Blink and you’ll miss it

Since I now have both a Ravelry account and a knitblog, I feel like my FOs shouldn’t really sneak up on me anymore. I feel like I should be very well aware of just how much progress I have made on any given project and be able to project when it will be finished.

But…like…that blue beret I mentioned, like, a couple day ago? It’s done.

How in the name of puppies did *that* happen? It’s like, after all the time and emotional investment that went in to getting the Bellatrix sock finished, this hat shouldn’t be done *already*. But no. It’s done. And I’m kind of a fan…

 

I have no other hats that look even kinda like this beast. I also love the bright blue color and no longer regret not using a nice khaki green like the other examples of the Sea Urchin beret I could find. I have kind of a soft spot for this yarn, too, as it’s the leftovers from my first ever sweater (<3). It’s so big, too! It covers my ears completely and is so toasty I can’t see myself ever being cold again in the winter. I’m happy. I don’t care if other people think it looks silly. This thing’s getting worn.

Speaking of winter, I think I’m finally ready to start gift knitting….Oi vey….

In other crafting news, my joined rings are improving in my tatting. I have come up with an idea for a crazy knitted bag incorporating my tatting skillz and have been kinda mapping it out recently, but before I can start on a project like this, I have to kill more stash…for everyone’s sake, especially my own. I’m being haunted by the Ghost of Acrylic Past and need to purge some demons.

And sewing! Yes, sewing! I’m going to try sewing. I have fabric for a few skirt patterns, but not the elstic or thread or zippers and stuff. *And* my mother found an awesome retro apron pattern! I’m so stoked! This means we get to go to the GOOD fabric store this weekend! Our JoAnne’s is pretty weak, so Fabric Land is worth the trip.

Hawt Socks

Woo hoo! Finished a pair of socks in under a month! Bellatrix is done!

Still have all praise for the Knit Picks Gloss. I wore these for a little bit before I went to sleep last night and they were nice and cozy and cushy. Not machine washable, but I’ll get over it. I still have quite a bit left over, which made my grind my teeth a bit over my continued inability to use up yarn.

Moving on from the yarn, these socks are hot. Like, super hot. I felt hot just wearing them. I’m definitely seeing them worn with a skirt, but maybe not with the heels I wore in the picture. Too much? I dunno. I just really really like them and would hate to only ever hide them under jeans. and sneakers.

I also gave in to a bit of that starter madness I talked about last time. I’m justifying it as some “color therapy” after working with so much black yarn. I’m now working on a My So Called Scarf in this lovely Malabrigo to my right (the colorway is Curacao, which, when left to my own devices, I try to put in to every alcoholic bverage I make. everything is better in blue).

The project that threatens to take time away from it, though, is a hat that is basically everything that I want from a hat. Texture. Warmth. Uniqueness. Ability to use blue yarn. The Sea Urchin Hat from Craftster. It looks *amazing* on the original maker, and I’m hoping for even a bit of that sucess. It’s a great looking hat, but I hadn’t reaslized what that cool stitch pattern was until I started making it. It’s seed stitch ribbing. Seed Stitch. Ribbing. Ribbing that is also seed stitch. I don’t know what it is about this that is blowing my mind, but consider it blown. I’m using old bright blue Cascade 220 double stranded, even going so far as to frog a really ugly project to get the yarn. I know it ought to be in green for the whole “sea urchin” theme…but I want an enormous blue beret. Is that so wrong?

Starter madness

The first Bellatrix is done! I’m just past the twisted rib of the second sock, and trying very hard to stay focused on getting it done before October….

 But then the start madness hit. Perhaps you, fellow knitters, can share my feelings. All of a sudden you want to start about 20 new projects all at once. This is also known as “Startitis,” but I classify start madness as when you don’t just start a new project, you start and abandon it all in the same night.

I have a few already begun projects that I could be focusing on. The felted box that’s using up the last of my green Lamb’s Pride, the Clashtastic Blanket, drinking more soda for the Tin Can Tote. Plenty to do! None of it really getting done. Dabbled in the box and the blanket last night but not a lot of measurable progress.

The trick with the start madness this time was that I managed to convince myself I was being responsible. You see, I’m finally passable enough at knitting that it’s becoming expected that I knit for others. Oh em gee I’m so awkward about this. All of my knitting, to this point, has been for myself because I don’t want to inflict it on other people. Now there are actual requests coming in, so it’s unavoidable now. Hats for two friends, two baby things, and I know that if I make things for a few friends, I have to make for the rest…So basically, I told myself “Christmas/Hanukkah Knitting doesn’t count toward me being bad, right?”

I picked up the yarn for one friend’s hat and put it down. I’m making her a black Kittyville hat and the thought of seed stitch right now makes me gag. I even cast on and did a few rows of Berocco’s Pie baby sweater before realizing that I suck at seeming garter stitch and the Elizabeth Zimmerman baby patterns I have are way way cuter (Baby Surprise, Tomten, Baby Bog…). So started and frogged. Looked at the leftover black Mission Falls and tried to think of a hat that I could make for a friend that would use it up, look cool, and *not* be the pattern he requested. He wanted a Shedir after seeing me wear mine to a bonfire….yeahno. Not happening. Then I thought about the Trellis I want to make for my cousin’s little boy and got tired. It’s aran design on a small scale, but I think I’m still cabled out.

Guess I’ll wait on those. I don’t know if I want to do one of the Zimmermann patterns in just one color, cables are a no right now, and I can’t bear the thought of starting another black project.

“Does not follow written directions well”

Story of my Elementary School life….

 Now that the shrug (which I’m loving more every day with this lousy weather we’re having) is done, I’m focusing all of my attentions on the Bellatrix socks. Got most of the foot done over the weekend while sitting on the porch listening to an Agatha Christie audiobook. Miss Marple sure is clever

Thing is, I worry I’m breaking some, like, unknown to me sock commandment. The Bellatrix socks have a reputation for being very loose, what with all the dropped stitches. As I’ve mentioned before, that works just fine for my calves, but I didn’t want something droopy on my foot. My solution was to change needle sizes from a 2 to a 1 for picking up the gusset and making the foot. So far, it’s worked out really really well…but should it? Are you supposed to mess with needle size this much, I wonder.

I’m a big fan of the “knit however will make it work for you” philosophy. And even if my gague is more gonzo than Hunter S. Thompson, it’s coming out to a comfy, cozy pair of socks that I think look awesome. I’m already picking out outfits to wear them with! And the Knitpicks Gloss is holding up really well against the abuse my knitting bag suffers, so brownie points to that yarn. The heel still feels a little short to me, but that might just be because my only other experience has been with Jaywalkers, which are known for having heel flaps that could eat Cleaveland.

As a roundup for my own future reference, here are the mods I’m going to be making on the second sock: Using size 1’s for the ribbing at the top (worry about grippyness on the 2s), 2’s for the leg, 1’s for the feet, slipped stitch heel.

I’m excited and near the toe, so the second sock should be on the needles shortly…and then I can take a month to finish it like I did with the Jaywalkers…Hooray?

Finally! Some progress!

About a week ago I went a little nuts with the starting. This morning I had no less than 5 WIPs that I was trying to spread my attention around on, but it just wasn’t working. Sometimes you just feel like you need to finish something, ya know?

So. I decided to pick something and see it to the finish this weekend. *Clearly* this was not feasable with the Clashtastic Log Cabin, which if I’m going to be honest has been getting most of my attention, so I went to the black sheep of my knitting bag: The former Two-Toned Shrug which was reduced by cutbacks to something more like a Two Skein Wonder.

I was really pessimistic about the pattern. If I wasn’t complaining that it wasn’t going to fit, I was whining that it was going to make me look like a linebacker. When I got to the ribbing around the body I turned in to an even bigger brat. I’ve been in a lousy mood lately and the boring yet not mindless-ness of 2×2 ribbing was driving me up a wall. I only did 14 rounds of ribbing as opposed to the more than 20 called for. I bound off grumbling, but still pretty pleased to have finished something. But clearly, it was going to have been a waste of time, I thought. Went upstairs to the full length mirror and took a look.

 I like it. I like it a lot. My shoulders look pretty normal, I still like the color, and it’s nice and warm, while still being right for this August weather. I like it so much that I feel bad skimping out on the ribbing around the body. It’d look even better with the full complement. Still burried under a heap of WIPs, but you sure do get a lift in mood finishing something, eh?

The point of no return?

I think I may have hit the point of no return and am now transitioning from a knitter to a Knitter.

What brought this on? I really really *really* want to join this “Sock Yarn of the Month” club I heard about on Ravelry. It’s nice, independently died sock yarn and I really really want it….But can I do it?

 I have the money to do the monthly instalment plans, but it’s the stash space I worry about. I refuse to purchase any more containers for my yarn. It’s gotten out of hand already. I picked through it the other day and the thing is it’s not even just odds and ends of yarn. It’s like several groups that have enough to make a sweater. One set I know is for my cousin’s baby girl, and another bunch is for my other cousin’s little boy. I need to just sit down and use those large patches up, but that brings me to the next problem:

Has anyone ever sucessfully used up their yarn? Like, the whole skein/ball/hank is gone, baby, gone? I seem to be incapable of using up any given color. The skeins of Lamb’s Pride I had in Turkish Olive? *Still* have some left. And this is after making a small scarf, part of a felted purse, and a set of garter stitch mitts with it! I still have a lump of it that’s too small to really make anything with, but too big to just throw away. For *once* I’d just like to use something up…

Good thing I have that Clashtastic Log Cabin. Blankets = stash killers, so all that old Homespun is as good as gone. Of course, this knowledge put me in to a false sense of security and I felt safe to toss a couple of balls of Pallete in to my shopping cart when I ordered my friend’s birthday preasent from Knitpicks. What? I needed to round the order out to $45 for the shipping…

…If this gets any worse I’m going to want to try spinning…and that will just be bad for all of us….

I think I may have actually lost my mind

The internets are a place filled with magic and wonder. Somewhere between the celebrity gossip sites and half-baked political blogs, you can sometimes find things that actually make your life better than it had been previously.

I never knew just how dull my existence was until today. I hadn’t known it, but something was missing. Something I never could have guessed I needed until I saw it and I just KNEW.

I must have, as soon as possible, a Tin Can Granny Square Tote Bag.

I found the above work of unspeakable beauty while at work and had to go out shopping for it right away. Instead of scrutinizing skein after skein of yarn at the LYS, I was comparing the colors and aestetics of the various soda cans at the A&P. I eventually settled on Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper based on its color scheme (I have leftover white and red acrylic in my stash), unlikelyness of choice (Coke was too obvious), and tastiness (gotta drink this stuff, ya know. My friends might be willing to help me out with this one since it’s diet).

This also has an element of construction that sounds like a lot of fun. Since I picked up some wire, beads, and beading pliers,  I’ve become more interesting in the old Shop Class style of crafting as well. I’m really looking forward to cutting up the cans with my awesome new spring action titanium bladed scissors (not as badass as they sound. got them at Target on sale). I can also snatch a pair of my mom’s gardening gloves. I’m also wondering if I should pick up some goggles as well. I’m really paranoid about stuff happening to my eyes, so I’m willing to be overprotective of them.

Do I sound overly excited? Because I am. I can’t *wait* to get a move on with this little bit of heaven. I even sense this might make for a new knitting bag!

Tatting Adventures Two: The Two Shuttles

Two steps forward and one step back. I went through my various crafting supplies and got some semblance of order to them. I separated the embroidery stuff from the decoupage stuff and put my knitting needles in their own plastic container. I also put all the new crochet thread I got at the still going out of business Rag Shop in to it’s own little basket along with my precious tatting shuttles (the plastic Clover brand ones come in packs of two). I *have* actually done a little bit of tatting since the blog post, but I’m really still just practicing rings. Mine are still a little sloppy and I’m not even sure I’m closing the rings the way I’m supposed to.

Along with the organizational tools I bought today, I picked up The Complete Encyclopedia of Stitchery by Mildred Graves Ryan (I am a huge fan of both the word “stitchery” and the name Mildred so really how could I pass this up?) using a gift certificate to Michaels I got for my birthday. This book is hella awesome, talking about all sorts of different embroidery, crochet and knitting, including some stitch patterns for knitting not covered in my Vogue Stitchionary. At least…that’s all I thought the book had, and wouldn’t that be enough?, but lo and behold….

There’s a chapter on tatting! Oh happy day!

Naturally, I had to bust out the shuttles right away and put some effort in to advancing my tatting skillz. Time to join some rings…

I merrily made my way up to the first picot, but when it was finally time to commence the joining maneuver I caught a case of the fail. I managed to snap this picture after about three attempts to move my hands the correct way. I can’t even tell you what I was doing the first two times….there was a figure eight and a foot involved. That’s right. My foot. I tried to pull one of the threads with my foot but…yeah anyway this one looked about right so I recorded it for posterity. I don’t think it was because, while I eventually ended up with two closed rings stuck together, there’s this crazy twist that my knitter’s eye can see and it is driving me crazy. But I’m close! This is still a very fun little hobby to have in my arsenal, and the Encyclopedia actually has some patterns for edging. I’m thinking a gaudy old lady felted purse with bright yellow tatted lace hanging on it might be in my future…

Air Force One

I think the only reason I ever get projects off the needles is that I eventually get frustrated by their lack of progress. Yes. I have had my mother’s crazy Protestant Work Ethic *so* drilled in to me that it ends up getting applied to my knitting. After about two weeks I’m like “You again!? What are you still doing in my knitting bag? I’ve about had it with you!” and then ends up taking a huge leap toward completion.

Such is the case with the Two-Toned Shrug from Fitted Knits. I’ve gotten to the point to where my Clashtastic Log Cabin is big enough that I can only knit one stripe before going in to a Garter Stitch Coma. After I finished last night’s I went through my knitting bag and found that there was still a shrug on my 8 circs. Oh no. This simply will not do. This needed to show some measure of visible progress.

Finished the Raglan Increases of Doom last night (picture is old) and I’m working on the sleeves now. I’m thinking I might actually skimp on this thing a little. I was originally going to use it as a stash buster for my three Khaki Cascade 220 and at least one of the three undyed Cascade 220 hanks I’ve got sitting around the bottom of my basket but…I’ve kinda changed my mind now.

I don’t mind using one and a bit of the khaki to make the shrug, but now I’ve got other plans for it. Specifically, a self designed hat that will probably make me hate life but I still want to try it anyway. As for the undyed stuff, not only am I thinking that I probably won’t like it as a big contrasting ribbed color on the shrug, I’m also interested in trying Kool-Aid dying. My parents won’t even freak out over me using one of the cooking pots either since they really need to get thrown out anyway.

So new plan for the shrug is that it’s gonna be all one color with shorter sleeves and less ribbing all around. Sounds good to me. And the sooner I get it off the needles the sooner I can go back to the Self Desigend Zip Up Hoodie of Many Froggings. I’ve literally ripped the thing out four times now and never gotten past the collar. Chalk it up to crushing self doubt.

I want to get back to my hoodie because after all the hats and mitts and sock I’ve been doing lately, I want to make a sweater. After I see how the hoodie comes out I might want to try an Elizabeth Zimmerman style bottom up sweater. Can’t be too hard to add some waist shaping to those instructions, right?

re: the title: Whenever I think of the phrase “get off my needles” I hear Harrison Ford’s voice from the infamous Air Force One line “Get off my plane.” My brain works in weird ways, okay

Back to socks

I think my knitting must have gotten pretty quick. Somehow I have a good portion of the Log Cabin blanket done, and I’m nearly done with the raglan increases on the Two Tone Shrug. Clearly a new project was in order.

I have resigned myself to not buying any new yarn until I clear out some more of my stash. And not just the acrylic stuff anymore. There’s plenty of good stuff just sitting around now too. Like the Knitpicks Gloss I picked up awhile ago…Say…wasn’t that purchased for something specific?

 After the initial thought, I kept making my clash-tastic log cabin for about an hour to the sounds of Court TV, and later the Biography Chanel. Just as a program about a lady who had her husband killed came on I remembered: Bellatrix socks! Nice connection, eh?

Cast on with a set of US 2s and now I’m two pattern repeats in to the leg. This pattern is so much fun! I’m literally sitting there going “weee!” as I drop the yarn overs off the needle. They’re moving by so quickly, too! The only thing that worries me is that many of the opinions from Ravelry have these socks at crazy loose and needing tiny needles. I’m on 2s, which seem kinda big for fingering weight yarn as fine as Gloss, but was as close to the 7 stitch gague as I could get. But the example from the original pattern was made on 0s. ZEROS. I’m concerned, but at the same time…I have large circumference feet and my calves are….better described as “strudy” than “delicate.” I’ll see how it goes when I’m further along in the leg and want to do a try on. I’ve also got plenty of the yarn, so I’m not particularly worried about running out.

One thing that’s improved about my knitting over the last three months, I’m no longer afraid to just rip out and start all over again.