A Day to Frog

March 8th, 2009

Two projects I had to frog today, but I feel good about doing it for both of them. Maybe it’s the sun and warm spring weather we’re having, or maybe it’s these projects feel fresh because they’ve spent a lot of time in hibernation. As long as I don’t have to do too much more ripping back on these, I’m happy to do it now.

This is my second piece on the sweater I’ve been working on, and hopefully this isn’t a warning of things to come as in the previous piece. I got over halfway through knitting it before I had to rip anything back, which is a good sign. I was being pretty careful about the pattern, and following my rows cautiously when I realized there was one measely increase that I missed on the outside edge of the garter panel. Whoops! A roughly 10 row frog isn’t so bad compared to the rip-it hell of the first piece.

Compared to my slow progress before, I feel like I’m flying along on this piece despite the small stitches. Just a back piece, and two sleeves to go! Then there’s the grafting, seaming…OK maybe it’s not quite that close to finished.

I realize you haven’t seen much of this guy since before the fall. I didn’t really post anything after the swatch, but you can see it’s coming along. I haven’t touched it since before the holidays, but it was a well deserved break. At that point I had finished one sleeve (which you see above), and started the other when I realized my gauge on the sleeves was off. I probably could have fudged it, but it was just a teeny bit too tight on my husband’s arm. Since it’s been over a month I feel pretty comfortable starting all over on the sleeves.

I must say, this has been super easy and when I actually work on it, it flies off the needles. No waist shaping and a wonderful combination of garter/stockinette stitch. Such a contrast to the sage cardigan! Not only can we women be high maintenance sometimes, but I guess our sweaters are too.

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Teddy Bears

March 1st, 2009

A few months back I bought this cute little book of knitted teddy bears called The Knitted Teddy Bear. I love knitting things that are going to be useful, and I just can’t bring myself to knit all kinds of baby clothes that the little one will grow out of in a few months. However, a teddy bear can be of use for a very long time.

I had some Frog Tree Alpaca sport weight leftover from knitting Mom’s shawl, browsed through the book for the right teddy, and cast-on…again…and again… This is not a cleverly knit-in-one-piece-and-sew-closed teddy bear. Normally I avoid heavily seamed pieces whenever I can because, well frankly if you can then why not? I started losing track of what was what so I had to pin my finished pieces to a piece of paper and label them.

It looks like a mess right now, but just bear with me (pun not intended…I wish I was that clever). Once all the pieces are sewn up and the ends are all hidden away it’ll be a cute little brown bear of a thing. It’s going to be a bit on the small side, but I kind of like that. Toys don’t always need to be huge.

A bit on this particular pattern book. There are quite a few cute little bear patterns in it, and I imagine once you’ve done a few you get the hang of it. It has a nice variety to choose from, but the way the patterns are written can be wierd. It’s not wrong necessarily, but it took me a little bit to decipher some of the wording. For example…

Inc 1 st at each end of row.

When I first looked at that sentence, I thought it was telling me to increase at the end of each row. I began to wonder if this wasn’t written by a native English speaker, because that didn’t make sense based on previous rows. After a few more readings though, I realized that it meant to increase at the beginning and end of that particular row (or “at each end”). Not that this is a wrong way to describe what you’re doing, but in my experience it’s much more  common to see that written as something like “m1 at beg. and end of row” replacing m1 with whatever increase is being used of course.

So far this is a very thorough pattern. We’ll see when it comes to construction how the instructions are.

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The Sage Cardigan

February 21st, 2009

I have ripped this project out so many times. I am determined to finish it because I am so in love with the design, but I feel as if the pattern and me just don’t mesh. This time I didn’t do my increases in the right place. On the garter stitch panel you’re supposed to decrease at the very edge as it gets closer to the shoulder. Not paying any attention to the line by line instructions (I’m using the very detailed graphed out chart) I didn’t realize I was supposed to decrease 1 stitch in. Of course I should have seen this. I should have known that decreases right on the edge of garter stitch would look like a ladder. It wasn’t until I’d almost finished this piece that I realized I couldn’t live with how crappy it looked. R-R-I-P-P…

Today and yesterday I finally got the energy to pick it back up again and reknit almost to where I ended before ripping. In fact I was even going to try to avoid ripping and do a clever fix. It turns out I like actual knitting more than I like deconstructing and re-working it. This is going to be such a beauty when I block it. You may be able to tell that now the edge of the garter stitch panel has a nice (mostly) smooth curve to it. Totally worth ripping and reknitting.

I have to say one thing about the yarn. I’m using Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca and Silk yarn, and this stuff has really held up. Some parts of the yarn have been knit 4 and 5 times, and there’s only a slight bit of fuzz to show the wear. That’s no more than it would get once it had been blocked, and you can’t really tell when it’s knitted up. This is a good thing because I really need this sweater to last, what with how long it’s taking me.

This started out as a somewhat long term sweater due to the detail and the small stitches, which I am always a fan of. However, it has become a monster of a sweater due to a bit of perfectionism and a lot of mistakes. The pattern itself doesn’t seem to have too many errors, but it’s not written in a way that is easy for me to follow. It may seem silly, but there’s just too much information and I get overwhelmed.

Hopefully as I get on in this pattern I’ll have more to say. It feels as if every time I bring this cardigan it’s always the same story. Love the yarn, love the stitches, mistakes, ripping, reknitting, damn it I’m determined to finish this one.

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Love for Garter Stitch

January 18th, 2009

I seem to be doing a lot of garter stitch lately. I’ve always loved simple knitting, and the projects I’ve been drawn to the past few days prove just how much.

I couldn’t resist starting another bib. I had a lot of this purple-mauve cotton left over from Christmas knits, so I cast on right away. I love picking it up and working on a few rows when I just don’t feel like thinking.

I’ve gone through almost two whole balls of this handspun to get this scarf, and I think I’ll have a bit more than I need for a good length. I wish bits of this yarn were spun better, but overall it’s coming out nicely. I think washing it and blocking it will make a real difference, especially to clean up the edging.

I’ve got what looks like a stitch marker on there to count my rows. It’s a row counter that has 10 rings for 10 rows. My pattern repeats only have 6 rows, so I’ll skip 4 rings to start. I have two different pattern repeats to follow. When I’m following the one that increases for the scalloping I move one ring each row towards the green bead. I do the same for the decreasing towards the white bead. It’s so easy to remember, and I find it much more mindless than having to remember to tick off a row counter every row.

I can’t wait to finish it and try it out in this cold cold winter we’ve been having.

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Cute and Easy

January 14th, 2009

I like easy projects, and it’s even better when they’re cute.

Despite being simple, I did learn one little thing. Buttonholes are messy. I should do a study soon and sample some buttonhole techniques. I always end up with this strand on one side that looks loose and messy. I know they’re often hidden behind the  button, but when it’s something that won’t always be buttoned they should look crisp and clean.

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Christmas Knitting Blahs

January 11th, 2009

I will learn one year how to have an ambitious Christmas knitting list without losing my enthusiasm for the craft a month or two before Christmas. I haven’t done a ton of knitting for the last several months, aside from what I had to finish for Christmas. I haven’t been really excited about it either. Well, no more.

I don’t have great chances for good sunlight to procure wonderfully clear detailed pictures, but you get the idea. I needed something easy to cast on, and have been wanting to replace my winter scarf with something softer. In comes some rainbow handspun and my [Antique Lace](http://www.ravelry.com/dl/kristin-lemoine-designs/4425?filename=Vintage_Lace.pdf) scarf to the rescue. This was some early handspun I made, so the scarf is slightly uneven in width and there are some spots where the yarn gets really thin. However, I really love the slow transition of bright color, especially in this incredibly snow stormy winter.

I was also pleased to use this fun new toy when I started the project. Thank you to my husband for this wonderful Christmas gift.

And thank you to my mom for that beautiful rocker. [Can't be a mom some day without one, eh?](http://www.greenkri.com/905)

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Not Gone Yet!

December 2nd, 2008

I’m still here! Been without internet for almost two months now, but everything’s back up and running. I’m still knitting..boy do I need to get back into the swing of things.

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Cabled Socks

August 24th, 2008

So I don’t have a lot to show for this week, because I’ve only been working one one project…

I’m on the home stretch now that I’m just finishing the cuff. I am a bit tired of this sock, but it’s very simple. I just need to keep plugging along so I can get it finished. Generally when making socks I only do an inch or two at the cuff because it’s not the most fun part, but since these aren’t for me I need to make it a bit longer. I’m not so sure how I feel about the toe, but I’ll graft it when I’m done and see if it looks all right. I can just undo it and reknit the toe down if I need to.

You can see it’s a bit awkward taking pictures like this. The sock looks a whole lot better on Corey’s foot since he is closer to my mom in size. I’m always so worried about how socks will fit when I’m making them for someone else. I usually measure by putting my socks on myself as I go, but when it’s a gift I can’t really do that.

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Christmas

August 17th, 2008

It’s finally time to get started on the Christmas knitting. I bought this huge ball of Lily Sugar ‘n Cream cotton in a light mauve a while back, and decided it would be perfect for making a kitchen set of sorts. This will be my sister since she’s living on her own now, and I just whizzed right through these. There’s a dish towel, and a bunch of dish cloths in different sizes and shapes. They’re almost done except for a few finishing touches, so it’s good to get one out of the way.

Then the other day I bought some sock yarn, because this year I think it will be socks for my mom. I’m using Valley Yarns Huntington from Webs, and so far I’m really pleased with this yarn. It’s a fine weight sock yarn which is my preference, and seems like it will make some nice sturdy socks. I do prefer to stay away from nylon and superwash when I can, but that combination really does make hard wearing socks.

I’ve still got to get the yarn to make my grandmother’s shawl, and Corey’s sweater. I’m being a bit ambitious this year, but I think I can do it. If I don’t finish Corey’s sweater that’s OK, because..well we live together and he knows I’m making it for him. I’ll have time, right? I feel like Christmas is almost upon us even though it’s August. I’ve already seen leaves changing for the fall! Mornings have been cool, and I’ve brought my handspun shawl back out. Yeesh time does fly!

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Knitting with Injuries

August 3rd, 2008

I thought I would be incapacitated from knitting for a week, but was only kept from it for a day or two. Since I can comfortably type now, I’ve got some stuff I want to show you. First, a little swatch…

I’m going to knit Corey the [Cobblestone Pullover](http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cobblestone-pullover) by Jared Flood. It’s such a classic simple sweater, and the husband likes it so we picked out some Scottish Tweed DK so I could at least start the swatch. I’ve got until Christmas, and I think I’m being a bit ambitious this year with this plus a shawl plus whatever other stuff I do. As long as I keep up I think I can do it.

Ugh. That’s about a third of what I had done on my Sage Cardigan ripped right out. Apparently as thorough as these directions are, I still can’t follow the pattern. I mentioned how I’d created some abbreviated instructions so I didn’t have to worry about reading line by line, or following the chart. Well, apparently I should have been paying more attention to the chart.  I missed some shifts in the garter stitch, because in my overconfidence I didn’t pay any attention to the left hand side of the chart.

You may also notice in that picture a less than ideal hem. I screwed that up too. Another case of not thoroughly paying attention to the chart, and I didn’t even glance at the line by line instructions. That’ll be easy to rip out and knit down though. Ohh, maybe I can rip out to the mistake, knit it separate and graft.

Even with all the trouble, I’m loving this knit. The stitch pattern is simple and beautiful, the garter stitch looks amazing, and it’s just so soft. You may be able to tell, but the garter stitch panel is going to need to be stretched when I block it. As is normal, the garter stitch row gauge is shorter than the stockinette. It’s very unfortunate I’ll have to put this away soon in favor of Christmas knits.

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