There!
I finished my sweater the other day…
but I still can’t get good pictures of it.
Remember that time when I said I could totally knit a cabled sweater out of black yarn and it would be fine? Wrong. I mean, the sweater is fine, the sweater is great, but the photography is proving tricky, as the above proves. I think I might have to recruit someone to be a human tripod for me and get some shots outside in the sun, if I want a chance of the pretty cables showing through.
In the meantime, I spun up some yarn…
(35% merino, 35% alpaca, 30% wensleydale; 620 yds/45g)
…and knit it into a swatch for a new design, which will probably be released next month. Hopefully it will be easier to photograph than the sweater.
Inundated
It’s amazing how quickly I can go from having no knitting to being buried under an avalanche of yarn, swatches, and patterns. Unfortunately neither situation is particularly conducive to good blogging!
I did manage to polish off my first FO for the year; a pair of plain stockinette socks.
It actually took me about three weeks to knit these, which is kind of silly, considering the way I can knock out a sweater in a week! But with sweaters I usually find myself intrigued enough to knit all the time, while stockinette socks are pretty boring and usually only get picked up when I have absolutely nothing else to do, or if I’m chatting at knit night, or similar.
I’m also test knitting for Laura/cosmicpluto again…
But honestly, considering how well her patterns are written, it’s more like doing a sample knit than a full editing job. I did have to rip back the sleeve once but now that everything’s on track this should only take me another week or so to finish.
And that’s all I can share, for the moment! Everything else will be revealed in time. Hopefully.
Skeuomorph
The word ‘skeuomorph’ refers to no longer necessary features on things that are retained for decorative purposes, like rivets on jeans or the sound of a shutter click from a digital camera.
These mittens have no such features.
But I couldn’t resist naming them Skeuomorph, anyway, because it’s just such a delightful word. Plus, the sound makes me think of twisty, sideways things, and the mittens definitely are that.
The pattern is currently off to the races with some test knitters but I assure you that the second it gets back, I will turn it into a PDF and give it its very own pattern page and announcement post. In the meantime…
*heart bubbles!* :D
Pattern: My own, coming shortly
Yarn: Plymouth Encore Worsted, 1 skein in charcoal (leftover from my dad’s vest!)
Needles: US3/3.25mm unnamed circs
On Ravelry here!
Tail End
I promise this is the last of the FO parade for now—I’ve just been finishing so many things recently! Unfortunately I think, after finishing thirteen projects in four months, my knitting mojo has given up and died. I hadn’t knit a stitch in days and when I tried to get back to it this evening, nothing I tried was working. Oh well, I’m sure it’ll come back eventually.
In the meantime! I have some tasty new yarn to fondle.
This is the three-ply cormo I’ve been working on for, um, ever. Well, like a month; I really don’t sit down at the wheel as often as I’d like. But I finally worked up the energy to ply it and I’m glad I did, because despite some violent disagreements with the wheel (noise making, driveband throwing, driveband breaking, among other things), the yarn turned out gorgeous. It is squishy and fuzzy and light and pretty much everything I’d hoped for when I started spinning it. As far as I’m concerned there’s only one downside to this yarn: it’s brown. Now, while I have nothing against brown yarn in theory, in practice, well… I have brown hair in the exact same shade as this yarn, which means using for a hat or a scarf is right out. I don’t want to look like I’m wearing my own hair! It is sock weight, and I considered knitting socks, but I’m pretty hard on my handknitted socks and I’d be concerned about it holding up, long term. So what’s a girl to do? We’ll see—right now I’m considering gloves but I can’t seem to find the inspiration (see also: no knitting mojo).
(Three-ply cormo from Foxhill Fibers, purchased at Rhinebeck ’09. Spun short draw/point of twist, 500yds in 4oz.)
I also polished off that silk scarf I was working on the other day; it was a happy little diversion while I was waiting for the extra yarn to finish my dad’s vest.
Pattern: Suadela Stole by Lankakomero
Yarn: Twisted Fiber Silk Lace in Lilypad, one skein
Needles: US6/4mm Knitpicks Options
Notes: I don’t have much to say about this because it was such a straightforward, mindless knit! I only knit to eight repeats of chart two because the silk was so stretchy and I was getting bored.
On Ravelry here.
And that’s all I’ve got! Maybe I’ll take a knitting break and try to get some spinning done while waiting for my mojo to return.
Professor
This is my dad.
He’s a little… strange. He also reads this blog. (Hi dad!)
Without a doubt, he is the most difficult person in my immediate family to gift shop for. My mom will present me with an itemized list of what she wants, how much it costs, where to get it, how to wrap it. My brother is usually happy with a funny t-shirt or video game. But my dad… well, his usual response to “what do you want?” is “I don’t really need anything.”
Well yeah, dad, but what you do want?
Recently I’ve taken it as a bit of a personal challenge to try to find gifts that will amaze and delight him, like the Hamlet bow tie he received for his birthday this year. It was perfect because he teaches high school English and, in addition to spending a lot of time covering Hamlet, he only ever wears bow ties to school. (I’m sure he also spends a lot of time cringing at the grammar on this blog.) In fact, it was almost a little too perfect; I knew I had to go far above and beyond to improve on that. I knew I would have to… knit a sweater vest.
It was nearly impossible for me to keep this a secret. Every time I struggled with something (like running out of yarn) or managed something clever (like the 320 stitch tubular bind off around the button and neckbands, no I’m not kidding, yes it took me four hours, no I never want to do another tubular bind off again), I desperately wanted to blog about it. But—see above about my dad reading this blog. (Hi dad!) And saying anything would’ve ruined the amazement and delight, I think. So I kept my mouth shut. Er, mostly. And I’m glad I did. He was, in fact, speechless, and with luck he’ll get many years of wear out of just a few days of work. There’s nothing better than that.
Actually, wait, there is something better: it’s superwash.
Pattern: Professor Vest by Elizabeth Morrison
Yarn: Plymouth Encore Worsted in charcoal, 4 skeins
Needles: US6/4mm and US8/5mm Knitpicks Options
Notes: Do not be like me and try to attempt tubular bind off on all the ribbing. Save your sanity. Don’t. Do it.
On Ravelry here.
And since you’re always asking me about Caturday, dad, here you go!
Quill
Lest you all think I am some sort of crazy knitting machine, this is not actually a recent finished object—just one I’d been keeping under wraps until I could share the pattern!
Cashmere and lace, what could be better?
(This is Ellen. She is not a knitter but doesn’t mind being forced to wear cowls in late August when it is super hot outside.)
Actually, what’s better is that you can knit this cowl in the super soft cashmere it calls for without breaking the bank; one 25g skein (all you need!) is less than ten bucks. I mean, come on. This much luxury for so little a cost? It’s awesome, is what it is. And if you’re prowling around for a last minute gift, this should only take a few evenings of dedicated knitting to complete.
(This is Dorothy. She is a knitter, and thus understands the necessity of wearing a cowl in late August when it’s super hot outside and there’s no air conditioning inside.)
The one downside to this cowl is that it gets caught on my lipring if I’m not careful when I pull it over my head. But most of you shouldn’t have that problem 😉
Pattern: Quill (by me!)
Yarn: The Knitting Goddess Laceweight Cashmere small skein in charcoal, one skein
Needles: US3/3.25mm Addi Turbos
On Ravelry here.
Little Things
Gift knitting means I can’t show you what I’ve been working furiously on all week, because someone reads this blog and I don’t want to give away the surprise. But I have a few other tidbits I can share with you…
Pattern: Shiver Cowl by Danido Crafty
Yarn: KnitPicks Gloss DK in Woodland Sage, 1 skein and a bit of a second
Needles: US6/4mm KnitPicks Options
Notes: I made a handful of small mods, mostly because my yarn choice was a little thicker than the one specified in the pattern. I only worked the cabled band to 16″ (small neck!) and then, since the pattern doesn’t specify the ratio at which to pick up stitches, I just picked up one stitch in every slipped stitch, and worked the ribbing on the same US6s to keep it from being too snug. I used four buttons rather than three, because these pretty thrifted ones were just a smidge too small to keep it closed without that extra one.
Here on Ravelry.
There’s also a big, huge, GIANT spindle sale which ends tomorrow—15% and free shipping on all orders. Which means that this spindle:
could be in your hands by the end of the week for less than 25 dollars. Really.
And of course, some Caturday.
Herbivore
New cameras are funny things. In addition to the usual adjustment to new buttons, new settings, new new new, there’s also an adjustment to the way you even take pictures. For me, the adjustment here is in self portraits, because my new camera has a little remote. Shiny new toy! It’ll make my pictures so much better!
(Is this thing even working? *click click click*)
No. It isn’t better. The camera remote is an evil torture device.
(Maybe if I adjust this setti—*click* dammit!)
It is designed to make you think your life is easier, when really your pictures are just more ridiculous.
(Okay. Got it. Now I just need to look away from the camera, all artistic like and… sun. Directly in my eyes. Isn’t it November? Shouldn’t it be overcast? Why does the world hate me?)
I cry myself to sleep at night thinking about how many awesome pictures I could’ve taken if not for that vicious camera remote.
(That’s it, I’m done. Let me just get one full size picture and I’m going inside. There! Perfect! I’m… not in the frame, am I.)
Whatever.
Pattern: Herbivore by Stephen West
Yarn: J. Knits Superwash Me Sock in Minneapolis, 1 skein
Needles: US6/4mm KnitPicks Options
On Ravelry here.
Tyrian
Oh, blog. I promise to never, ever ever leave you like that again. On the plus side, look what I made you!
These socks are kind of geeky. You all are shocked by that, right? I knew you would be. See, this sparkly purple yarn just wanted to be something royal. Something with strong lines and fine details, but nothing too overwhelming. So I forged a crown for it and constructed some columns, and that was all it needed. The traveling cables on the heel and instep create a fantastic fit and allow the foot to switch smoothly into stockinette, for both comfort and elegance.
Pattern: Mine, all mine!
Yarn: Kraemer Sterling Silk and Silver, 1 skein
Needles: US1.5/2.5mm Addi Turbos, which I do not recommend unless you like dull needles for tiny little cable crosses. Me, I like sharp needles for those. But I didn’t have a pair handy.
Tyrian has an official home here, while the project page on Ravelry for my particular pair is here. As a bonus, for the rest of the month, anyone who purchases the Hera sock pattern in addition to this one will receive $2.00 back.
Creation
On the seventh day, Jesh finished a sweater.
It’s currently blocking and I’m still considering what to do about a closure, but it certainly went faster than anticipated. So… now what do I do for the next two weeks? (Just kidding. I still have a million things left to do before Rhinebeck and two weeks is still nowhere near enough time.)
Now I need to go ice my wrists and cuddle some poor, neglected kittens.
Jeshknits 