sale for $12! w00t!) and a hank of Malabrigo lace in Taureg.

I'm definitely thinking I may make a Citron with the Malabrigo. That blue is just gorgeous and I think I'd just look smashing with it next to my face with my blue eyes and red hair. Not sure what I'll do with the Cherry Tree Hill. Maybe a pair of Monkeys? That would be awfully fun. I just couldn't pass it up at that price and I don't have any red yarn to speak of.

I also recently purchased some Malabrigo worsted from the Loopy Ewe. I'll post pictures of that as soon as I wind it into balls. Still no ball winder thanks to Joanne's website being ultra stupid. Grr. 

I did knit a fair amount on Manda's scarf last night while watching the new Star Trek movie. I knit through the whole thing, only taking a brief break for cake. I still didn't get entirely through the hood portion but at least it was progress. 

Just a quick progress update.

Guess what I'm still working on? Yup, that's right, Manda's Peak Island Hood Scarf. Yes, still. But I feel like I'm making some progress. I took some pictures just to show yes I am working on it!

I've got through the hood increases. Now I'm working on the length of the hood before doing the decreases and finishing the body.

I can tell it's going to be seriously warm and cozy. My Mom liked it and said "Oh you can make me one when you're finished!". Ha. Yeah, I laughed. I'm never doing an all seed stitch project ever again. I could perhaps see doing this one in straight garter stitch and just following the method for the hood increases. That would make it go by a lot faster. But now I've learned my lesson about seed stitch.

I've also picked up my poor neglected sock that I started before Christmas. I turned the heel and I am now decreasing the gusset. I'm only working on it when I can't handle the thought of another row in seed stitch, just as a monotony breaker.

I'm still loving how colorful this yarn is for a brown and can't wait to wear these socks.

So there you go! Sorry for not having much to update about, but I don't want to keep boring you guys with all the whining about seed stitch. I did want to post though so you wouldn't think I had ditched this blog for the food blog (seems as though my meals have been way more interesting than my knitting lately).

Only moderately related to knitting.

And by moderately, I mean not at all.

I just wanted to post a link to another blog I've started. It's a dedicated food blog that I've decided to start now that I'm experimenting more with food and branching out trying new recipes. I just figured I'd share it here in case any of you guys are into food too.

http://booandmae.blogspot.com/

Don't worry, I'll still blog my knitting! Still slowly trudging away at Manda's hood scarf. Halfway through the hood now. A scarf really shouldn't take this long but I swear when I'm working in seed stitch I'm only getting like 2 pattern repeats done in an hour!

Finally finished a project!

Alright, I finally finished a project despite my winter blahs. I worked on the Thorpe yesterday afternoon so I could finally give it to my friend Mike after promising him an ear flap hat, oh, say 3 months ago? I was worried as I was making that it was going to be way too big. And the problem with knitting top down is you can't try the hat on as you go if you're using 16" circs.

It is a very easy and quick knit. I got a little confused towards the end when switching from working in a circle to going back and forth but I just worked through the pattern and it turned out ok. It took most of a ball of Knit Pick's Wool of the Andes bulky weight.

And of course there are pictures.





It was a wee bit too big on me so I was worried at first.



But no worries. It fits Mike just fine!



My only problem is now Kevin wants an earflap hat. He was totes jealous of Mike's hat. Arg!

Winter blahs kicking in...

I didn't knit at all yesterday. Not one stitch. I'm not even sure I knit anything the day before either.

Must not let lethargic tendencies take over. Must keep knitting. Have scarf to finish. Still need to add wings to Cthulu! (First, figured out how to crochet again!)

I'm such a slacker!

Thrope!

So I finally managed to slough through the 28inches of seed stitch for Manda's scarf and have made it to the hood increases. It's amazing how a simple little change in a pattern like increasing every other row just suddenly makes a pattern interesting again. It definitely reminded me why I haven't bothered to knit myself any scarves yet. They. Just. Take. So. Damn. Long. AGGG! But it does look nice and it feels nice and I think it will turn out just swell once it's finished!

So in the meantime, to keep myself knitting and sane I started working on a Thorpe hat for my friend Mike since I promised him an ear flat hat ages ago and never got around to it thanks to Christmas knitting. A few thoughts 1.) WTF? Cast on 4 stitches and put them on 4 different needles?! IT'S IMPOSSIBLE! I couldn't keep them straight and needles kept slipping out all willy nilly. I had to just knit the first two rounds on one needle then divide and start knitting in the round. 2.) I definitely prefer working from the bottom up instead of top down for that very reason. I've got a stupid looking hole at the top of my hat that I'll have to sew up now. 3.) At least it's working up quickly.

I wound up two more balls of yarn on my swift from Kevin. Still no ball winder though. It's not bad as long as I'm doing worsted weight or heavier, but the fingering weight hank I wound took FOR-EV-ER. Stupid Joann's needs to get their website working already.

Sorry no pictures this time around! Maybe after I get some more progress made on the scarf or the Thorpe! I at least wanted to start the new year off with a blog before I got too lazy.