Some kind of title

So that news I had is on hold for a while. Which... erg.

I was browsing youtube for fast knitting techniques, because... right? Where else would you look? Also because that is how I roll, which is, I've decided, about the kicken-est phrase ever. I tried the Portugese knitting video, and y'all, I think I'm addicted. The yarn goes around your neck. I mean... knitting is amazing.

Anyway! What's funner than watching a stockinette tube grow? NOTHING!



I still can't get the color right. Dang.

The edge keeps rolling. It will be blocked out. I have Decided it. It will block flat. Yes it will. I am not in denial at all.

And here's a behbeh hat for the future. Not for me. No bebehs for me, thx*. Knitty's tychus with a provisional cast-on and 45 stitches in yarn remaindered from the damned arch-shaped socks. I really hope I have enough left.



Back to the sweater!


*Though the weekend-before-last I got to hold a 7-month old who was all keen on chewing on my fingers, and OH GOD, my ovaries... they ached...

I still make stuff!

There was some noise from my apartment complex people about replacing my cabinets (they're working on revamping the apartments to make them super ugly -- I don't get a say in this). I cleaned out my cabinets, put things in boxes in the living room, and left for work.

I came home to this:



Not too bad, right? I thought so. Until I saw this:



*whimper*

Since they're not done I can't do anything to clean up yet. Oog.

My favorite part? The giant rotten hole under the sink. Observe!



They just painted over it! Hooray!

But now, on to the knitting content.

This is Emily! (my name is also Emily!)


Photo credit: Shell

She's from Pennsylvania, like me! She's living in Edinburgh, like I used to! She's a lindy hop lead and follow, like me! And she's a knitter!

She rocks. She rocks like whoa. and when we met in Scotland and made note of all (all) the coincidental similarities we decided that we needed to do a KAL. I'm halfway(ish) there:



Made with malabrigo in natural and, um, green of some variety. They're dense and feel like fleece. Mmm. Very good for the bitter Scotland winters. Shame it's May. Trying to get gauge with anything else was a beast. I really hope they fit.

It was my first time with the tubular cast-on which was thwarting me more than a little bit. Seriously. I cast on, counted, started knitting, and a few rows later found that there weren't enough stitches. Grrr.

And then there were all these poochy bits on the cast-on:



Turns out you pull that out after you start the ribbing. Heh. Excellent.

And the sweater that refuses to be photographed well. It's a deep maroon. Mmm, kathmandu aran tweed... delicious...



There's more on the needles, too, which comes with some news!

#47

When you decide to undo a cast-on edge to re-do it from the bottom, you have to pick out ribbing stitches one by one.

This goes way slower than you might think.

Erg.

Real update when my batteries are done charging.

A better, easier tubular cast-off

So I'm doing a KAL with someone (more on that later!) and we're making Eunny's endpaper mitts. I was at the bind-off last night and was having a bunch of trouble with the technique that Eunny links to. I had to unpick (^&%*$%!!!) the first few bound-off stitches a bunch of times which really doesn't do good things to single-ply merino.

My sad, sad bind off:



Finally I bound off about four stitches and went to bed, because omgz so many expletives and PROFANITY at the stupid bind off big dumb jerk. And I couldn't sleep. And couldn't sleep. Visions of bind-offs were running through my head when I had a Thought. A potentially Clever Thought.

In case I forgot it in the night I jumped up, pulled out some crap yarn, and cast on 8 stitches. A (very) few rows of ribbing and I tried my idea.



It was pretty! It was easy! I was feeling brilliant. Ready for excitement? This is the super-easier tubular cast-off:

Slide knit stitches onto one needle, and purl stitches onto another needle held behind the first. Kitchener those puppies together. Admire beauty. Feel crazy smart.

But, of course, there aren't Really any new ideas in knitting, and the bind off is presented as the knit-one-purl-one bind off on knitting help.

Still, though, I'm pleased as punch that I don't have to do that darned sewing one anymore.

Xtreem!

Oh, y'all, I promised a picture of my extreme knitting and never delivered. Honestly, I was hoping that I'd get a better picture and it didn't happen, so here's the blur-tacular shot I do have. You ready?



That's right! Scuba knitting! Scuk! (Self-Contained Underwater Knitting, of course).

I didn't bring a real project, just cast on a few with some remaindered KP Andean Silk, tucked it and some needles into the pocket of my BC (bouyancy compensator) (that's the vest that you attach your tank and hoses to) and pulled it out at the end of one of our dives in St. Croix.

It was tricky. I didn't bring the whole ball of yarn (that would just be silly!) and the working end flew everywhere. It was not my best evidence of knitting. I was floundering around a bit too, so Lisa (in the pink!) held me fast so I could concentrate.

The delightful part is that I forgot my needles and yarn in the (rented) BC pocket and it got taken out the next day. The knitting went on almost as many dives as I did. Luckily I got everything back. I got a real funny look from the woman who'd been using my vest when I asked if I could borrow the BC and pulled out needles and yarn.

She laughed, too.

Xtreem knitting close up! Whoaaaa! Whoooaaaaaa!

It's over!

Start date: Let's not discuss that.

Finish date: Apr 17!

Pattern: Arch Shaped Socks from VK Fall 2006

Yarn: Laines du nord 100% merino, 3 skeins each black and purple, size 2 bamboo needles.

Modifications: Oh, ha. Damn near everything. I cast on 82 (pattern called for 80), increased 8 rows to accomadate my shapely calves, and followed my generic top-down sock pattern after that. Adjusted the toes so they weren't quite as square (I had to reknit them a number of times so as to not cut the circulation to my toes off, which was more my problem than the pattern's). Oh, and modified the front diamond pattern because I'd messed it up the first time and then decided it was a design element.

I think they'd've done better calling it a "guideline" rather than a "pattern."

They're damn pretty, though. And DONE! HA HA! THE CURSE IS LIFTED!

...well, this particular curse, anyway. I think that gauge one is going to stick around for a while.

Query

I was flipping through Domiknitrix's book, and it's cleverly set up and funky-style etc. etc, but there's only one pattern I like (the halter vest). And the book is $20.

Do y'all find yourselves in situations like that? I don't want to fleece the designer, but $20 for a pattern is steep. Ideas? I have a feeling that the library won't have it, and I don't know anyone (offhand) who does.

Some days you knit, some days you frog

This was as far as I'd gotten in the arch-shaped socks when I decided to compare it against the first. While I harbor no delusions about these two being twins, I wanted to make sure they would be the same, you know, length.

They're not.

The decreases in the second sock are more consistent than the first, and so if I kept decreasing every four rows like I was then it'd be another, oh, eight rows longer. Not so good. So I frogged back to where that needle is sticking out.

It's about the knitting, not the product; it's about the knitting, not the product; it's about the knitting...

A sock and some planes

Did you know that knitting needles are prohibited on flights out of the UK? At least on Delta? It's true!

And that, my friends, makes for one exceptionally long flight from Edinburgh to Atlanta (I was much too tired to knit on the Atlanta-Charlotte flight). It's an 8.5 hour flight and I'd finished my book (Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, which is great but not... exactly uplifting, so I wasn't in the mood to re-read just yet), and there wasn't anything good on the tv, so... erg. In retrospect I probably could've gotten by with my bamboo needles, but it wasn't a risk I was excited to take.

So! Knitting news! Yes. I finally finished the first of the stupid arch-shaped stockings. The bottoms were a little tricky because there are no pictures of them in VK, and no description of how they should look. So I faked it and it works, so yay!



The toes, however, are a little square, and I'm not entirely sure what to do about that. They're square in the magazine pictures, too. The other thing is that I really don't want to undo any of the sock unless I absolutely have to.



I started its mate on the flight to Edinburgh (where needles were allowed), and it's going... slowly. I would knit in the evenings while Shell and I were watching tv (she was a goddess and let me stay with her), and she asked how long socks like that would take me to knit, and I realized that boy howdy, I really am a slow knitter.

But I keep reminding myself that I'm a process knitter. I'm doing this not for the final product, but for the love of wool on needles.

It's become my mantra when I peruse knitblogs.


You should, um, make believe you can't see those loose ends...

I wandered into a few places-with-yarn while I was in Edinburgh. Frankly, there's not much there. There's John Lewis department store which carries Rowan and Debbie Bliss and so on, and there's Jenners, which carries Rowan and Debbie Bliss and so on. Decent, but not thrilling. There's also HK Handknits, which looks decent but doesn't seem to carry anything I couldn't find in the states and was a good hike from where I was staying, so I passed on it. Besides, I have enough projects on tap to get more yarn (HAH! Lies. I always need more yarn).

Maybe I should move back to Edinburgh and start a yarn store...

Right here:

Is where I fell back in love with the arch-shaped socks.

The scarf of bad timing

2.5 skeins of Cascade 220 lambswool Peruvian highland merino wool, The Heathers. In green, as you might could tell.

Fisherman's rib over 40 stitches. About 5.5' long. Started in the Boston airport and finished 8 days later. Learned that picking up stitches in fisherman's rib is kind of tricky. Blocked it by hanging it in the bathroom, tying another scarf to the end and tying a spray bottle to the end of that to weigh it down some-but-not-too-much.

Knit for one of my nearest and dearest.

The spirit of the curse

Well. The curse is alive and well. The gift isn't a sweater, it's not for a Boyfriend, and we aren't "broken up," per se. Additionally, the knit itself wasn't the catalyst (indeed, it hasn't even arrived yet), but the timing was spot-on.

Spirit of the curse rather than the letter of the curse.

Needless to say, I'm not doing so hot right now.

Stealthy

I've been single-mindedly knitting myself into a fury, but I have to be careful: the recipient might be watching. Here's a sneaky-style taste:



Slightly heathered emerald green lambswool by Cascade Yarns. Mmm. Soft but not too soft. Man-style.

Will be shipping it off soon (as soon as I get around to taking some pictures of it), and then -- full update.

In the meantime, someone needs to buy me all of this yarn. Especially in the Veilchen colorway. And Poison Nr. 5. Mmmmmm.

Taking a break

The sweater keeps getting bigger, the rows get longer, and I need to... not look at it for a few days.

And the arch-shaped socks? I'm not... entirely positive where they are right now. No, seriously. I think they're in my bookbag from St. Croix... Maybe?

I started some mittens with some Jo Sharp Alpaca Kid Lustre in deep maroon. Not sturdy, but will keep me warm on the way to the car in the mornings. It's going fairly quickly, which is kind of exciting. No pictures yet. Soon, though! I'm thinking that since they're simple I may embroider them a la Lene. (She talks about her methods here).

I also picked up a half-finished handkerchief and finished it up:


(I need to fuss with my camera controls. BOY is that noisy).
(Okay, I'm just excited that I know what that means).

I got some use out of the previously finished one while I was sneezing and snurking through my post-vacation cold, and here are my conclusions:

So much better than the paper towels I'd been using at work. So much better. Of course, so is fine-grade sandpaper, but these made my nose happy.

Pattern for super nose protection (though you hardly need one):

-1 skein KFI Patagonia Nature Cotton makes two handkerchiefs with a smidge left over.

-Size 5 needles (though I tend to knit pretty tightly -- just keep your gauge loose enough to be drape-y but tight enough that they don't, you know, leak).

CO 22 sts (for a larger one cast on 30, but if you tend to carry things in your pockets keep in mind that the larger size can be a little bulky)

Fisherman's Rib:

Row 1: k1p1 all the way across.

Row 2: Sl1, p1, *K into row below, purl, repeat from *.

Repeat row 2 until you have a square-ish shape. Since this is a pretty boingy stitch it's a little hard to tell. Estimate. It's just a handkerchief.

Bind off, weave in ends. Use to cover nose. Blow. Wipe. Snurgle.

If you're squidgy about immediate contact with nose goo then make a lot and throw them in the washing machine when you run out.

If you're not, however, then you can get away with one or two. When it starts getting full of goo then just take it to the sink, give it a rinse, and wring out. It's damp when you use it again, but the cool water feels really nice on a sore nose.

Am I crazy?

I mean, outside of the overt "yarn in the dishwasher" kind of crazy.

Here's why I'm suspect:

I hate ribbing. I mean, I love the way it looks, but omg it's so slow. So slow. I've been thinking about the Kathmandu aran tweed and how I want to make a fairly quick sweater -- I was thinking stockinette, but you know, ribbing might just be too smooshy to pass up.

What's holding me back is that I'm so !! slow at ribbing (it's like seed stitch: I lovelovelove it, but I cringe when I think about how long it takes), so what if I knit maybe half an inch in ribbing, then switch to stockinette, and then when I get to the arm shaping I...

(brace for potential crazy)

drop the stitches that should be purled and pick them up so they're correct for ribbing?

Maybe I'm just forgetting how long picking up stitches takes, but it seems kind of preferable to ribbing a whole sweater.

On the other hand, maybe ribbing a(nother) whole sweater would build character and make me faster for the future. Or maybe it just wouldn't get finished.

What do you mean this isn't normal?

Doesn't everyone have yarn in their dishwasher?



Sizzle got the rip and I had to do something about the kinked up yarn. Option one was to weight the skeins and hang them in the bathroom, and option two was something I heard about from Pixie Purls: putting kinky yarn through the dry cycle of the dishwasher and steam it out. So I tried it!

It worked a bit, though next time I'll stretch the yarn a bit rather than just leaving it in skeins. Either way it's easier than throwing it in the shower.

Knitting through quicksand

Between the trip, Big Phone Calls involving both New and Large Feelings, and this cold that has taken up residence in my sinuses (and occasionally vacationing in my chest) there hasn't been much knitting. There could be if I felt like I could take off work, but I'm taking... six times two... 12 days in the span of about six weeks. It doesn't look so good for me to take more.

I have medicine head. Everything's moving pretty slowly right now.

I worked on the sock on my Charlotte-Miami flight, getting all the way to turning the heel (trying on a knee sock while sitting in an airplane seat = tricky) when I realized that I had no idea how the gusset was supposed to look. I thought it might be stripes, but I couldn't remember and there was nothing I could do. . So I put it away and haven't picked it up since.

It is stripes, by the way.

#46. Always keep a picture of the pattern. Just do. Especially if the pattern's being difficult anyway.

Also, somehow my gauge went from 7 spi to 9 spi, and I have no idea what happened. Maybe it's the switch from circular needles to dpns, but...? Might explain why the size is so off, though...

Anyhoo. Lately I've been working on my Secret Sweater Pattern. I'm using my Knitpicks Andean Silk (sizzle is getting the rip) and it'll be a delightful surprise whether there'll be enough or not. Either way I'm going to have to knit it again, I think. Make sure I know what I'm talking about when I write up the pattern. Decide if I really do like where it's going.

In the meantime, here's a peek:

Good news!

Not dead! Still going!

With the trip and getting stranded in Miami on the way home and having people staying in my apartment this past weekend and some... life craziness, I haven't been able to write (well, knit-based writing, anyway).

I haven't knit much, either.

To come: I did some extreme knitting while I was away, and why you should always bring a picture of a pattern when traveling with WIPs.


(this picture is Definitely Not Staged at All).

Impending radio silence

The socks... are still going. More accurately, the sock is still going, and let's not even talk about second sock syndome, pls.



I increased a bunch and am now working through the decreases (and please do cross your fingers for me) will end right about where the heel starts, which would just be too keen (cue impending knitter god wrath for my Wicked, Wicked Pride¹). It's still a little tight, but not boa-constrictor-esque. The sock's partner isn't going to be a perfect match (at ALL), as I'm increasing/decreasing every 3ish rows.

Here's a 2 stitch increase that I "made up" and used to fix the fact that I forgot to cast on in a multiple of four:



In the same stitch: knit, knit into stitch AND STITCH BELOW, knit. If you use this a lot and/or the stitches are stretched it can result in a little hole that's quite pretty. No idea why it didn't happen here, but I'm not complaining.

At the same time the Mystery Pattern finally arrived:


(click on picture for link to store)

(I have to admit that I wasn't thrilled with the service. It took a week for her to let me know wht my first order didn't go through, and then another 8 days to get to me -- good thing I wasn't too anxious. Also, I got charged $1.50 for shipping when it was actually 87¢, but maybe the extra is for the envelope or similar?).

Thing is... I'm not sure I have enough yarn. The merino/silk I have is dk and the pattern calls for worsted, and the largest size of the pattern requires 630 yards (including underdrawers, which I'm not making), and I have 540 yards (which is what's called for in the next smallest size.

I was thinking that since I'm using smaller yarn I'd make the bigger size (to be double-checked when I do a swatch), but I don't know if it'll work. I may replace the knit straps for ribbon, though, which would free up... YARDS... of... yarn... I hope?

I wish it came with a picture of the back.

ANYhoo, I've also been working on figuring out a sweater pattern. Work, until today, has been really slow and offers plenty of time to sketch and even do some maths. It's a design I saw on a woman in a restaurant, and have never seen anything like it before or since (though it's a tricky search). I've been prototyping with some crap yarn, and hopes are high.

Mysterious? Yes! But I would like to, um, maybe publish it if I can ever figure it out. You understand.

In the meantime, most-if-not-total radio silence is going to occur between this-and-next Thursday because I'll be here:



for this.

St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. Tropical Dance Vacation. A week of contra dancing, tooling around the Caribbean, and rum.

It's my first island vacation without my family, which is going to be strange. I'm staying with a couple of friends, which is brilliant. Scuba diving, snorkeling, getting sun burnt beyond recognition, rum, and diet smashing (rule: only break the diet for something Really Worth It, e.g. biscuits. Or cake. Or -- I should stop).


¹ Hey, have any of you seen "Wicked, Wicked Games"? Isn't it awful??

Poll

What's your favorite way to join yarns? I haven't found one that I really like.

Opinions?