still knitting

As usual, i cannot believe that it has been so long since i posted. Since my last post i have finished the Fair Ginny sweater (save for the zipper), finished my Bible cover (well... kinda, it's turned out to be a flop, and i'm not sure what i'm going to do to fix it), crocheted several sample granny squares for Ginny's Hex vest, and worked a bit more on Tangy Giselle. That's about all, at the moment, except for the fact that i bought fabric to sew passport covers, need to work on the Ohm bag, and also want to dye a white shirt my grandma got me at a thrift store, because i'm sure there's no way i would be able to keep it white. School is less than a month away now, and the chances for a new pc and camera are on the horizon as well... my laptop is about to give out and i want to have a new digital camera for the cruise i'm going on in November.

School's nearly finished and i've been dreaming of attempting to tie dye. i've also decided to use the yarn i bought for the Ohm bag for my Bible cover and use some old white cotton yarn that i have had lying around forever for the former project instead. i bought some Dylon Permanent Fabric Dye in Burgundy that i plan to dye the white with after i finish the bag.

i really should be working on homework (still have a paper to write and a paper and poems to edit) or studying for finals.

my new mary janes!

Purchased at Brown's Shoe Fit Co. in downtown Grand Junction on April 20, 2009, and for a pretty penny. i intend for them to be my new work shoes, but they still need a little breaking in. They're Sanita Marcell Cabrios; Sanita is a Danish clog company. Perfect for showing off any socks i may finish knitting. (: The socks i was wearing i bought at Target, though.

knitting... slow

So the project i am making the most progress on is Tangy Giselle. i've set aside the sleeve stitches and am nearly to the end of the second ball (which equals 40% of the project if i use all the yarn). i discovered a mistake from a long time ago where i knit 7 sts on a purl row (or purled 7 sts on a knit row) and there is no way that i am fixing it. Taking it out as a ladder would probably destroy the tension / gauge, if not tangle the yarn. Taking it out all the way, even a stitch at a time, is most likely impossible (not to mention extremely inconvenient and time consuming). i can live with such a small mistake, and--let's face it--no one will probably ever notice. It might even be hidden by the hood whenever it's down (which, let's face it, is probably going to be most of the time).

In other project news... haven't gotten any more work done on the Boing socks, did two more rows on Fair Ginny, and am planning to knit a Bible cover now (possibly using ribbon as part of the design). i still haven't bought the size 4 needles for the yoga bag and runner's companion.

i hope to upload some update photos soon. It's getting late, i need to sleep. Luckily i can knit in three of my classes, and can get 3-7 rows done in each one if i put my mind to it. i'm not sure if i'll work on Giselle's sleeves next or continue with the main body of the project. Hmmm.../yawn.

knittin' in class

i have gradually been working on Giselle in class and it's coming along nicely. The gauge has once again turned out to be larger than expected (i don’t know why i even knit swatches, for crying out loud), and i apparently missed some increases somewhere, because i had 6 sts too few or too many (i’m not sure which). i set aside the arm sts 15 repeats early and have a Small Body, Large back, and Medium sleeves when it comes to how many sts are on the needles; i really don’t care as long as the sweater fits! But i find it really odd that i’ve apparently messed up the increases so much and my gauge is so off.

In other news, i bought some Mary Janes to wear to work and show off the socks i hope to be knitting soon (i have a lot of sock yarn in my stash). i hope to post pics soon.

see through to schoolwork

i need to knit more

i haven't had much time to knit lately, but have been working the hood of my Tangy Giselle Wrap cardigan (i hate that word) off and on during the past two weeks. i got the most work on it done Friday during the two hours i attended the Mesa State Writers Conference. The hood is now about 12" in height (15" stretched) and fits nicely, is snug without being tight as far as i can guesstimate before knitting more. i've now placed markers and have started the back and arm increases using the KRL and KLL videos as a guide.

i am absolutely loving this yarn. There are some sts that are bigger than others, that look like mini holes, but i don't care, i love the way this knits up. It's really easy to tell that it's hand knit and hand dyed (the color isn't solid throughout, there is slight variegation).

i should be working on homework, have several papers to write (eek), but don't want to put the dang needles down. Luckily, one paper will be the same in two classes, but i still don't want to stop knitting. i've been sooo stressed lately, have been meaning to try yoga and need to knit more. At least i'm making some progress.

slow progress

First off, a Knitty article that i think i've read before, Knitting Yourself Together, about the meditative quality of knitting.

Second off, i have cast on Tangy Giselle and Fair Ginny, as i am now calling my two sweater projects. i am about a third of a way through the hood of the wrap, which i last worked on last Friday during the We Surround Them meetup as Bassett Furniture. As for Ginny, i've knit 5 rows in stockinette and am going to attempt to knit backwards for the purl rows... except maybe for the colorwork.

Spring break was heinous, it was worse than a normal school week is, and just as i had thought to myself "i know my schedule is crazy but it's just enough for me to handle." Stupid, stupid Kristi! Don't you know that when you say dumb stuff like that God throws you a curveball? Now my manager wants me to work during school and scheduled me for five days last week, just when daylight savings and my allergies hit simultaneously. It now seems that i need a new job if i'm going to be able to pass my classes this semester.

Fox Coffee Beanie... finished (but now for Sammy)

So i finally finished this hat yesterday in between class and work (you can see the finished product at Ravelry). The RT section has more of a ribbed look to it than the LT section, which used slipped sts to good effect, but i didn't figure out how to do that with the RT. My current stitch guide is as follows:

LT = sl 2 sts as if to knit, then put them back onto left needle. ktbl of 2nd st (which is really the front of the loop), sl 1st st, drop 2nd st. (hope this makes sense!)
RT = k2tog, k 1st st again
Note: during a section you knit the odd rows, and to not make a jag in the diagonal and keep the pattern true will need to start the pattern one st sooner or later at the end of the k row. i went with sooner on the LT section and later with the RT section so that the beg of the row was at the same place in the brim section and crown section.

This was knit up using 16 rows of knit, which was then folded to make a brim casing, 12 rows of LT (which looked like 6 because of the large slipped sts), 12 rows of RT, and about 20 rows of crown knitting all rows while decreases started around row 8. i placed a marker at the begging of the row and the halfway point.
Decrease pattern: k4sts, ssk, k to 6sts from marker, k2tog, knit 4, slip marker, knit 4, ssk, k to 6 sts from marker, k2tog, knit 4, end of row.

i used a 3 needle bind off after folding the 4 st sections inward and slipping them over the appropriate section sts, but this did not achieve the look that i wanted. The hat wasn't tall enough before the decreases, i should have k 16 rows of the LT and RT sections or gone with 20 row sections instead. The brim section was also uncomfortably loose on me, though it seems to fit Sammy well and she doesn't think it's uncomfortable.

i plan to make this hat again, with bulky yarn most likely, and making adjustments of the brim casing is tighter but the cable section is a bit looser. i REALLY hate this yarn, though it's soft, you can see it's already pilling at the top of the crown in the photos i posted at Ravelry, and i didn't even take the section out (unlike the others, which i had to take out repeatedly, once because i dropped one st at the top of the RT section, which fell to the top of the LT section, and i had no idea how to fix it.

excellent blog article

Knitting and Public Politics, about whether it's okay to knit in public (i feel that it is, but i know that i amaze and offend some people).

And if that wasn't enough, the blog has a great M.C. Escher quote. (:

the woes of LTs and trying to salvage the Fox Beanie YET AGAIN

i have been trying to knit this hat off and on for over two years now. The yarn i'm using is 100% acrylic, cost me about $2.50, and it is supposed to be great for cables. i have become a yarn snob and hate using acrylic, this yarn has only reinforced that for me. The pros are that the yarn is super soft and machine washable, the cons are that it splits like crazy and is already pilling a bit after being taken out a couple of times.

i finally found a zigzag stitch that looked perfect in the Vogue Knitting Stitchionary 2 but have had nothing but trouble with it. It uses a Left Twist and Right Twist that, when worked, looks nothing like the picture / example. If i knit the st as instructed there is a gap in between the twists that looks far more lacy than i would like. So i have done some research and apparently the LT is the bane of many knitters' existence. No one can agree on how it should be done, there are at least four different methods one can use, and none of them look exactly like in the book (not to mention that the method outlined in the book looks worst of all). My search was not helped by the fact that KnittingHelp.com has no vids on how to knit an LT and while the forums claimed there were videos on YouTube i couldn't find any by searching for "LT knit stitch" (apparently there's a musical group named LT Stitch, however, and i did finally find two videos when i searched for "Left Twist"). i finally made a breakthrough when i found Let Me ExplainKnit's rather lengthy post on the woes of LTs, which verified for me the need to turn every 2nd st so when i ktbl i am actually ktbl i am actually knitting through the front of the loop instead of twisting it. She also linked to the pattern for Cable Twist Socks which instructs the knitter to slip the 1st st as if to purl instead of k2togtbl. This has yielded a stronger unified look, instead of the twisted lacy pattern that, while pretty, was not the look i was going for at all.

This pattern is very much self made though i have used two others as a guide (in a manner of speaking). i used Son of Stitch 'N Bitch's Half-Pipe Hat as a guide for gauge and returned to the idea of encasing the brim instead of trying to knit a shaped case for it (as i did with my Flaming Snowboard Beanie. i used a stockinette st instead of a rib and folded the cast on edge under instead of over. The Half-Pipe brim was far larger than i was wanting to use (the Flaming Beanie's brim is too large, too), so i turned to the Lidsville pattern instead. For the Flaming Beanie i used foam, this time i am using some plastic canvas that i had lying around, and i prefer foam because it is softer and doesn't have jagged edges. It took me the better part of a half hour to trim the plastic canvas so it wouldn't catch the yarn and damage it.

i am currently a third of the way through the LT section and am hoping that the RT section doesn't give me as much grief (though from what i read the RT usually works better than the LT). i'm also winding the yarn for my Wrap Sweater into balls, i'm not sure if i'll actually be casting on today or not, but i have a lot more of Tale of Two Cities to get through, so it's entirely possible that i'll finish the hat or cast on or both.

hitting a wall with Evi ):

i have been really unhappy with this project for over a week now. The cables look awesome, but the thumb gusset it in the wrong place, and i don't like the way the ribs look on the wrist. As much as i hate to do it, i think that i'm going to be taking out the right mitten and start over on it, but probably not before knitting up the left mitten so i can use it for a guide to see where my improvisations went wrong. The crazy thing is that the palm is baggy but i cannot extract my hand from the current slot. i do not think that i'll have enough yard to actually knit the fingers up properly, but i'm not sure. i plan to rotate the thumb decreases 90 degrees. i feel a bit embarrassed when i hit walls like this in my knitting. So far i'm not entirely impressed with this yarn, the gauge seems just a little loose, but i'm hoping that it will work well on the slopes once i complete the project.

the finished product (dyewise)

woot, the wool is on the way!

i just got an e-mail letting me know that my yarn for the Ginny Cardigan is finally on its way. The Pistachio was on back order, so i had to wait for them to get more in, and i kind of assumed it would take another week or two, so i'm really excited and wondering how long it will take to get here. The nice thing about this project is that, even though i paid a lot for this yarn, there will most likely be left overs on the contrast colors that i can use to make Christmas presents.

The bad part is that now i need to buy some more circulars and dpns because i don't have any in size 10 1/2 (as the pattern calls for). i know that you can't knit a cardigan in the round, but i also know that i refuse to do any seaming, so i will be knitting the back and fronts simultaneously. i'll have to wait until my next paycheck for that. i'll also buy one of these i think (my Harry Potter scarf needs it, if nothing else). i'm dreaming of a swift and a spindle, but don't know if they're currently in my budget.

i meant to post photos of the finished yarn yesterday afternoon, and i took several shots outside, and even wound the first loop length into a ball, only managing to get it tangled into an irreparable knot at the very end (losing less than a yard of yarn in the process). But even before i accomplished all of that, when i first got home, Mom wanted me to refresh her memory on how to knit, and Sammy couldn't remember how to cast on, so i spent more than an hour doing that and then i had to get ready for work. Anyways, i'm starving, and need to pick up the spinning books i reserved from the library. i'll post photos later.

It's orange and yellow kool-aid time...

So, finally got the yarn six days ago, and knitted a couple of rows to be sure of my gauge. Last night and today i wound the yarn into big loops and tied them with some old yarn i found:



Then i grabbed a big red pot of my mom's and filled it with enough water to submerge the yarn.



225 grams converted to about 4.4 ounces, and Knitty - Dyed in the Wool told me to use one packet per ounce, so i used four packets of KoolAid, two Orange and two Lemonade.



The color did go out of the water completely, and seemed to be slightly sudsy as i dumped it out. The orange is not completely solid or as bright as in Knitty's pics, but i am pretty happy with the outcome. The yarn has been rinsed and is hanging to drip dry right now; every once in a while i get a whiff of that KoolAid smell. i'll take a photo of it tomorrow when the sun comes back out.

i bought the needles for this project today... it wasn't cheap. i wasn't going to buy the heavy metal ones when nice bamboo and birch ones are readily available. i can hardly wait to cast on, but need to practice stitches with scrap yarn first: i definitely do not want to mess up while the yarn is on the needles as it will be nearly impossible to take out.

This was fun, and perplexed the kiddos; next time i want to use Blue Moon Berry or Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade. Grape and Black Cherry and Lemon Lime look promising too.

Upon reading my last three posts, i seem to have detected a pattern:

i can hitchhike in warmth now... posted @ 1:10 AM
yum posted @ 12:42 AM
progressing on Evi posted @ 12:22 AM

Yes, i know, i'm a night owl, but at least i don't eat your Tootsie Pop when you come to me for help.

i can hitchhike in warmth now...

Is it really so late / early? i got caught up knitting the thumb on my first mitten and am getting ready to knit the pinky next, but i have to do a couple more rows of pattern first. After the pinky, of course, comes the ring, middle, and index fingers, then the convertible part. Right now, i just need to get some sleep, cuz i have class in less than eight hours.

yum

Bought the Kool-Aid today, i think i got more than enough if my conversion from grams to ounces was correct. Today i ordered Crystal Palace Kid Merino in Lemon Sherbet (that's a horrible photo, but this is the yarn i hope to dye light orange for the wrap sweater) and 10 skeins of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky for the Ginny GoF cardigan. Were i going for colors as close to the movie as possible i would have used Khaki for the MC, but i chose to use Pistachio instead. For the CCs i’m using Orchid Thistle, Wild Mustard, and Rust. it was hard to pick which shades of the yellow / gold and orange to pick, but the Orchid was always my favorite shade of purple. i also ordered a skein of the Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted in Ink Blue for a Liberty Cap. i can hardly wait for the yarn to arrive!

progressing on Evi

After a false start with runaway cables on the inner wrist, i have cast back on and knitted to the wrist. i dropped a purl st once and had to undo 3 rows worth of cable pattern to fix my mistake. ): Luckily i saw a video on YouTube the other night that showed me an easy way to quickly un-knit my mistake. As it turns out, i accidentally repeated row 5 on my second repeat, but i liked the way it looked so i did it for my fourth repeat as well. i've been decreasing 3 sts every 5 rows and now have 46 sts on the needles: i plan to dec 2 more sts at the inner wrist and start the thumb gusset next. i wish i had the energy to do so now, but i'm really tired and need to get some sleep cuz i have class in the morning.

Evi update

i guess i'll go with the convertible mittens that i've been meaning to do for forever: i'll use Broad Street Mittens as a guide. So far, i am ready for round 11 and to start the cable pattern. In round five i did a cable round like in the Fetching pattern once (instead of repeating it 3 times on the wrist, i just did it once, and because i don't have a knit 4, p1, repeat going on i slip 2 k sts, hold to front, p2, k2 off cable needle). And because i'm backwards and contrary i'm knitting the right mitten first, which is mostly because i plan to reverse the Evangeline cable pattern on the left mitten so that the cables cross the same way i do up my sneakers (outside laces on top). Yes, i know i'm anal.