Work In Progress

Kate-a-palooza - Day 1 (FO)

I'm shamelessly stealing my friend Nova's birthday idea.

An eight day celebration of me, that culminates on my birthday! 

And this year I'm celebrating by giving away something each day here.  I missed my blogiversary and thought that this would be a good way to say thank you to all of you.  I appreciate you coming to my little corner of the web.

What are the gifts? Mostly knitting related, but not entirely.  We're a bit cat obsessed and I'm a horrible displininarian. So, I try to keep them away from the yarn, but I can't promise, if you're really allergic.

First up, a loofah, the same pattern I used at Christmas. And a loofah wouldn't be nearly as nice without something to use with it. I discovered Spiced Vanilla scent from the Body Shop at Christmas this year and I'm in love.

 

An alternative use for the loofah would be as a cat bonnet, but Sasha didn't appear enthused. 

So, just tell me - bath or shower?  I'm a bath person every time.  I've turned down apartments because they only had a shower.  I love bubbles but mostly I just relaxing.  Usually I read too.  

Just leave a comment any time before 11:59 p.m. on May 13th. 

Pattern: Loofah or washcloth (and my Ravelry) 
Yarn: Sugar 'n Cream Shade: Lavendar, 78 yards
Modifications: crocheted tie
Knitting yardage total 2012: 1111

Nightshade Annis (FO)

Have I mentioned the sad fact that members of my family are allergic to wool?  This signficantly impedes my ability to easily give knitted gifts.

I decided to make something special for my Mom's birthday and purchased some yarn at the Thanksgiving Eat.Sleep.Knit sale. At Christmas time, when we were discussing my knitted gifts plan, she mentioned that she would not be opposed to a cashmere/silk knitted item. 

Well, who among us would be opposed, I ask you?

And ironically, what had I purchased to make my Mom's birthday present? Why some Sweet Georgia CashSilk. In my mother's favorite color. I could claim I bought fancy yarn because this is a significant birthday for my Mom, but I only realized that fact about 2 weeks before her birthday.  I just love her (everyone together, "ahhhh").

And the yarn? It is a dream.  

The sheen is amazing.
The feel, divine.

When I become independently wealthy, I'll have worsted weight cashmere/silk dyed to order.  And I'll knit hats out of it.  In stockinette. Because I can.  A girl can dream, can't she?

I decided that after I was finished with Christmas knitting, I would start and give myself plenty of time to knit. But that was before I met... The Neverending Mittens of Doom.  Since they weren't done until February, I didn't cast on until late February.  It's a formidable caston with 356 stitches.

When I went for my girls weekend, I took this project with me. And fortunately, had the good sense to set down this project before we were too far into the drinking game.

This is a good project because it's 18 hard, focused, very long rows of lace - with 156 nupps in those rows! 

And then stockinette.  There is still a bit of attention necessary on the stockinette, but smart use of stitch markers makes it quite easy. The construction of the stockinette section is ingenious, rocking back and forth from the center. It results in a large middle section, 

but is almost circular, allowing it to easily drape your shoulders without coming off. 

no, i cannot explain why I look like that in the picture. Partner says cute, I saw peculiar.

Because my mom's birthday was while I was gone for work, I knew I had to a firm deadline. In addition to my girl's weekend, I needed a 5 hour marathon knitting session one night. That was only necessary because I lost nearly 10 days of knitting because of my work schedule.

In all, it took 21 days, start to finish, including the 10 days I didn't knit a stitch! It really was an amazingly fast knit.  And, I only used 320 yards, so while the yarn is expensive, you really can create a special gift for a special person with far less than one skein.

And my mother said, "It may be one of the nicest things I own." She has also told me of her different schemes for showing it off to other knitters.

Win!

Pattern: Annis (and Ravelry) 
Yarn: SweetGeorgia Yarns CashSilk Lace, Shade: Nightshade, 320 yards
Modifications: I cast on with US 10.5 to be certain my caston was loose enough
Knitting yardage total 2012: 1033

Generosity-inspired scarflet and a giveaway (FO)

Well, up front, I'm not hosting the giveaway, but two people are, for a good cause. Amanda and Jody, by the 20th and 21st respectively.  So head over there for the chance at a neat shawl!  Or don't and keep my odds high(er)! ha ha

So, on to my knitting.  This is part of the continuing Generosity series. :) 

When I left on my last business trip, I knew I wanted to knit something for a lady that would also be there. We're often the only women on the trip, so we've had some great times together - she introduced me to a traditional Japanese bath house years ago and this year we went to a Korean spa three days in a row!

I wasn't sure what I wanted to knit, but I knew that it needed to be kind of small. The mystery blue lace item that hasn't yet been blogged had me knitting right up until I left so I knew I'd be starting on the plane.

see... plane knitting!

I thought about hats, and had some great ideas, but kept returning to the idea she has curly hair and what a hat would do to her hair.  And, since she lives in Canada, so I wanted it to be useful (warm!). 

Right before I left, a designer re-wrote a pattern, and I thought, "That's it!" 

I chose some yarn that I was gifted with earlier this year (another blog post that is yet-to-be-written). I tried to capture the subtlety of the yarn, but failed each time. 

The pattern was more fiddly than I realized. Not hard, but a lot of turns and increases and decreases (which really, should have been obvious from the onset). When I was done with it, I wasn't happy because I didn't really like the yarn and it rolled on the edges and didn't look like leaves to me. But it was, in deed, a plane project (about 5-6 hours): 

However, I forged ahead (because frankly, I didn't have a choice - the person that discovers yarn and pattern delivery at 30,000 feet will be a millionaire!) When I got to my hotel, I washed and rolled it in a towel to 'block' it.

And when I took final FO shots, was pleasantly surprised. At least with browns and neutrals, it didn't look too bad. 

I worried - even on the plane - that I'd made the neck part too long. I followed the pattern, but kept thinking it should be shorter.  Frankly, at this point, I have enough knitting experience that I should have trusted my instinct. My friend is Japanese and is petite. My instincts ended up being correct, which frustrated me later since it didn't hug her neck. 

In the end, my friend seemed very happy with it. Her niece is actually a knitwear designer and she kept saying she was going to show it to her. Ack! I hope her niece isn't still wondering why I didn't make the neck shorter! haha! 

Post wash (in the picture above), the subtle colors are easier to see. I like the flatter look as well, though I probably flattened out the leaves too much. 

I liked the generosity themes involved - a free pattern, gifted yarn, and an FO as a gift to thank a friend.

Pattern: Anthro-inspired Scarflet (and ravelry)
Yarn: Rowan Yorkshire Tweed Aran, 147 yards
Modifications: none, though I should have made the neck smaller, for the recipient
Knitting yardage total 2012: 713

Girls Weekend

Last December I was already thinking that I didn't want to buy any yarn in 2012.  A good friend asked me about going to Stitches West. Obviously, I could demonstrate self restraint and just look and enjoy the weekend.  However, being honest about my lack of self control, I just knew that wouldn't happen.

So, instead we decided to do our own knitting retreat. Her SO is out of town for awhile, so I left Partner and Boy #2 to their own devices (which involved sloppy joes, pizza and John Carter) and headed south for three days.

This yarn went to it's new home (because yarn is my kind of hostess gift!) 

We are both nerds of extraordinary proportions. So, while we did some window shopping in her town, we spent most of the weekend knitting and watching Harry Potter. You can see our Saturday Evening of Indulgence:

I got a lot of knitting done, though I was slowed down by our nerd-tastic drinking game: a sip of wine anytime any character said "Snape" or "brilliant." Fortunately it was only for part of the 3rd movie and we aren't completely lacking in judgement, so it wasn't (quite) as bad as it sounds.

We started the visit at dinner so I cast on for a Beyond Puerperium for a little one that is arriving soon. By Sunday noon, when it was time to drive north, I had this: 

What a great pattern! And I have a story about the pattern I'll tell later.

Also, in an amazing achievement, I took my Mom's birthday present south and one more row than you see here: 

Became a sea anemone worn by my friend's kitty Merlin.

See all those stitch markers? 29 repeats. I haven't done nupps since my ill-fated adventure with Swallowtail.  In two days, I did 145.

Hurray for knit weekends!

The Five Hour Hat Challenge

For this last business trip I had to take a five hour flight.  Upon realizing that I really didn't have a chic hat to keep me warm, I decided to give myself a challenge to knit myself a hat during the five hour flight.

Here we go!

Hour 0 - the supplies:

 

Hour 1 - the brim.... hmmm... don't panic

Hour 2 - The second color, but not much progress: 

 

Hour 3 - Now this is looking like progress!

 

Hour 3.5 - Ready to focus on the brim: 

 

Some serious shell action: 

 

Except, what's that? 

 

Hour 3.5 + 2 minutes: 

 

But all is not lost.

Hour 5 - An (improvised) hat! 

And yes, I did get an awkward "what's the weird woman doing?" smile from the car rental lady. 

More on that "hat" later!

Christmas wrapup #2 (FO)

I ended up cleaning and cooking during the conference football games and didn't knit as I'd expected. That's a little unfortunate because I think the Superbowl is going to be really boring, so if I have time to knit I won't really be interested in the game. And no, I don't like football, I was just excited since a local team was in contention.Funny how group psychology works.

The Mittens (because they've earned proper name status) trudge on.

There are two more knits I have. I made some reading mitts for a good friend of ours. When she opened them, they were folded so as to appear (to her) like socks.  She was quite excited.  And then confused. I'll need to tuck that piece of info away for future gift giving opportunities. Which, is not to suggest that such a piece of info will formulate into a pair of socks.  Because, that is how I roll.

Susie's Reading Mitts.  A great little pattern that is apparently the subject of much copyright debate. You've probably noticed that all my gift patterns this year were free. Knitting from stash and free patterns were additional goals of holiday knitting and I was mostly successful, except for some cotton yarn. When I found these, the original designer posted the pattern and said it was free.  When I couldn't find my pattern on Christmas and checked Ravelry, the pattern is now listed as unavailable.  Now they are again listed as free and there is a link to a different designer that claims it is their pattern. I'll admit that it seems a bit of a petty tug-of-war is going on, though I've only read one side of the story.

These mitts are beautiful and I think they look amazing with the yarn. The free pattern is written in one size. I didn't check gauge (same song as before) and I'm a bit unhappy with the fit at the wrist.

I don't know if that is a gauge issue or a function of how my hands are shaped or the pattern. I suspect gauge since Partner looks smashing in them.

Another gripe, and this is all about me. I suck at finishing.  No, really, I do. 

You may recall the hole that appeared while doing the photoshoot for OWLS. I gerryrigged those holes closed with lots of weaving of the ends.  I attempted to overcome the problem with the thumb gussets by twisting stitches on the first of the mitts, and didn't like the result.

For the second mitt, I used a tapestry needle and knit stitches across. A better result, but there has to be a better way.

For comparison:
I'm practicing on The Mittens, and am only marginally more satisified. On Mitten #1, I used a tapestry needle and 'traced' around the knit stitches on the gusset. I have a book on finishing techniques. I probably ought to read it.

I am happy with my technique for folding over and creating the pretty edging. I just split the yarn in half to have thin 'thread' with identical coloring. You can see 1) how I wove the stitches and 2) the difference between sewing with the full yarn (left half) and split yarn (second half).

The next item you've already seen a snapshot of, possibly without realizing it.

It was this year's secret knit. I mostly finished this while in Vancouver.  But, I left the brim until the last minute so Partner was banished to the bedroom for awhile (under the guise of wrapping his other gifts).

I used the stitch count from Turn-A-Square + 4 stitches. I also did this hat top down. I then added a repeat from Alice Starmore's book once again. And I finished with the Latvian Braid bindoff from Donna Druchunas's Bosnian Slipper Socks.

I really enjoyed semi-designing this hat while also working on my colorwork and learning a new technique. The yarn was chosen to match a scarf I made him before I was blogging.

I also used a peony pattern that I thought most resembled the cable shaping (without being as complex!).

The yarn was a gift from my good friend Nova - a combination of some possum yarn that she discovered she's allergic to and part of some hand spun she gifted me with years ago and I've been dying to use. It was only 62 yards and I never could quite find a pattern.  I thought this would use it all up, but I ended with about half of it left.  The colors are beautiful and I need to figure out a way to highlight the last bit.

I made it a bit too long because the last two beanies I made him were too short. So when he pulls it down, he ends up flipping up the brim a little bit (as in the picture above). The colorwork section is just slightly puckered so some of the stitche are pulled into the fabric and not as clear. Something to work on because it detracts from the colorwork, but fortunately it's not bad enough to effect the wearability of the hat.

I also think that since I was using thicker yarn, one less round of the primary color before the bind off would have been better. I saw the original socks at Sock Summit and the bind off isn't as obvious on the socks and I think I prefer that, though Partner said he doesn't mind.  Now he has a matched set (sort of):

So there you have it! The last FOs of 2011. I think I missed a couple baby hats and some dishclothes, but the knitting yardage for 2011 was: 3336

There are several FOs near completion so hopefully I can get my 4,000 yards for 2012 and get my reward (more on that later).

Now, to get The Mittens done so I can have the first FO of 2012....

Pattern: Susie's Reading Mitts
Yarn: Mirasol Cotanani, 110 yards
Modifications: none!
Knitting yardage total 2011: 3176

Pattern: my own: increase style (reverse of decreases) from Turn a Square; peony pattern from Starmore, Latvian braid from Donna Druchunas, US7
Yarn: unknown handspun ~30 yards; Cherry Tree Hill Possum worsted ~130 yards
Modifications: N/A
Knitting yardage total 2011: 3336

Sweate Shoppe update

I know I've promised wedding pictures, and hopefully I'll have time this weekend. Unfortunately, the elves have been keeping me up to my eyes in yarn.

Last week I was up in Vancouver, Canada for work.  So close to Kate, but it ends up there was too much water in the way for us to meet up.  Perhaps next time!

While I was there I had a few extra days with my Mom. Here is Mom at the Museum of Anthropology.  Hopefully I'll get a chance to show you some pictures from our adventures.  No time tonight, I hear the elves wondering where i'm at already!

Since I knew I'd have a few days with no chores (tragically, all waiting when I returned), I knew I could make some serious progress on Christmas knitting.

I got hanks into cakes. 

I know it's a lot, right?  When I added up my possible Christmas yardage, I realized that I intend to knit about one-third of my annual yardage in about three weeks.  We'll see what drops off the table.

So, after six days in Canada, I did manage some progress!

Only one actual FO - a loofah for my brother.  It was so fast and I like the result so much, that I've changed up my sister's gift and she'll be getting a loofah as well.  I may, or may not, have knit on it a bit while taking a bath today - haha.  I'll tell you more about the pattern when my sister's is finished.

Mystery Proposal (FO)

Seems things always take longer than I think they will.

For example, this is a blog post about 10 months in the making. I took so long to write it that our computer ate our photos and I lost some pictures I wanted to share. Actually, it just ate some pictures I really want, period.

Last October I took part in Through the Loops mystery sock KAL. I used Karin's lovely yarn from Periwinkle Sheep - plum crumble, the yarn that first took me to her website. The same Karin of Sock Summit indulgence.

I started the socks on the flight back from Australia. I'd finished Partner's Christmas socks that morning on the train to the airport. Now, I was prepared to settle in and crank out a lot of sock on the 16 hour flight. I swatched and swatched after screwing up my KAL socks last year. I tried 64 stitches on size 2s. Too big. 64 stitches on 1s. Too big. 64 stitches on 0s? Too small. Finally, 72 stitches on size 0s? How could that be? I've never used 72 stitches or size 0s. I started but couldn't shake lingering fear that I'd screwed up my swatch and my 72 stitch socks would be far too large. I put the sock away when I was about half way down the leg.

The socks languished. I dreaded putting the sock on waste yarn, pulling it on and discovering that - despite my measuring and remeasuring and measuring again – I had screwed up and would have to tear out hours of work. Finally, before Christmas I mustered the courage and... it was almost too tight? How could that be? But it fit, so I knit. And I was working on my socks when Rocky and I drove up north for Christmas.

Christmas Eve we woke up and Rocky said he'd like to take the coast route. I admit to being slightly annoyed that he thought he would mention he wanted to take the 13 hour route and not the 7 hour route on the day we were leaving. I told him it was impossible. He seemed so disappointed that I jumped up, did some quick figuring on the computer and said if we hustled, we'd make it.

We're on the road and he mentions stopping at Stump Beach. Suggests we go for a talk. A talk? Or a walk? Well, despite our timeline, I can't resist a stop at Stump Beach.

So walk we did. And took fun pictures. And watched the crashing waves. And he asked me what my favorite memory was from the beach. And asked me to check our self portrait on the tripod.

And I turned around after checking the camera and there was a box. A little box. That kind of box.

And I said yes.

{insert beautiful, happy picture of the smiling couple here.}

And we kissed and laughed. I cried like a dumb girl. We walked some more and then walked back to the car to keep driving.

{more happy pictures of the ring, the beach, each other}

Well, here is a picture of us at Stump, but not that day.
Rocky drove and I knit on my mystery socks.

I figured if I was going to share the story here it made sense to show the finished socks too. Of course I thought I'd be done long ago. Rmemeber what I said about things taking longer than I think. You saw the first sock before sock summit.

But good news! I did manage to finish them before the wedding!

I'm getting married in just a 10 days.

 

I think the days may be speeding up! We're doing a very eclectic wedding and that takes a bit more effort. It's one of the reasons I've been quiet around here – there hasn't been a lot of knitting lately!

I wouldn't be a knitter if I wasn't going to knit my wedding shawl.

Remember how I said that it seems things always take longer than I think they will? In it's current state it looks suspiciously like a lace choker.

Sigh.

Fortunately I have two knitterly friends attending and both are bringing green shawls “just in case.” They know me so well!

These are special socks, forever linked to the day we became engaged. We've known each other for nearly 10 years. It's been a journey and I can't wait for the next step.

Pattern: Through the Loops, Mystery Sock 2010
Final measurements: 72 stitches on size 0s
Yarn: Periwinkle Sheep, the Old Watercolors, Plum Crumble, 399 yards
Modifications: An extra repeat on the leg
Knitting yardage total 2011: 1924

Sock Summit, Day #4

The final day.  Sad face.  I couldn't think of a good word to summarize the day.

It's been a pretty laid back day, comparatively.  The day has begun to wind down - fewer people and in general people's minds are shifting to traveling home. My brain was ready to explode after yesterday's class and I was kind of dreading another six hours.  Today's class has been just challenging enough that I've made enough mistakes to know I'm getting something out of it, but not enough that I need to curl into a ball, clutching merino and whimpering.

For some bizarre reason, the market place is closing before the last class finishes, which doesn't make sense to me at all.  Because of that I'm a bit hungry as I've foregone food in favor of doing the final spin through the market place during lunch.  I did kinnear Anne Zilboorg.

In a break, I'll have to make a decision on some yarn.  I was all set to buy when I saw a sample knit up of a cardigan and now I must decide how much yarn to buy.  It's Karin too, so that just makes the decision more difficult. ETA: Just wait until you hear about the dilemma and the resolution!

The final class was by another one of those unknown teachers.

Candice Strick.  Ever heard of her?  I figured out who she was when I saw her book in the market place. If I knit patterns instead of just buying books, I had an opportunity while at home to figure it out, her stuff is in 25 Favorite Socks, but of course, I missed that detail, somehow.

  Picture from Ravelry (Interweave Press)

The class was a lot of fun, though probably the first class where I don't think we needed six hours.  Of course, there were two women who were clearly in over their heads and others that needed the full time, but I would say 90% of the class had it down pretty quickly. I'm still a few years away from making these...
I found out that true Austrian twisted stitches are always knit in the round.  So, for a shawl you would knit in the round and than steek.
Candice also told stories about meeting various people including how she ended up sort of trading the original of the above shawl for these socks knit by Maria Erlbacher.  I'm guessing it's cotton yarn on size 000s.

Candice was a hoot and had a ton of energy which I think was a great help for the fourth day of classes.

At the end of class I mentioned I might tear out my little sampler in order to finish a pair of socks.  She was quick (jokingly) aghast.  We'll have to see.  After all, Candice Strick held my sampler! He he. Sock Summit was a lot of fun. I'm still processing Rue's question of whether it was worth it. I'll probably write more on that later. For now though, it's time to go back through the gate and get ready for work...

Three heels, one toe, six hours - Sock Summit, Day #3

On the off chance someone "follows" me (which I'm too inept to figure out how to do, though I love all your blogs), sorry for the reposting! I claim fatigue, but I'm done with my multiple publishings of the first two days.

I'm guessing this one won't go out tomorrow (Sunday).  Maybe I'll actually make it to Sock Summit before 9:01 and get a chance to work on this tomorrow... we shall see (I did).

So, today was my first six hour class and oh man, was it amazing and overload all at once. At least I've heard of this knitter before!

Donna Druchunas is fabulous!  She's is amazingly interesting, generous with her knowledge, always ready to help, and gloriously unassuming and down to earth when she's a pretty spectacular knitter, in my mind.  I don't know if anyone else enjoyed her snapshot of the history of Lithuanian knitting, but I was enthralled! She could teach a class just on that.  She teased us with beautiful examples of Lithuanian knitting, both her own (the cuffs) and items she bought (the socks) while traveling.


Of course, they only gave Donna six hours for Lithuanian Heels and Toes.  She showed us the schedule.  As her roommate rightly pointed out, "three heels and three toes in six hours? That's one item an hour." 

Oh yeah, put on your big girl panties, because it was knitting in over drive.

We had homework, namely starting three socks of 48 stitches until the heel.  You'll be able to see how far I got on the homework!!

First up was heels. This is a heel with no short rows. I won't give away the secrets of the instructions that Donna translated, but I'll show you the results:
Here is a clearer picture of what I was trying to do:

Next up, the stairstep heel: 

It's all clear, right?!

Mine looks a little closer to the attempt (and you can also see some of the other general knitting advice Donna gave that I scribbled on the bottom of the handout):
Finally, a short row garter heel with decorative holes:

And then - change gears!  Time for toes!  We were running short, but talked through four types and practiced a spiraled toe decrease. In traditional Lithuanian knitting the toe isn't kitchenered.

Three heels, one toe in six hours.  My brain may explode.  In a totally awesome way.

Donna is coming out with a book next year on Lithuanian knitting with some of her own patterns.  Buy it.  We didn't see it, but imagine this:

Some of the socks in the pictures I took today will be in that book.  Take the awesomeness I capture a glimpse of, add a person that actually knows how to take pictures, dabble in some amazing history, and wrap it up in what will be some truly amazing instructions and you will not be disappointed. 

Take a few breaths and grab a cup of coffee.

I dabbled around in the market place for a bit which was great.  I also got a chance to meet Katie from twelvedaysold which was fun. 

And together with her sister we wandered over to see this:

Flash Mob, Knitter-style.  Remember that comment about us knitting nerds sticking together?  I kind of wish I'd had the nerve to just do it but it was fun to watch too.  I've got a video but I've never tried to load one of those... I will try later, but want to get this up.

While I was writing up these posts, I ended up sitting next to Anne of Crafty Diversions and asked if she knew a place to eat.  Seems she's friends with Deb of Pico Accuardi. Hello Kevin Bacon.  Apparently Deb has many talents and she and her husband own a restaurant in Portland.  So I'm off to Gino's.  Partially to have some real caesar salad and partially to tell Deb's husband Marc I'm a knitter and they are making money off Sock Summit.  Full report tomorrow.  ETA: Marc had gone home and wine was good.  The caesar salad was good, but too garlicy.

Another late day.  And now the next class has started so time to hit publish.