Sweaters Being Bad, Part 1

So, we got the new Cascade Tangier in stock, and I was all "OOOOO PRETTY WANT!" and needed something to knit up, and decided a Tee for Two would be awesome.


And it was. This is GREAT yarn, feels good to knit up, I like the drape on the needles I'm using (size 7). The only problem is that I was a bad, bad rabbit and didn't do a gauge swatch.

Yeah. I know.

So, I had the front and the back knit up, and one side mostly done... and tried it on. It was Not Good. Unless I wanted a totally off-the-shoulder sexy midriff-baring sweater. Which, since I wanted a tee shirt, was not going to work.

Frogged the side, and unpicked the cast off edges on front and back.



I have since made both front and a good four inches longer, and have done one side, with bonus short rows for the sleeve cap, and there *will* be longer sleeves. Picking up the stitches for the other side and getting going on that, hopefully remembering what I did on the first side so it matches. (I *did* write it down... I just don't know WHERE.)

So, maybe this "I can wear this to MDS&W!" tee will actually be finished sometime this summer.

Unless it plays more dirty tricks on me, in which case it's going into DEEP time out.

Another Filigree Lace "Scarf"

This is my second Filigree Lace Scarf, which I gave to my MiL for Christmas, in Polaris Aries. Here, the sequins were part of the yarn, and I only used the one. I added some extra yo rows to the edge, and it worked out beautifully. Blocked like a dream, was a good size for a shawlette. Used all but about an inch of yarn!


Note my Totally Fancy Blocking Board
I wish I'd thought to take a photo after it was done blocking... oh well!

I have finished a third one, which I managed to give back without getting any photo at all. It was made from Wolf and Phoenix cotton thread, one ball, in a pretty deep red/burgandy. The yarn was a gift from the recipient (hence the "gave back"; she wasn't expecting it, but it really was her color! As I'm a process knitter, I tend to give a bit away... if I ever finish it, that is!

First, fail at video...

So, I've decided I really, really love the Blue Sky Alpacas Metalico. Not just because it's the only Alpaca I can handle without my hands turning bright red - although that's certainly a consideration - but because it is SO SOFT. And it's just cool. Here's a video of the Untangling of the Skein - I'm sure this is a perfectly ordinary normal way to arrange yarn, but it's the first time I've paid attention when I've come across it, and I was delighted. Sadly, it's very dependent on which end you pull first - so here's a video of the exact WRONG way to smoothly unbraid the skein:


The cameraman is laughing so hard that he can't hold the camera steady. Oh well.
Yeah, well. If it had worked, it would have been cool.

Anyway, once I thought a bit (and pored through several Ravelry pattern searches), I realized I wanted to make a Moebius-something. The Lovely L taught me a Moebius cast-on back in the dark ages (aka the 1990s), but as I've crashed several computers and lost any ability to recover things from 5" floppy disks, I had to re-learn with my 2012 brain. Luckily, the internet coughed up CAT BORDHI - Intro to Moebius Knitting, which was all I needed to get going. Originally, I was going to knit up her free Cashmere Moebius Cowl, too, and that's the number of stitches I cast on. Went happily along for quite some time (about five rows - which on a moebius is a LOT of stitches), and then decided to put in stitch markers every pattern repeat (which is 16 stitches for this pattern).

Then a fellow Black Adder put some of her patterns on sale, and while buying several of them, I discovered her Jolly Roger Shawl. The skull motif was just the sort of thing I was looking for. And by some miracle, my initial cast-on of 288 stitches (done at random, no real planning, just Seemed About Right) was ALSO divisible by 18 - the stitch repeat for the skulls. I didn't know this as I was knitting a row to move the stitch markers down - and you could've knocked me over with a feather when I got to the final repeat and I had the right number of stitches. Very, very nice coincidence, that!

So, I knit a few more rows, and started the pattern. Here it is on Monday morning, just about to start the third lace row - the one with the 1-to-5 increases:


And here it is today:


Okay, so there's not THAT much progress. But it's still very, very soft!!! Plus I figured out there were 550 stitches a row - so cut me slack. That's a lot of lace stitches!!

An Unexpected Bunny

For the last of my Headmistress Challenge bunnies, I was going to do something for the New Year, or New Year's Eve, but it didn't quite turn out that way. Due to a lack of the proper ecru yarn, and a surfeit of pink, I got an Idea. I made pink ears, and decided she needed a scarf or something. So, I knitted a quick garter scarf, and tacked the ends together.


Yeah. I noticed it, too. It's a Breast Cancer Awareness ribbon. It works beautifully as a scarf, sure, but suddenly, this bunny Meant Something. I can't think of anyone I know that hasn't been touched by this terrible disease in some way. I have several friends who have lost mothers, aunts, grandmothers, sisters, daughters. I'm really hoping that 2011 will be The Year Cancer Is Finally Cured.


Back to the less-serious knitting - it's the usual plain bunny from Heartstrings Fiber Arts, which is, I believe, the pattern I've knit more than any other at this point; it just makes me happy to knit it. I changed the ears a bit, which are now co 9 stitches for 16 rows stockinette, then k1, knit next two stitches together (s1k1psso for most people, I think), then knit next three stitches together (not even gonna try, I know how I do it and no one else seems to do it my way), then k2tog, k1. Purl a row, then do a five-stitch bind off (like on the top of a celtic loop). It makes the ears nice and round, and more bunny-like than the somewhat pointy ears I've made before.


She looks lovely in her scarf, I think.

Turkey Bunny!

It was a nice, relaxing long weekend. I know that "Christmas" and "relaxing" don't go hand in hand for many people, and I'm sure ours was just as manic as usual, but compared to the EXTREME CRAZY at work the preceding week, it felt like I was wrapped in a soft cloud of calm. Luckily, soft clouds of calm tend to have tiny, unfinished knitting projects lying about, and I was able to finish another of my erstwhile Headmistress Challenge bunnies. This one (as you can probably guess) would have been the Thanksgiving Bunny:


The tailfeathers are crocheted - ch6, turn, half-crochet 6. Seriously. That's it. Made three yellow, three orange, and four red; pulled all the bits together and stuffed them into the rabbit, then secured everything with stitching, just in case.


He's totally going to be the centerpiece on the table next year. I'll have to get some sort of stand or something for him, though, because he is TINY. 2.5" long, tip to tail, that's it!


Whee, another finished project!

Who? Hat - just int time!

*Phew!* I did, in fact, manage to finish my dad's hat before Chirstmas Morning. (If "12:37 a.m. December 25" counts as "before", that is.) It got tricky when I went to add the eyes: they're meant to go in small, plush animals, not hats. Even hacking off the absurdly long anchor stems (good in toys, bad in hats) left something that might scratch a tender pate, so I needed to plushify it quickly. I hit on knitting on a little pocket-strip. First, I knit, just garter stitch, a strip long enough to cover the eyes.


I then anchored it on three sides, making a nice little pocket.






The pocket was then stuffed with just enough polyfill to make the pointy-things non-pointy, with enough cushion around that even if they did attempt re-pointyness, they just plain couldn't do it.


The bonus is that the only visible effect on the outside of the hat is that the little owl that has eyes (just one of the eleven) sticks out a bit - which, really, is the point of giving it eyes in the first place. I kinda wish I'd remembered to take a photo of the finished hat before I wrapped it... whups!

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!!