I think I started this in 2014?

I think I started this in 2014?

Should finish it this week. It's a Concentric Cables cowl in CEY Chalet (or Chateau?).

Transsiberian Hat

So, another hat I tried was the Transsiberian Hat, a lovely free cabled hat pattern found on MadtownMammaKnits's blog (and it's also on Ravelry). I really like the way it turned out, so score another hat for Project Frontlines!

All-Over Diminishing Cables Hat

Whilst at the Uniquities retreat last November, we encountered cabled hats. Done with bulky yarn on large needles, they knit up quickly. The ones we saw were just cables, that diminished into the center. My mom, at the same time, was fixating on all-over cable designs - rather like the Poor Unfortunate Sweater I made in the last decade:


I didn't really understand, then, how much cables pulled in... so that sweater wound up being for someone with stick-arms and no boobs. (This is NOT me.) Now, since that was aaaaal the way back in the O0s, I didn't really remember how many extra stitches needed to be added to make cables work. So my first attempt, while it did work GREAT for all-over diminishing cables, wound up very pointy.


Luckily, it was saved by vigorous blocking over a stainless-steel bowl:


My second attempt worked MUCH better, but just to be sure, I added earflaps and a button under the chin. (Which wasn't really necessary.)


I knit a third one in green for my husband (never did get a picture of it, and I'm in the process of knitting another red one for me. I should have the pattern solid enough to write it up soon!

About those socks...

Yeah, so, not only was I TWO BALLS of yarn short to actually finish a pair of socks, I was also dramatically short on time.

This is sock #1, which is about 2.5 balls of yarn into the project. (I had four balls of Kroy; I need six, apparently. Thankfully the SECOND A.C. Moore I hit today had it, phew!)


Will finish, they'll be lovely, but OMB second sock syndrome will be trying to strike me down!

Plein Air Tote, started

New Project: This is what I started for class - the Plein Air Tote from a 2010 Interweave mag.


First side finished.
This thing is a YARN HOG. The first two balls of yarn are gone completely, used up in the creation of the aforementioned first side and getting about 3/5 of the way through the first (of three) sides of the bag.


That's the end of the third and fourth balls there - I'm REALLY glad I got six balls of yarn now! The whole thing is going to clock in around 1,350 yards of yarn (which STILL puts me over the "600 yards for a class project", since yardage only counts once for held-double projects).


Front and back finished
I'm hoping to finish the knitting-of-the-three-sides today and tommorrow, so that I can start planning the sewing of the inside. Here's what I have planned:


I need to get some gray canvas this weekend (and then I can finish my Slytherin Crest bag, as well). It looks like I'll need one big (metal) zipper, then two medium (plastic) zippers and two small zippers, a ton of heavy-duty gray thread, and, assuming a 48" fabric width, three yards of canvas and a yard of parachute material (to line between the canvas and the knitting to make the insides waterproof).

Hopefully next week will have pictures of the Finished Thing, since it's due on Thursday!!

Helicies

For Arithmancy, we needed to make something math-y. Since helicies were specifically mentioned, and I love cup cozies, and I used to play with DNA for a living, I made a DNA cup cozy. (In high visibility yellow. It really is the best yarn for this for me! And... I think I have just enough yarn to make a third one some time next term.)

On the left, we have the cozy over a small drinking glass, just for shape. Eh, it looks okay. On the right, it's being worn by a 32-oz soda cup (its intended target), and looks much better.

And my hands didn't freeze coming to work, as they are wont to do on brisk spring mornings when carrying cups of ice-cold things. Yay!!

High-Visibility Owls

Got an unexpected badge for Detention this month (the One Fish, Two Fish)! If I'd been paying more attention, I would've seen that there were badges in addition to the 10 points, but I wasn't, so it was a really nice surprise.


I also got this badge:


... for making a Highly-Visible Owl Cup Cozie. (Yep, I had a small ball of high-visibility yellow sock yarn that I scored... years ago, with the plan to make something Usefully Visible out of it. And since I keep losing the cup cozies I make, this just seemed PERFECT.) Also works as a wrist cozy!

And then, to my surprise and delight, I recieved the coveted Truly Terrifying badge for my Tale of Knitterly Horror:


The tale that goes with it is just Too Scary to relate here. A fairisle sweater purposely unraveled by the recipient was involved.

*shudder*

OWLfail, BROOMwin

Been sick for almost a week, so didn't get anywhere close to finished on the OWL (I'm at about 81%). Did manage to get my Rogue Hoodie done last night. Here's my turn-in post:


TO:       Mission Chief Seakame - Undercover Operations

FROM:      Moira Hazard (aka CraftyGryphon)

RE:        Some Confusion as to Records Maintenance Or Something

______________________________________________________________________________

I would like to thank the Order for allowing me to go in pursuit of my sister Carrollon. I believed that she was in peril, so rendered myself ordinary - regarless of my surroundings. To this end, I fashioned a hooded pullover much like my sister's:



Wearing this pullover, I was able to infiltrate the demense of Minos Rockwood undetected and locate, then rescue, my sister. And then things just got flat-out strange.

I would like to enter into the permanent records of the Order the following:

1. There really, REALLY needs to be some sort of way of letting one agent know if another is in the field. Well, I realize that's impractical. But if there's a deep-cover operative (like, say, the second son of a decesased Death Eater?) working with the Order to start up a "forbidden subversive organization" to more easily keep tabs on forbidden subversives, then it would be nice if the fiance of said deep-cover operative was able to tell her little sister she was okay.

2. There should also be some sort of rules against two deep-cover operatives getting married. I really wasn't planning on being related to any of the Rockwoods, let alone all of them. Also, my new brother-in-law is something of an arrogant twit. The only thing saving him is the fact that he evidently really loves my sister.

3. My sister Carrolon has declared that I'm not to be allowed "off my leash" again until I'm a bit older. (She's also being a bit of a twit, but I figure most new brides are like that.) She says, though, that I did well, and I should add that I managed to quietly subdue her and Minos, and spirit her away most successfully. And I made her PROVE that she wasn't under any malign influence, curse, or binding before I let her go back to Minos. And I made HIM prove he was okay, too. So I should be allowed another Mission in the future - just not one that's going to interfere with her and/or her husband. She recommends putting me in Gringotts or the Records Room until I'm a bit older.

Please forward all correspondence to me care of Mrs. Carrollon Rockwood at Rockwood Manor (until the WInter Term starts).

(Also, any Chocolate Frogs would be appreciated.)



And yes, I have random frayed cables hanging out of parts of my house for no reason other than to give me props for photos!

Another finish

Also due to the commuting trauma last week (and not actually having cast on my actual Rogue hoodie until Tuesday evening - AFTER the commute), I was able to finish a lovely shawl I started back in April during the DC Yarn Crawl.


It's Color Changing Cotton, and I used all but three yards of it.


I also really like the lattice texture - it's just the "Nancy" part of the Nancy & Judy shawl on Ravelry; I'll be using it again in something-or-other!

Bad week for Metro; good week for Knitting

Monday had a bit of a commute from hell, and Tuesday, and Wednesday, and Thursday... so Monday, while waiting for the bus to get to the OTHER half of the train (track work = bus to train to bus to train to bus commute!), I whipped up my gauge swatch for my BROOM, which is the Rogue hoodie from Girl from Auntie. (And Monday wasn't nearly as bad as the commute home Tuesday - as I showed you Wednesday.)


While at work, since it was really slow (all our regulators and clients being closed), I was able to get the basics of my schematic set up:


What I've done so far should keep me entertained for about ten days, or to the armhole shaping/start of the hood. I have to check my class notes to get the math for the armhole shaping correct (I know how many inches I need to decrease to have the danged thing actually fit my shoulders properly, I just need to know that in "rows" and "stitches"), but it should be all good. I'm not even going to WORRY about starting the sleeves (or figuring them out!) until the 20th.

I allowed myself to actually start knitting my OWL Monday, since it's a holiday, and this is how far I got by Wendesday morning - actually knitting the hem in place, and 9 rows into Chart A:


Since there was a bit of commuting trauma Wednesday evening and Thursday maorning, I let myself have the rest of the work-week with the Fun New Sweater. As yesterday was XBRL (yuck!) training at work, which resulted in no time to post, and more stress, I had this by the end of the day:


That's the first 25 rows, plus the hem (already turned) and the front pocket knit up. With all the decreases involved in my hip/waist ratio, it's going pretty quickly now.... so, now, it's NOTHING BUT OWL until I hit the 50% mark. As a result, I'm finished with Quidditch (having knit three things for it already, with only one required) and classes (assuming my DADA gets accepted - if not, I'll turn it in for whatever the eighth class I was going to ignore is).

BROOM submitted!

So, there's a fun new thing at Hogwarts this term for projects that aren't *quite* time-eating enough to qualify for an O.W.L., but are definitely too much for a month-long class. It's the Order of the Phoenix, which has four departments - Central Command, Security Operations, Recruitment, and Undercover Operations. Now, I've wanted an excuse to knit a Rogue hoodie FOREVER, but it's definitely not an OWL-level project for me. I *might* be able to pull it off in a month - but not if I had to knit anything else (like, say, Quidditch projects, six classes, an OWL, various Challenges...). So a BROOM (Basic Request for Official Order Mission) is a great vehicle for finally getting me the pullover I've wanted forever.

To the point that I've started it before, but in acrylic yarn - and I really want it out of wool. My Miss Babs Yowza! in Russet came in last month, so I'm taking it as A Sign. (I love Yowza! - I'd better, since I've made a king-sized Girasole out of it.) So, I'll be starting all over again once I'm approved, but I'm fine with that. I WANT THIS SWEATER!!!

Anyway, here's my BROOM. As you can probably tell, I had a LOT of fun putting it together. (Also - I don't own any of the images but my sweater schematic at the bottom.)

BROOM Proposal - Public Portion

I, "Morissa Hazard" [ R E D A C T E D - R E D A C T E D ] of the noble house of Slytherin (see file, left), greatly desires to go on a mission for the Order of the Phoenix. I must follow in my sister "Carrollon Hazard"s (see file) footsteps quite literally, and hope that I can find her, as she has been out of contact for much longer than she ought. I propose, therefore, to gain admission to her current circle of "friends", and continue her work - discovering if the Death-Eaters that are attempting to re-form as a coherent (and dangerous) group.

It is suspected by [ R E D A C T E D ] of the [ R E D A C T E D ] that the new circle is forming around Minos Rockwood (second son of Augustus Rockwood). Despite his father's known offenses, and his elder brother's disapperance, Minos has managed to hold on to the family fortune. To all outward appearances, he is an earnest, charismatic young man with considerable resources at his disposal. His usual mode of dress can politely be termed "flamboyant" (or "gaudy" or "eyereekingly loud"), so he is noticed wherever he goes. He is a favorite subject of the gossip columns of several periodicals.


Minos Rockwood, source: Daily Prophet
He does, however, disappear from time to time. Completely. This in itself is not unusual, people aren't always in the public eye after all, but coupled wtih credible rumors from [ R E D A C T E D ] and actual eyewitness accounts from [ R E D A C T E D - R E D A C T E D - R E D A C T E D ], he dons far less conspicuous garb than is is wont and heads to a known Portkey at the edge of his estate.


Minos Rockwood: source Carrollon Hazard
My sister, of age to be an "acceptable match" with Rockwood (yes, the [ R E D A C T E D ] families still talk that way!), was approached by [ R E D A C T E D ] some time ago to, in turn, approach Rockwood. After a few months, within which she gained his trust, she was able to ascertain that the Portkey on the Rockwood estate emerges just outside the [ R E D A C T E D ], in the [ R E D A C T E D ]. While this is perhaps a surprising destination for a would-be Death-Eater, its very unlikliness - outright brazenness, if you prefer - make it a very secure meeting place. Carrollon was also able to positively identify at least one of the other members of the alleged group - [ R E D A C T E D - R E D A C T E D ].


Death Eater?: source Carrollon Hazard
So far, so good - except Carrollon herself has disappeared. I was able to find her last communication in the [ R E D A C T E D ] files.


Note, ascribed to C.H., source: [ R E D A C T E D ] file
It seems likely that Minos Rockwood's Suspected Activities have crossed into Actual Activities, and my sister herself may be in grave danger. Based on other information in the [ R E D A C T E D ] files, I have pieced together that there is a ritual planned for the Full Cold Moon (in late November). The Harvest Moon has just passed, so I need to find Carrollon in a scant six weeks - before the Full Cold Moon rises.


Carrollon Hazard, source: Ministry File - Suspected Death Eaters
I realize that as a relative of someone that may be in peril, I have to be unnoticable - or so ordinary as to attract no attention whatsoever. To blend in, no matter where I am. I must be able to flow seamlessly - and unnoticed - in whatever surroundings I find myself - or at least look as though I belong where I am! To this end I propose to fashion a hooded pullover, with some (but not too much) decoration, in a deep brown. That seems to be the favored color of Rockwood's group. It should allow me to blend as much as possible - but it won’t seem an unusual thing for me to wear in my everyday life, so I shouldn’t draw attention to myself as doing anything odd, either. I hope to be able to reach the Portkey (luckily, my uncle [ R E D A C T E D ] owns a bit of property estate adjoining the Rockwood estate), and through it find the Death-Eaters - and, Fates willing, my sister. I will obtain what information I can, retrieve my sister, if possible, and hopefully they’ll never know I was there.

I fervently hope my Proposal is accepted.

Thank you,
"Morissa Hazard"

Just for my personal reference, I'm putting my schematic from the original Rogue here; the inches are correct, but my gauge might vary. And at this point, I have no idea where the actual paper copy has hidden itself, if it even still exists!!



Now, I just have to wait to see if I've been approved...

*...drums fingers on desk...*

Are we there yet...?

New Term Starts Tomorrow!!

First, I got sorted into Slytherin for my Fifth Year. Yay!!

Second, I'm a Middle Snake in the Black Adder Nest again - More Yay!!

Third, I was going to be somewhat sane with my crafting this term, really I was. I picked a complicated OWL, figured out I'd make a sweater for my BROOM, and do the minimum classes and quidditch. And then THIS got posted:

Gather round all ye Snakes, Slytherin Quest has a little twist this term. In honor of our Slytherin Spring 2011 Victory and to insure we retain the House Cup, Professor Snape extends an invitation to all members of Slytherin House to join the [Super-Secret Society, Name Withheld for Secretness].

Our location upon this cruise ship is secret kept, but is accessible to all of Slytherin House.

Please sign up via [Super-Secret Location] by September 30th if you wish to craft for a Slytherin Order of the Serpent Medallion.

I'm not signing up to CRAFT ALL THE THINGS, but I'm probably going to try to do so anyway. I see a lot of tiny projects in my future!!

Fourth, let us say a fond farewell to the projects that will be fodder for Detention later in the term, upon which I will no longer have time to work due to OWL, BROOM, Quidditch, Headmistress's Challenge, and six-to-eight classes a month. First is my Dobby's Sunset Birch Leaf Shawl, which is probably a day or two out from being finished, so I may be able to pull off detention credit early.




Then, there's my Nancy & Judy shawl that only uses the Nancy pattern. I've made it to the second to last color change (FINALLY). The third-to-last change took 12 rows, so this one should take about ten, then there should be about five of pattern (or to a logical stopping point) then a garter-stitch edge.


I've actually done really well in August with getting projects I've started Off The List. Three shawls finished in August alone - that's pretty darned good for me!!

Hurricane "aftermath"

How to knit through a hurricane in Three Easy Steps.

1. First, the last thing you should do right before the rain starts is get some yarn. The quantity is up to you, but it should, more or less, match the amount of storm you're expecting.


2. Then, knit it up during the storm. It helps if there's some sort of cool pattern... er...


... um, okay, some sort of cool VISIBLE pattern in it. It also helps if it is....


3. Wearable in more than one way. Here, we have a lovely neckwarmer, or ...


... headscarf!


And yes, I only knitted during Irene, which (for us) wasn't very long, but I only had 93 yards of bamboo. I think I called it just about right!

January - Done!!

Three days later, it's safe to post about THE CRAZEE that was Monday night. Here are my WIP-tracking Countdown Blocks WITH FLAMES for Divination from Wednesday night, January 5:


... and there they mostly stayed until the morning of January 31. (Three more squares happened between the 5th and the 31st, but I can't be certain as to when.) Yes, I got going on these the day they were due. (The more Hogwarts seems like school, the more I'm treating it like school.) I managed to finish an eighth square on the way into work, which boded well for getting at least two more finished during lunch... but I ended up reading the rest of Waiter Rants. I really enjoyed it, and you might too... and if you've never read the Waiter Rants Blog, you should. Especially if you've ever done time in a coffehouse or restaurant.

Back to my homework. By two in the afternoon, I had eight of twelve block faces done (two cubes, six sides each). None of the cross-stitch was done on them, and I hadn't quite figured out how to make them WITH FLAMES. I was going to use yellow yarn for the numbers, and red for the borders - maybe doing some half-stitches after the borders were done? But how, since they were going to be solid?

So, 2pm. The panic still hadn't set in - after all, I had an hour commute home - that should be good for two blocks, and a ton of spare time at home. (Yes, from time to time I forget that I need to eat, work out, bathe, do chores, or otherwise be productive in ways that don't involve yarn. This would be one of those times.) While falling asleep the previous night (at 1am, after turning in classes #6 and #7), I'd figured out how to stitch all the numbers on my afghan-stitch grid - seven tall, five wide, and where to break the "curls" - especially tricky with the "6" and "9", which are one and the same. These countdown blocks are based on Calendar Blocks - there's a "1", "2" and "3" on each block, then one has "0", "4" and "5" and the other has "6/9", "7" and "8".

Now, if you've ever done afghan stitch... it's not the fastest. And you're basically doing each row twice to make the fabric.

If you've ever done cross-stitch, you know that it's one of the slower crafts. Especially if you care about having all your "x"s crossed the same way (I do).

Here's my thought process then: "So... let's say I do get two blocks done during the commute home, and I'm home on time (because of COURSE the weather will cooperate!), and then I get two more blocks done - then it's only 12 numbers, that won't take too long, and seriously - how many seams are in a cube? What, 12, right? Well, that won't take long at all. And I know where my polyfill stuffing is. Pfeh. I'll totally be done by 10pm, take the photos, and be in bed well before midnight."

Here's what really happened.

I managed to get two more blocks crocheted on the train, and figured I'd get another done on the ride from the train to home. However, my mother (who very kindly offered to drive us home from the train) had packed her backseat full of books and milk-crates. My husband, who usually sits back there, didn't fit. So, I tried. I didn't fit (even with my boots off; boots on + tiny backseat = claustrophobic attack that would result in me rolling onto a highway when I kicked the door open in desperation for escape). Mom did. With mom there, though, the seat didn't go back far enough for my husband to get in the driver's seat. So, with no boots (can't drive in the ones I was wearing yesterday), I got to drive home, in the dark, on slightly slick roads. That doesn't sound too bad, right? Well - there were a few issues.

1. Was already having a slight panic attack from *trying* to fit in the tiny space left in the backseat
2. Haven't driven more than 2miles or three times in the past year. Haven't driven after dark in over a decade. Haven't driven on anything resembling "ice" or "slick roads" since I totaled my car - and almost myself - in an ice storm outside Denver in the mid-90s.
3. Wasn't wearing shoes, so grabbing pedals with toes worked best. Not reccomended.
4. Pissed that I was driving, period. If I'd known the car was going to be full, I would have taken the bus without any problems. At this point, the bus is no longer running.

We did make it home (driving under the speed limit, flashers going, and my mom trying to "help" from the backseat). But, being very shaky and wound up, getting right to work crafting didn't work. Instead, I indulged in what can only be described as a panic-induced food frenzy and ate things guaranteed to make me feel like crap for the next three days. After that, my husband very sweetly made cookies, and, whilst nomming a cookie, I began to feel better. Then the crochet frenzy began. I'd thought I'd made 10 blocks by the time I got home, but no, I only had 9. Eventually (10:00 pm) they were finished, and I started the stitching. That took until about 10:45.


Then the assembly - oddly enough, that took LONGER than stitching all the letters! The last bit got stuffed and seamed at 12:03a.m. eastern time, which was with plenty of time to spare (final call is 12am pacific time). Here they are, done. They don't look so big in the photo, but they're 5" cubes as it turns out! That's not all that small!


So, turned them in, then posted my Finished Item Collage to the two threads that required it. Then I knitted on my Arithmancy OWL, just for fun & relaxation, and finally turned in around 1am. So, Mission Accomplished - just with a lot more angst than originally predicted!

Transfiguration - DONE!!!

First off, NO, I did not get enough sleep. But I did get more than I thought I would, which is pretty nice.

Second, when I hit that tired-and-wanna-sleep-but-only-if-X and X="finish this thing I'm knitting", I can knit pretty freakin' fast!! To wit, a Who?:

Yes, I actually managed to knit a Who? Hat in ONE DAY. Even better, it actually happened over about five hours, which, given the amount of frogging, swearing, dinner breaks and general television distraction (hey, it was ANTM, it's important to actually *see* what's happening), it's probably more like three. I managed to use some yarn I wanted to do a blocking test on - specifically, Lion Brand Wool-Ease. I know it blocks great in stockinette, but how about cables? Reverse stockinette? Not, mind you, that I've had time to block it yet. Heck, I'm just glad I found two matching buttons!!


The fact that the yarn is Oxford Grey and the buttons are green? Purely a happy coincidence. I think the buttons are the extras from a dressy silk blouse I used to have (long since lost in the mail), but they work great. I was also worried about having only one set of buttons for one set of Owl Eyes - but, as it turns out, that's how it was done in the original pattern! Yay!!


The real yay, other than having a cute new little hat (that still needs blocking)?

I FINISHED ALL EIGHT SEPTEMBER CLASSES.
All of 'em. Transfiguration is "knit something with button closures - with actual buttonholes, or knit something where buttons are incorporated as decoration" - loosely paraphrased. But little button owl eyes count!!

I'm proud as a peacock over this!!


Next month starts tomorrow, with all new classes, right? Woohooooo!!

The O.W.L. this term: Herbology (aka "Cables, and lots of 'em!")

So, the O.W.L. proposal went in yesterday, and it looks to be approved. It's going to be a sweater, for Herbology. This is the yarn:






This is all the stuff I'll be using...

1. Knit 'n Style, August, 2010;
2. Vogue Knitting, Fall 2010;
3. Rogue, by Jenna Wilson;
4. 3000 yards of Green Shepherd's Wool from Stonehedge Fiber Mill;
5. Four sets of 7" bamboo needles (for knitting all the parts of the sweater at once; fronts will be on the same set of needles);
6. 1set of 36" size 7 needles (for button band and collar);
7. Nine brass buttons;
8. Yarn needle; and
9. Stitch holders.

I was good and actually made a schematic - so having swatches would actually be, y'know, USEFUL. And did my Quidditch sweater (which I cast on Sunday night) schematic at the same time. I even put a key on it so I'd remember which lines were for which sweater.


Then, of course, there was the swatching. I finished it late last week, and went about doing the blocking on Saturday. Usual steps: Drench, Wring in Towel, Pin Out To Dry.






Then, on to the explanation, which flows best from what I submitted in my proposal:

I have multiple swatches, as there are several areas of this sweater that I needed exact measurements to be able to make my master schematic. In addition, I am changing several components of the sweater, as explained in detail below. First, moss stitch, which is the main "background" stitch of the sweater. I plan to keep the moss stitch relatively untouched, but will be able to use the moss stitch side panels of the sweater to conceal the subtle waist shaping.


The second swatch is the double-braid motif for the upper part of the sleeves, with a button band cast on and worked up one side. I am adding the button band and collar from the London Calling cardigan. Below is the original front of the sweater, and my proposed button band and collar.

  
Here is the related swatch:


Next, I will be changing the bottom part of the sleeve. The original sleeve has paired mirror-image twisted cables. I will be adding a closed-loop Celtic motif at the wrist of each sleeve, which will go (based on the swatch) to just below the elbow.





Finally, I'll be modifying the main panel celtic motif. In my opinion, closed-loop formation at the hem and neckline of the sweater will make the panels appear more intricate, and they will better match the sleeves.

I figure I'll cast on sometime Wednesday, or when I get to the "divide for front and back" part of my Quidditch sweater, whichever comes first. Woohooo!!