Sew Fasciknitting

Oh My Darlin'....

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:12:00 +0000

I apologize about being a liar. I promised to be back yesterday with an FO and I wasn't - the knitting was finished, I just needed to weave in ends and steam block my Clementine... which of course I didn't do yesterday. But I did that this morning and she's finished now:

Pattern: Clementine Shawlette (rav link) by Michele Rose Orne
Made for: Holiday 08 Gift
Needle: US 3 / 3.25 mm Inox circs
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy
Colorway: Good Luck Jade
Started: September 18, 2008
Finished: September 21, 2008

This was a super quick knit and easy to memorize - great for zoning out in front of the television (which I happen to do a lot). With this pattern, you knit the two ends separately and then use the kitchener stitch to sew the two together to keep the "trees" going in the same direction. Stitching the two ends together took absolutely forever (about half of the Emmy's was spent fusing) and gave me a neck strain, but it's done now!

I loved this yarn. I really wanted to make a hat with the leftovers, but there definitely wasn't enough for that - you can see how much yarn was left in the top right corner of the above picture. Boo.

The Highland Games

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 02:20:00 +0000

This weekend, I went to the New Hampshire Highland Games with Matt, his mom, his sister & his sister's boyfriend. Although this was my first time, they've all been multiple times. It was a lot of fun - lots of good food, fun athletic events to watch, and beautiful scenery. It's held in Lincoln, NH which is a ski town. It was at the base of Loon Mountain, but you could take either the ski lift of the Gondola up to the top and explore.

It was gorgeous! From certain views, you could even see Mt. Washington (not in this picture). I'm so happy that I've moved - New Hampshire is such a beautiful state. I'm getting pretty scared of winter, but I think I just need to experience it and then I get past that.

You know what else is gorgeous? The view out my living room window.

It's a cemetery that sits right beside my lot - the old part is what you can see, with dates as early as 1804 (at least, that's the earliest death date I've found). How cool is that? It makes me wish that I was a writer - I could go out and pick a plot and spin a yarn about the person buried here. It's strange being in such an old place (Warner was settled in 1774 - older than America!) and thinking about the thousands of people who have lived - and died - here for hundreds of years. What must there lives have been like? How cold the winters must have been without electric heat! How difficult it must have been to have make all of your own clothes and grow all of your own food and to be so completely self-sufficient! It kind of makes me look at knitting in a different light. Now, I knit socks and shawls for the love of the craft, the satisfaction of completing a lovely new garment that I can do what I like with. It must not have been so nonchalant 200 years ago - it was really a matter of survival, in some ways.

Anyway, I just wanted to post those photos. I'll be back tomorrow with a new finished object (a stealthy project!). I also start my new (part time) job at Borders tomorrow! yay!

Weirdness

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:10:00 +0000

I've been moving along with Gerda- I'm on the sixth and final repeat and am loving how it's going to look. I hit a snafu last night though - I picked her up to work a little more and found this:

It looks like the yarn has been stretched out of some of the stitches - the result is random loops of yarn (kind of like when you're cross-stitching and don't pull the thread all the way through the back, ya know?) and then the correlating rows are gathered (like an elastic band). There are 3 or 4 of these happening, and I found that if I pull the stole from side to side, then the loops shorten but do not go away.

The only thing that I can think that caused this is Sammy.

If one can believe that.

At one point yesterday, I took a nap (hey, I'm unemployed, I can do that) and he was downstairs with me. I placed the stole on the floor beside the couch and maybe he thought he'd try to make a nice pallet out of it and rooted it to make it comfy for him. But I have no proof so I'm really not sure what happened.

As far as fixing it: I think I'm going to just continue knitting, knit on the border, and block it as-is. After it's all stretched out from the blocking, I'll clip the strings and then weave in the ends. It doesn't really seem as if it's distorting the motif too badly - almost like there's a purl row where there should be a knit - nothing too god-awful. But I'm going to ponder my plan of action a little more and see what I can come up with. Suggestions are definitely needed here!

But this baby is going to be HUGE:

I'm getting a little nervous about knitting on the border - the directions seem to say to knit on a border, and then knit a totally separate second part of the border (on different needles) and then graft those two together! What an undertaking - eeks! I think I'm going to look into other border options.

On Balancing

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 01:22:00 +0000

I've been working on a new stole this past week: Gerda. Check her out:

This has been a blast to knit! First of all, this is the first time I've used Zephyr and it's been just amazing. I love the texture of the yarn and feel like it's the absolute perfect weight - I wish I could knit everything in this! Secondly, the pattern is amazing. It's 77 stitches across and each pattern repeat is 84 lines, which makes it quite challenging... so much fun!

The pictures I'm sharing were taken last week and show 1 repeat and the beginning of the second repeat. Right now, I'm about 15 rows into the 4th repeat, so I'm just over halfway finished with it! It has a knitted on border, which I'm nervous about... I haven't done that yet! I'm just crossing my fingers and will trust the pattern.

Last night, I finished "Blackbird House" by Alice Hoffman. Blackbird House is a farm in Cape Cod, MA that was built by a sailor back in the 17 or 1800s and has survived the storms of the generations of families that lived there. As families come and go, the Blackbird House is always a silent backdrop to their interesting lives. The farm has white blackbirds, sweet peas, turnips, and ghosts of past residents - a wonderful and cozy book to read during Autumn.

Which brings me to my big dilemma: I cannot seem to figure out how to balance reading and knitting. I love reading and finishing books: the accomplishment and enjoyment both bring me big rushes. But it's the same with the knitting: I love the feeling of finishing a project and then giving it away. I love doing both equally, but I can't be as productive if I split my time between the two. The obvious fix is to not worry about finishing things so often and quickly and to stop being an over achiever. Sun: don't rise tomorrow. I just cannot figure out the best way to reconcile the two.

Here's the best things that I can come up with:

1) utilize audio books when I can. My public library has a nice selection which I hope can keep me pretty busy and occupied.
2) While I can't do complex patterns without looking at my work, I can get by with simple knit stitches - maybe I can work on larger projects with big sections of stockinette (such as sweaters?) and read at the same time. This would definitely take some practice but is not out of the question.
3) Make it a point to knit the complex patterns that I really want to complete (such as lace) at times when I'm going to be watching television anyway - such as during my favorite shows or the news.

I know that this is silly, but it has truly been bothering me. Last night, as I was trying to fall asleep, I actually felt my heart-rate rise and felt a little anxious because I was thinking about how I hadn't worked on Gerda all weekend. Then I started telling myself that if I had been working on it, I would almost be finished by now - and that would be one more Holiday gift completed... Like I said, it's silly, but I just can't help it! I'd love to hear how others work this out in their own lives.

Finished Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:52:00 +0000

Lace has really become my go-to project of choice. It's so amazing how many images one can make with just a few different stitches. This is my Aspen Grove. Here are the specs:

Pattern: Aspen Grove by Miriam Felton
Yarn: Wooly Wonka Fibers Silk/Merino Laceweight
Colorway: Quaking Aspen
Needles: Addi Turbo Lace US 4
Modifications: Miriam describes the trunks as, "twisting, odd trunks of the aspens." I wanted the shawl to represent the pine trees in Southeast Texas: to reach straight to the sky. So I took out most of the twisting and tried to make them as straight as I could.

I loved this pattern - it was a quick knit and not too challenging. The first section involved pattern-work on both sides (right and wrong), but the other two sections has rest rows on the wrong side. So it's a great project for tv time or other brain dead moments.

Before we moved, I completed a pair of socks:

Pattern: Wendy's Generic Toe Up
Yarn: Zitron Trekking (XXL)
Colorway: 104
Needles: KnitPicks Harmony, US 1.5

Extra-big because I want them to fit my little brother's monster feet. They're so soft and squishy - I really do love Trekking. It is so affordable and diverse - I can always find a colorway that I like!

This morning I've been rewatching old episodes of Felicity, organizing my flickr account, and adding books to my library at librarything. Very relaxed and lazy! I need to be looking for jobs though :(

New England

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 01:50:00 +0000

IMG_0226
Originally uploaded by ktgdiddy

We're here - we finally made it to our new home about two weeks ago. What can I say? I love New Hampshire. This photo was taken atop of Mount Kearsarge which is pretty much in my backyard. You can drive almost to the top of the summit but if you want to get to the tippy top, there's about a half mile hike. I won't mention the fact that I didn't know that and I wore flip flops the day we went. I also won't mention the few tears of frustration and fear for my life. Moving on.

We're almost unpacked, but we are having storage problems. At first, our apartment seemed so small, but as we get more and more boxes taken care of I'm starting to think that it might be a bit bigger than our old place. Just a bit. The master bedroom is definitely bigger and I love that the master bath is connected to our room - the bath is definitely smaller, but we're working on utilizing the space.

Aside from packing, I have been job hunting. I've applied to a lot and have an interview next week. I hope to schedule more interviews, but we'll see. I've also done a ton of knitting (I'll blog the projects later) and watched a lot of TV on DVD - seasons 1 & 2 of The Wire and Season 2 of Dexter (the second season of Dexter ROCKED! I liked the first season but the second was way better), plus I've been rewatching the first two seasons of Ghost Hunters. It's been pretty nice and relaxing :)

Fall is coming and I'm soo very excited. There are so many fairs and festivals coming down the pike and we're trying to decide which we're going to attend. We know for sure that we'll be going to the Highland Games which is in just a few weeks!

Big News!

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:36:00 +0000

We'll just ignore that I've been gone some months now and the fact that I hadn't really been knitting.

But I will share pictures of the few things I've completed in the last couple of weeks:

(ignore the mess in the background, more on that later)

Name: Autumn Scarf
Pattern: Diagonal Lace Scarf by Helena Frank
Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Merino Worsted
Colorway: Whale Road

Name: Bee Fields
Pattern: Bee Fields by Anne Hanson
Made for: Mom
Needle: US 5 / 3.75 mm
Yarn: Wooly Wonka Fibers Merino laceweight
Colorway: Buckwheat Honey

Yay! It feels so good to be knitting again and excited about patterns and yarns! I've added a ton of stuff to my ravelry queue and am so ready for Autumn... which brings me to my big news. We're moving. In less than 2 weeks, we'll be headed for New Hampshire for a new adventure. I'll actually have a use for wooly, knitted things! This is the explanation for the clutter behind my photos - we've been packing for a while now and things are in quite a state of disarray.

Work is really busy right now because school is about to start and I'm trying to wrap a lot of things up that I've got going... it's pretty stressful, so I need to get back to that now. I just wanted to post an update (but no one reads, so no biggie anyway) and express my excitement in just one other medium. :)

I'm relieved

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:54:00 +0000

Guess what? I've been knitting. Please praise the knitting gods. I casted on for a plain stockinette toe up sock the other day (with my new harmonies, nonetheless!) and have even done several rows on Bee Fields. I'm feeling it, I'm feeling it.

I haven't knitted as much as I'd like because of work. The receptionist has been out all week with the flu (it's REALLY going around here) and since I'm primary backup, that leaves me at the front desk... which also means that I've been working 9.5 hour days to at least keep a semi-controlled handle on my responsibilities as well as working up front. So I've been pretty exhausted this week, but it will be a long weekend for me (my b-day is Monday and I've taken that day off) so I'll be fine.

In addition, the democratic debate is going to happen next week RIGHT NEXT DOOR to where I work. CNN has been calling wanting to reserve classrooms, but hello? We have classes in them. The parking lot behind our building (which is where everyone on campus parks) will be shut down due to news crews and security purposes. The rumor is that we may have to shut down our building for the day, or at least part of the day. Cross your fingers. That would make next week awesome: out Monday, work Tuesdays and wednesday, out Thursday, work Friday. Sweet!

But this weekend I just want to lay low. Hopefully my knitting inspiration will continue, maybe I'll go see a movie, have a few good meals. I have a dr's appt on Monday, but I hope that will be quick and painless and I can enjoy the rest of my day then.

Tiny Break

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 19:20:00 +0000

I've been a little preoccupied these last couple of weeks. First of all, I'll be honest: I haven't knitted a stitch in quite a while. Why? I'm not really sure. I'm not thrilled with either the Snowflake Socks nor Bee Fields. My unhappines from Snowflake comes from the fact that the first one is pretty tight and I know that they will actually be pretty unwearable. My slight unhappiness with Bee Fields comes from the difficulty level of the project - there seriously is no resting and "easy" rows in this baby... so it's definitely not mindless knitting. Why haven't I just cast on for a simple stockinette toe up sock? I couldn't tell you. Especially since I got the new Harmony Wood DPN set for my birthday. You'd think I'd be running to my stash, right? I don't really know what's wrong with me.

The main thing I've been doing in place of knitting is reading. I've read several books, and have been most thrilled with Kate Atkinson. I've seen her stuff on the shelves for years because she is near the Margaret Atwood section (which I scan each and every time I go to Half Price Books with the hope to score another of her works.. I have almost all of them now!), but had never been very interested. I read in some online community that she is a great mystery writer, so I randomly picked up "Case Histories" and "One Good Turn." Little did I know, Case Histories introduced a character (Jackson Brodie) and chronologically I should have started there. But I didn't - but luckily it didn't spoil my enjoyment. They were both wonderful novels... Especially since thriller-mystery type books are exactly what I've been craving lately. Case Histories featured 3 cold case-type mysteries (all wound into one cohesive story) and One Good Turn showed how one small decision/event/life catastrophe (?) affects so many other people. Just good fun. Right now I'm reading Crime and Punishment (just started this morning on the bus) and am not sure if I'm going to finish it. I honestly just grabbed it to pass the time.

One thing that I'm going to do is look for knitting Projects to work on. I'm looking at sweaters/cardigans because I've never really done one. The first on my list is Mrs. Darcy. I like this one because it's big yarn and big needles, and hopefully I will not get bogged down in tiny stitches and pattern repeats. I am a little worried that it might be too small for me, but maybe I'll just go up a needle size or two and see how it works? Yikes! Wish me luck.

So that's where I am - nothing exciting going on, just hanging out. Work is going okay - things could be better and they could be worse, but isn't that always the case? Even with the perfect job?

Oh, by the way. I got my hair cut. Really short. I love it.

Buzzy Bees

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 13:45:00 +0000

In my last post I mentioned Bee Fields. Here's what it looked like on Sunday (or maybe it was Monday... yes, actually I think it was Monday):

People, this bugger is hard :(

This is the first lace project I've worked on (but to be honest, I haven't really worked on that many lace projects) that the wrong side isn't just a place to purl back across. There is shaping on the wrong side. This is really slowing down my progress, lol. We can assume that this won't be another 9 day lace project :p

I've worked on it a little bit every day. Last night I didn't work on it all (hello? Ghost Hunters and Project Runway require my undivided attention), but I did work on it on my lunch break, so I say that that counts.

I haven't worked on my Snowflake Socks at all - inspiration hasn't hit. I should really cast on for just plain toe up socks so at least I'll have one other FO this month (besides the toe up socks already completed)... so we'll see. I just dread winding any yarn because it always ends up being such a catastrophe.

Tomorrow's topic (so that I don't forget): the reorganization of my craft stuff - maybe I'll even take pictures!

Pictures and an Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 13:16:00 +0000

I hate it when life gets in the way and sucks out knitting mojo. I took pictures of my latest FOs, but they're not very good. I blame the inability to take my time taking pictures on life. At least I updated my sidebar with completed objects and finally put up the 2008 list.

So here we go. Beginning with Seraphim (the still unblocked Seraphim, but Seraphim nonetheless):

Name: Seraphim Shawl
Pattern: Seraphim Shawl by Miriam L. Felton
Needle: US 5 / 3.75 mm
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock - Lightweight
How much?: 3 skeins
Colorway: Rook-y
Started and Completed December 2007

I really enjoyed this knit. It was perfect for riding in the car up to 18 hours a day and really easy to follow and memorize. I almost wish that this was my first major lace project because the pattern was written impeccably (no errata!) and the charts are just so clear and easy to understand. Afraid of lace? Definitely start with Seraphim - you'll be hooked!

Like I said, it still needs to be blocked... but I'm wondering if I could get away with just steam blocking it? The lace is actually pretty clear, I believe... I'll think about it.

Next up: More socks!

Name: Toe Up Socks
Pattern: Wendy's Generic Toe-Up Sock by Wendy Johnson
Needle: US 1½ / 2.5 mm
Yarn: Zitron Trekking (XXL)
Colorway: 157
Started and Completed: December 2007

The socks are actually slightly stretched out in the picture. I wore them on the trip back to Texas and they were stuffed in the snow boots that I had to buy while in New Hampshire. Talk about staying toasty! But they're really cool: I like the thick stripes that happen (and look how nicely I got them to align!), but they're broken up by little bits of color still. And are they on sock blockers? Why, yes they are! Courtesy of my mum from The Loopy Ewe!!

Next: another toe up sock

Name: Toe Up Socks
Pattern: Wendy's Generic Toe-Up Sock by Wendy Johnson
Needle: US 1½ / 2.5 mm
Yarn: Zitron Trekking (XXL)
Colorway: 78
Purchased at: The Elegant Ewe in Concord, New Hampshire
Started and Completed January 2008

Please excuse the fuzzy picture, I must have been laughing or something :/

These were a little harder to get the colors to line up, mainly because I cast on for these in the car and all of the colors looked the same because of the sunny glare! So I really didn't know what they looked like until they were finished, haha :)

Here's a started project: Snowflake Socks

Snowflake Socks by Chrissy Gardiner

I actually finished this single sock, and have casted on the for the second. But take a peek at the side here:

How about those cute little stripes? I'm only working on this when I get the inspiration to do colorwork. (which lately hasn't been too often, woops) Last night I actually finally casted on for Bee Fields in the suggested Wooly Wonka Fibers merino laceweight (another XMas gift). It took me a little bit to get used to Anne's lace writing because I'd been using Miriam's so much... but it's now starting to become a little clearer. I even had too look up how to perform the backwards loop cast-on method (which is what makes those little bumps along the top of the shawl) so yay! Pictures (good ones, I hope) to come!

No pictures, but definitely finished objects!

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 16:11:00 +0000

I was so pleased with my holiday knitting success! The only thing that didn't fit was my brother's hat, but I'll just whip him up another one soon enough. So yay! I started my Seraphim Shawl the Thursday before Christmas (the 20th) and finished it the Saturday after Christmas (the 29th). However, I didn't do the last two rows of the edging chart because I was running out of yarn. In fact, I had to pull out plain black Louet pearl for the cast-off because I completely ran out! Eek! I haven't blocked nor taken a picture of it yet, but I've definitely been snuggling in it - it's not perfect, but it's exactly what I wanted! I'm completely thrilled with it.

After I get my income tax return, I'm planning on buying more STR Ravenclan yarn (laci) to make Irtfa'a. This is gorgeous, as well!

In addition, I finished a pair of trekking socks and started another. Again, no pics... but maybe this weekend I'll snap a few.

In New Hampshire, I bought another spindle, a niddy noddy, and some more roving. It's my attempt to inspire myself to learn to spin... I make no promises, but we shall see.

This is chopppy. Sorry!!

Holiday Gifts are finished and wrapped

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 17:05:00 +0000

Last night, I casted off of Swell and that completed my holiday gifts. I didn't get a picture of it, because my brain tooted and I wrapped it practically instantly afterwards. I'm pretty worried that both of the hats that I made won't fit, but I can always just make another one if they don't. I also decided to give my aunt that pair of socks that I originally made for her.

It took me a long time to finish the holiday knits because I basically took about a week and a half off of knitting. I re-started the Harry Potter series and got totally wrapped back up in Hogwarts... so there ya go. Today is actually my last day of work this year (I have a ton of overtime and won't even have to use any vacation time) and I won't be back to work until January 7... so I'm going to be winding yarn for my trip and organizing projects. I will be working on: toe up socks (duh, did you have any doubt?)' Seraphim Shawl in the amazing Socks that Rock Raven Coloray - Rooky (dudes, this is beautiful and I'm super stoked to have a cuddly shawl all on my own... what makes it even better is that it's kind of witch-y and I'm super obsessed with witches); and a Pinwheel Blanket of scrap sock yarn (this will be an ongoing project to use up scraps). I'm also going to take the 5th and 6th Harry Potter, just in case I decide to do some reading.

We're leaving the state Saturday morning and HAVE to be back in Austin by Jan 7 because I have to do an orientation session for new students. Other than that, we don't have serious plans. About a week in Arkansas, a day or two in Manassas, and about a week in New Hampshire. Dude, I am STOKED!!!! I want snow, I want the mountains, I want a fire, I want cuddly-cuddly-boo-boo.

So all my gifts are tagged, wrapped and ready to pack up. I've begun the yarn winding and will hopefully finish that off tomorrow (I try not to do too much at one time, because that's when I start knotting things), packing shall begin tomorrow, and maybe I'll start Seraphim by Friday.

If I have any readers out there, I hope you enjoy your holidays. Get lots of rest, get lots of knitting and reading done, get lots of family time, and enjoy any break you might have. See you after the break!!

Holiday Reorganization

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 13:41:00 +0000

My commute it draining me. In the morning, I have no problem at all - I leave my apartment at 6:30 and catch the 6:40 bus, where the traffic is smooth and easy going. I'm able to read, knit, or nap on my way in. The bus is crowded, but not unpleasantly so. I don't get headaches, grumpy, or in an otherwise foul mood. I usually get into my office by 7:20, and usually my supervisor doesn't get in until after 8 and I'm able to leisurely slide into my day (except on the days when she gets here before I do - then it's a whole different story). However, I leave my office around 4:50 and ruuuun up the hill to catch the 5:10 bus. Sometimes, I don't make it out the door early enough and have to catch the 5:25 bus. No matter, because both buses are packed. Standing room only. I am usually able to get a seat, because I catch the first stop at the university (there are 4 stops along the perimeter of the university) and only people who work in the government offices downtown beat me. However, I'm not usually able to knit on the way home because it's hot, cramped and just plain uncomfortable. I can't read, because the traffic is stop and go and I get nauseous. Sometimes I sleep, but that can be hard too because there are so many people on the bus and they're all on their cell phones. So I sit in traffic, and rarely get home before 6 - usually it's around 6:30. By that time, I usually have a splitting headache. And that headache really cuts into my knitting time! Lately, I've been coming home and eating a snack... then around 7:40 or so (a little bit before TheBoy gets home from work), I try to cook a dinner for us to enjoy. That's actually helped a lot, because now at least I have some sort of goal for the night: cook dinner and clean the kitchen afterwards.

I'm ready to become a Yarn Harlot and find a way to work from home!

Last night was really disappointing for me. I wanted to watch the finale of Heroes and the special 2 hour Closer (I was going to catch the repeat from 10-12), but I wasn't able to stay up for the Closer. Maybe I'll catch the repeat this week? Tonight I am planning to watch the second and third installment of Tin Man on SciFi, so yay!

I managed to finish two things this weekend:

Pattern: Wendy's Generic Toe Up
Needle: US 1½ / 2.5 mm
Yarn: Zitron Trekking (XXL)
Colorway: 167

Pattern: Branching Out by Susan Lawrence
Needle: US 8 / 5.0 mm
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Solid
Colorway: Denim

Branching out still needs to be blocked, but for the purposes of checking off lists, we'll call this done. I titled this post "Holiday Reorganization" because I'm shifting around the holiday gifts.

The Trekking socks were supposed to be for my aunt, but I decided that it was dangerous to give someone a pair of socks when I don't know their foot size. So they're going to me instead :p I'm going to give my aunt a scarf that I recently knitted (about 2 years ago - I'm sorry, I'm just so tired of all of the holiday knitting... I'm ready to make something for MYSELF!!!). The Branching out is for The Boy's Sister (H). I was going to give her Clapotis, but I'm going to give it to TheBoy's Mom instead (because of the hole in her gift). All that's left is one little hat, which I started last night. Whew. I'm almost there!!! Here's an updated rundown of the gifts:

The Boy's Mom: Clapotis
The Boy's Sister K: Anemoi Mittens
The Boy's Sister K's boyfriend: Hat
The Boy's Sister H: Branching Out

My Mom: Icarus in Lane Borgosesia Periwinkle Purple
Dad: Socks
Aunt: Basketweave Scarf
Brother: Hat

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can... choo choo!!

Another sock

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:41:00 +0000

I finished 1/2 pair of socks last night. Here's an old piture of the SIP:

Name: Toe Up Sock
Pattern: Wendy's Generic Toe-Up Sock by Wendy Johnson
Needle: US 1½ / 2.5 mm
Yarn: Zitron Trekking (XXL)
Colorway: 167

This has been an interesting sock: I didn't try the sock on as I went to see where to start the heel - I used measurements from a little book I got from the Loopy Ewe. It said that for a size 7 sock, you should knit the foot 9.5 inches and then turn the heel. So I followed the direction, knit 9.5 inches, turned the heel, knit a few inches of the cuff. Then I tried the sock on. The heel was about 1.5 inches too far up my foot! So I ripped back, back, back down the cuff, back past the heel, and back about an 1.5... then I started again for real, and now it fits okay.

Like I said, I finished one sock last night and will probably start the second tonight. In addition, I've made some decisions about my holiday gifts. I've decided to give The Boy's Mom the clapotis that I knit for his sister, and make his sister a Branching Out (which has been started, pics to come) which should be pretty quick. In addition, I'm going to give my aunt these pair of socks (the Trekking), whip up a hat for my brother and call everything DONE! That's the plan anyway :p

Bad blogger

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 13:59:00 +0000

I've been a bad blogger lately. But last Friday I finished a pair of socks:

Name: Toe Up Sock
Pattern: Wendy's Generic Toe-Up Sock by Wendy Johnson
Needle: US 1½ / 2.5 mm
Yarn: Austermann Step
Colorway: 46 - North Cape

I like it - they came out pretty similar, except at the top of the sock. the brown never re-striped!! But here's the pretty toes:

Uh-oh

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 17:41:00 +0000

Remember this project?

The Large Rectangle from Victorian Lace Today? The one that I finished months ago for The Boy's mom? The one that's just been waiting to be blocked? Well, I tried to block it this morning. This is what I found:

D'oh! I'm not sure what happened; it's been sitting crumpled in a WIP basket for a while now, so that probably has something to do with it. However, I'm not sure how to proceed. I left the thing looking like this in the extra room:

Blech... My thoughts are to try to pick back the cast off row and just rip back right past the hole. Or just put this on the back burner and knit something up for her really quick. I'm still two gifts short (not counting this disaster), with just under a month left. I'll have to think, I guess :(

Clapotis

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 15:06:00 +0000

On Saturday afternoon, this was the state of Clapotis:

When I closed the door to the guest bedroom yesterday afternoon, it looked like this:

Pattern: Clapotis by Kate Gilbert
Needle: Addi Turbo 4 US
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Super Solids
Colorway: Slate

I cast on for this last Thursday (or it could have been Friday), so about 11/8 and finished 11/13. I wasn't expecting this one to go so quickly - it was one of the holiday gifts that I thought I was going to slog through.

I didn't. I shimmied right along - and I made the full size, too. 6 repeats of the increase rows, 12 of the straight rows, and 6 of the decrease rows.

Update on holiday gifts:

The Boy's Mom: Stole from Victorial Lace Today - completed knitting, just need to block.
~~The Boy's Sister K: Anemoi Mittens~~
The Boy's Sister K's boyfriend: Hat
~~The Boy's Sister H: Clapotis in Cherry Tree Hill Slate~~

~~My Mom: Icarus in Lane Borgosesia Periwinkle Purple~~
~~Dad: Socks (finished!)~~
~~Brother: Hat~~
Aunt: Juno Regina

Almost finished, two more to go!

Icarus

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 18:31:00 +0000

I've decided that I love knitting lace. I don't believe I'll ever produce a "perfect" piece of lace and that's okay. I think one of the wonderful things about knitting is problem solving - yes, I hung my head over the toilet bowl because of what I thought was a life ending mistake with Icarus... but guess what? Icarus still ended up okay.

Pattern: Icarus Shawl by Miriam L. Felton
Needle: Addi Turbo Size 5 US
Yarn: Baruffa Cashwool
Colorway: Periwinkle Purple
Modifications: I only did 4 repeats of the first chart instead of 5. I also lost my mind when I started the second chart and dropped a lot of yos (yes, on purpose) and ended up shifting the pattern from where it was supposed to be.

It's lovely. I never took it on a commute with me, but it's definitely commute-worthy as long as one is working on the first chart. it's all yo and stockinette stitch at the beginning. I didn't think I'd ever finish the last 5 rows. I knitted like a mad woman but didn't really seem to get anywhere. I hear this is common with large lace projects though.

Sammy likes it, too. I guess it's always possible that if my mom hates it, it will have a loving home with SamDog :)

I also finished a hat the night that Icarus was blocking (see previous post). I used Cascade 220 in black and a purplish-gray and size 4 needles. The pattern came from a livejournal community that I used to be a part of and was posted years ago. At the time I didn't understand the importance of documenting sources and for that I'm sorry. The pattern was used for decrease shaping, I threw in the stripes myself. That's my bro's gift. I started Clapotis on Friday night, and am now on the decrease rows. That's a gift for one of The Boy's sisters. After I finish Clap, I've got two more gifts to go. Another hat (for bro-in-law) which can be cranked out in an afternoon and a scarf for my aunt. I'm leaning towards Juno Regina. I ordered some zephyr a month ago that would be perfect for this, but that still has not been shipped. (I will not say who the vendor is. I will say that it is NOT the Loopy Ewe and that this was the first -and last- time I will use this online store). If it comes in in time, then I will definitely be using that.

By the way, I have been loving my two days off this week. I have knit, knit, knit and dreamed about living somewhere where the temp is less than 80 degrees in November. Now excuse me while I curl up on the couch and work some more on clap and get ready for "A Haunting."

A New Camera means new pictures!

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 18:12:00 +0000

The Boy and I bought a new camera yesterday. It's really nice and takes good pictures - so I'm extremely excited about that. But I just want to post a few pictures of Icarus and another FO. I will post again (hopefully tomorrow) with more details on the FOs and do a little organizing. I have Monday and Tuesday off from work (all that overtime really does pay off!) and will take some blog time then :)

Like I said, tomorrow I will work on stringing words together along with the pictures. :)

Icarus

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 16:12:00 +0000

Icarus is off the needles and is currently blocking. Just wanted to share.

Pictures tomorrow (I hope). Yay!!

Checking In

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 12:43:00 +0000

Just want to say, "hi." My job is kicking my boo-tay and I've been working a lot of 10 hour days and some weekends. I haven't been taking pictures or blogging, but rest assured, I have been knitting. When the mayhem first began, I wasn't knitting... but then I realized that I was losing time on holiday knitting and knitting actually made me feel better - so I started a sock and went back and tackled the icarus a bit more. I'm now on the 3rd chart (just finished row 6) - so I'm making some headway. It doesn't look exactly the way it is supposed to look, but that's okay - my mom will never know, right?

Pictures of the fiasco to come, I hope.

Neglectful week

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 12:49:00 +0000

I've been neglecting this blog and my knitting terribly this week.

First off, I finished the second Endpaper Mitt on Tuesday night. Have a peek:

Pattern: Eunny Jang's Endpaper Mitts. I've renamed this version the Mint Chocolate Chip Mitts. I used Nature's Palette in chocolate and teal and sizes 0US Crystal Palace Bamboo dpns and Size 2US Brittany Burch wooden dpns. You can check out ravelry page for a little more info, if needed.

And yes, I casted on for the second mitt Tuesday (I stayed home sick) and finished it that same night. It's a fun, quick pattern that everyone should try :)

Work has me swamped - I haven't knitted since Tuesday and don't see myself even thinking about the needles again until Sunday. Take care and have a wonderful weekend :)

The Best Intentions Always Go Awry

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 19:17:00 +0000

Have you ever hung your head over the toilet after a knitting mistake(s)? Well, now I can say that I have. The pain, the agony, the heartache - but maybe I should start at the beginning.

I was working on the Icarus Sunday night. I finally finished all of the repeats for the first chart and was ready to move onto the second chart. I decided to run a lifeline - you know, just in case. I've never used a lifeline before, but thought that this would be the best time to start. I've worked on the body of this shawl almost exclusively for the last 2 weeks and didn't want to lose all of that hard work. So here's the lifeline. Go ahead. Look closely.

It doesn't take much to see that I completely absentmindedly threaded the stitch markers with the lifeline. I discovered this after I started knitting the first row. So in the middle of the first row, I decided, "well, how important is this lifeline anyway?" and just jerked it out. Now I can cook with gas.

Well, the second chart's repeats kind of stagger the first charts - meaning, they do not start and stop at the same stitch (at least, not by my calculations), so of course I get off a little bit with the stitches (I always do when I don't have stitch markers - and I can accept that). Well, on my way back across the wrong side, I keep coming across these yo's. Why are there yo's? There aren't any yo's on the chart. These must be dropped, I think to myself. So for about 4 or 5 repeats, I'm consistently dropping yos- and thinking, "wow, my stitches are going to be way off... I wonder why I put all of those yo's in there?"

Well, those yos were supposed to be there. Yes, boys and girls, I don't know what I was thinking, but everything is way off right now. I told The Boy, "I think I'm going vomit" and had to sit over the toilet for a minute or so. Now I have to figure out how to fix it. Should I just move on and try to line the pattern up the way it should? Or should I tink back the 2 rows (and 300-something stitches for each row) and try to do it correctly? I'm still thinking about it and am a little cautious to pick it up again. So I started another pair of socks and am working on the second Endpaper Mitt a little more. Ugh.

Sammy sums up my feelings perfectly:

Can't think of titles anymore

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:02:00 +0000

I was true to Icarus last night. I've decided to only do 4 repeats of the first chart (instead of 5) for a couple of reasons: 1)I'm using slightly larger needles than called for; 2)I really, really do not want to get sick of this knit, and am worried that I might if I keep chugging along.

I put together a small knitting kit for a coworker. She wants to learn to knit, so I grabbed an extra circular needle and gathered some old 'learning' yarn that I have laying around. Maybe on our lunch breaks I'll be able to help her. Yay!! Maybe I'll finally have someone around who will knit with me :)

Today I have a crazy long day (got here at 7, will be here until 8:30pm), so I'm going to take a break in the middle and visit Hill Country Weavers. I invited a coworker, so maybe she'll take me up on it.

I'm thinking about going to my parent's house this weekend, so that will mean tucking away Icarus and winding more yarn for other gifts that have nothing to do with my family. I have no problem with that.

I only got to watch a hair of Pushing Daisies last night... but guess what? A character KNITS. I kid you not. And apparently, he knits a LOT in the episode from last night, so I'm hoping to catch a repeat of it this weekend. So tune in to Pushing Daisies!