I'm almost done with Sbodd's hat - I don't know what I was thinking when I said I needed to get it to 12 inches. :oP I think maybe I was thinking diameter instead of radius, so to speak. Anyway, at 8 inches it is plenty long enough to start the crown shaping. I did one row of that last night before I was too sleepy to go any further.
I discovered when I started packing my yarn and craft stuff that I have a good deal more yarn than I realized. When I bought the yarn for the stuff I've made for Sbodd, I couldn't make up my mind on colors so I ended up getting three different colors of Lion Brand Wool-Ease for him to choose from (he chose the Pines Print, for those who were admiring it; the other two I have are the Woodland Print and the Autumn Print). I immediately started thinking of who I could knit stuff for in order to use up those yarns. :oD Tee hee.
I have this wierd fear that I am going to end up knitting a whole bunch of shawls and scarves and hats and things that are going to languish around the house, so I am trying to stick to things that either I will actually use or that I can give away to people who will actually use them. I actually pouted a little about RJ moving to NC because I was like, I can totally knit stuff for her since Utah is cold in the winter!
There are always charities as well. I'm definately more of a process person than a finished product person. I'm proud of the finished product, and I love to see other people enjoying my finished product, but I enjoy the process and the challenge more than anything else.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Reboot
I came home from choir last night, pulled off my cast-on stitches for Sbodd's hat, and started over. I've not been happy with the cast-on edges of my work so far so I pulled out my Stitch 'n Bitch book to try a different type of cast on, to see if I could get a tighter, cleaner first row. The book calls the one I used the double cast on, but I've seen it called a long-tail cast on as well. Anyway, it was fast and it looked fantastic, I was really happy with it. Much much better looking than my previous attempts. I was pleased. It shouldn't really have mattered on this project because the bottom of the hat will roll up naturally, but it's been something that's annoyed me on all three of my completed projects, and I didn't want another sloppy edge.
However, I'm not sure what I did, but I messed up somewhere and ended up with more rows on half my needle than on the other half, which...totally doesn't make any sense. I'd have to turn around in the middle of my work to do that. So, uh, yeah, no idea. :oP
So I'm back at square one again. Also, I had intended to use size 9 needles because the project calls for size 8 and I have consistently knitted at a tighter guage than what was called for, making my projects smaller than they should have been. It's good, by the way, that I chose to knit the large size on my hat because a smaller one would definately not have fit. Anyway, I realized I was knitting on size 8 needles just before I discovered my screw-up on the rows. I don't think I actually have a set of size 9 needles, so I will have to pick them up tomorrow so I can do it right. Out of curiosity I measured my abortive attempt and sure enough, it was at least two inches short of where it needed to be.
This will be at least attempt number 3 on this hat, which irks me, but oh well...everything can't be easy. ^_^
Edit: Ah ha - it turns out that I put my needle pairs together wrong, so I was using one #8 needle and one #9 needle. I dug through my basket and found the other mismatched pair, so now I do in fact have a complete pair of #9 needles. I r dum. Or possibly blind.
However, I'm not sure what I did, but I messed up somewhere and ended up with more rows on half my needle than on the other half, which...totally doesn't make any sense. I'd have to turn around in the middle of my work to do that. So, uh, yeah, no idea. :oP
So I'm back at square one again. Also, I had intended to use size 9 needles because the project calls for size 8 and I have consistently knitted at a tighter guage than what was called for, making my projects smaller than they should have been. It's good, by the way, that I chose to knit the large size on my hat because a smaller one would definately not have fit. Anyway, I realized I was knitting on size 8 needles just before I discovered my screw-up on the rows. I don't think I actually have a set of size 9 needles, so I will have to pick them up tomorrow so I can do it right. Out of curiosity I measured my abortive attempt and sure enough, it was at least two inches short of where it needed to be.
This will be at least attempt number 3 on this hat, which irks me, but oh well...everything can't be easy. ^_^
Edit: Ah ha - it turns out that I put my needle pairs together wrong, so I was using one #8 needle and one #9 needle. I dug through my basket and found the other mismatched pair, so now I do in fact have a complete pair of #9 needles. I r dum. Or possibly blind.
And for my next trick...
I have no idea what I am going to do. I have enough cotton to make a blue hat with a green stripe. I still plan to make a hat for , but I think I am going to start over because I feel like the stuff I cast on for it looks a mess. :oP I have my shawl that I am working on also. I probably should just be good and finish the shawl and Sbodd's hat before I start anything else.
...yeah, we'll see how long that lasts. ^_^ I do have some lighter weight cotton wending its way to me for the floppy sunhat I wanted to make for Karen. That hat is knit from the top down using increases rather from the bottom up using decreases, so it should be another good learning experience. Also, the yarn was cheap, but it should be washable and wear well.
It actually looks kind of scary to me, but I do love a challenge. Afterwards. During the process there is kind of a lot of cursing and gnashing of teeth and tears, because I am too uptight to be 'ah, well, this is a first for me, it is natural that I make mistakes.' Afterwards, though, I always feel accomplished. Also, it is nice to knit summer stuff in the hot weather. It feels wierd to be making scarves and mittens during the summer. Winter will come soon enough. I don't need to rush it along. ;oP
...yeah, we'll see how long that lasts. ^_^ I do have some lighter weight cotton wending its way to me for the floppy sunhat I wanted to make for Karen. That hat is knit from the top down using increases rather from the bottom up using decreases, so it should be another good learning experience. Also, the yarn was cheap, but it should be washable and wear well.
It actually looks kind of scary to me, but I do love a challenge. Afterwards. During the process there is kind of a lot of cursing and gnashing of teeth and tears, because I am too uptight to be 'ah, well, this is a first for me, it is natural that I make mistakes.' Afterwards, though, I always feel accomplished. Also, it is nice to knit summer stuff in the hot weather. It feels wierd to be making scarves and mittens during the summer. Winter will come soon enough. I don't need to rush it along. ;oP
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Ta da!
I finished my hat!
I think I will keep it. It is good enough to wear, but not good enough to give away. Still, my first hat! I will totally wear it if I go to the fair this weekend.
I think I will keep it. It is good enough to wear, but not good enough to give away. Still, my first hat! I will totally wear it if I go to the fair this weekend.
 | ChicKnits bucket hat in Manos del Uruguay Cotton Stria Finished 6/05/07 |
Onward, Knitting Soldier
The passion of the bucket hat continues...I nearly had a fit last night in frustration. I am so glad I did this project before the fingerless gloves. :oP
Anyway, despite my frustrations and mistakes, the project itself seems to LOOK fine. My biggest problem is that I keep ending up with extra stitches at the end of a round and that is not good. I'm guessing I'm doing something wrong at the join of the two needles that is resulting in an extra stitch - either I am carrying the yarn the wrong way, or something. I started being very careful and deliberate with where I carried the yarn across the join of the two needles, and that seems to have helped some. I am trying really hard to watch now and see if I can figure out where else I am messing up.
In any case, things are progressing, if not totally smoothly. I have 11 rounds to go and then I'm done. I did about six yesterday, and Icharred cooked dinner so I didn't spend the whole evening on it. So, figure about two more days work, give or take. If it isn't finished by Thursday evening I will be Miffed.
Anyway, despite my frustrations and mistakes, the project itself seems to LOOK fine. My biggest problem is that I keep ending up with extra stitches at the end of a round and that is not good. I'm guessing I'm doing something wrong at the join of the two needles that is resulting in an extra stitch - either I am carrying the yarn the wrong way, or something. I started being very careful and deliberate with where I carried the yarn across the join of the two needles, and that seems to have helped some. I am trying really hard to watch now and see if I can figure out where else I am messing up.
In any case, things are progressing, if not totally smoothly. I have 11 rounds to go and then I'm done. I did about six yesterday, and I
Monday, June 4, 2007
Hats Off
Well, I didn't do crap this weekend. :oP I had a lot of fun but I didn't get much packing or cleaning done at all. I did the bathroom (sort of - the bathtub still needs scrubbing but I did clean out & pack the stuff from my drawers and cabinets, and I cleaned off the counter and sink).
However, I did get a lot done on this hat, which I decided to make with the Manos del Uraguay cotton that I had bought. I'm knitting the large size since I was too lazy to knit a swatch and check the guage. Also, because I would have had to buy needles to knit the swatch with, and then a larger set of needles if I needed to switch up, which I didn't feel like paying out for. So, I just started on the large size, hoping for the best. I haven't decided what I am going to do with the finished project anyway so we'll see how it turns out. I may keep it, or I may give it to RJ. The colors I'm using have a strong mental association to her in my brain and as she is moving to NC she will need something to keep off the sun.
Knitting in the round has proven to not be terribly difficult at all. The decreases were also easy, except for the counting part, which I always have trouble with. A few stitch markers made that part easier.
Anyway, I did great and even added a pretty stripe of light blue onto my green hat (I think of it as Laura Ashley green) - and then I got to the part where I was supposed to switch to using two circular needles, and the whole experience kinda went straight to hell. :oP I think I have gotten the hang of it now, but I made some mistakes in the process, and I am not sure how the end product is going to look. It was a little disheartening because the project had been going so well. One of the reasons I chose this pattern was to give me a chance to practice some of the techniques I will need on my gloves when I start them, so I began the project without many expectations, but I got attached to it as I worked so it was kind of depressing to think it might all be ruined in the home stretch. :oP
C'est la vie, I suppose - no sense pouting until it's done, since it's hard to tell at the moment whether I was able to successfully fix my problems or not. Anyway, if I put my mind to it I should be able to finish tonight, or tomorrow at the latest.
Oh no, when I went to knitty to get the link for the double-circular technique I saw their sponsor ad for The Impressionist Collection and just about died. SO PRETTY. The one that they had on the ad that actually caught my eye was the beaded silk in Les Fleurs. WANT. But so expensive!!! That's over $3 per yard!! And what on earth would I do with it? I like the Snowscapes one too...AGH.
::covets anyway:: I'll just have to make a note and keep it in mind for a gift for my mom or grandmom or something like that. Something very special.
I have no idea what beaded silk would be good for but it is just so purty.
ANYWAY, I really wanted to do this project this weekend but Michaels does not carry needles of the size that I needed, so I ended up going to Capital Yarns - and they had the right size, but only in the Addi Turbo needles, which are a) expensive b) metal. However, I have seen these needles touted in several places as wonderful, so I decided to go ahead and try them.
I don't know whether they are really and truly faster than other needles, but I do think I prefer my bamboo. The metal ones are (shockingly) hard, and also pointer than my bamboo needles. This is a problem for me because somehow in my own bizarre way, I have developed this style of knitting in which I frequently push on the points of the needles to slide the needle down rather than sliding the stitches up. My left thumb and right forefinger are the ones I use the most freqently for this; the former handled it okay but the latter, not so much. I tried to simply stop doing things that way, but it has already kind of become habit and it didn't work so well. So my right forefinger is feeling very abused this morning, especially since I sliced it rather messily while opening an envelope after I got home last night.
The ability to actually finish a project in a reasonable amount of time has endeared knitting to me forever, and I think I can reasonably say that this is not just a phase. I lurv to knit. ^_^ I will probably go in spurts on it just like I do on my other crafts, but I don't think I will be giving it up any time soon.
When I lamented not having a cat to knit toys for, I did not consider how many people I knew that have cats. I now have catnip and cotton balls (to use for stuffing) in the house and I think I will knit until I have a whole basket of feline dim sum. Then I will take the basket to D&D (reserving a couple for L's cats and RJ's kitty) and send everybody home with some cat toys. I'm a little worried about the cats ripping them open and eating the cotton balls, but I will knit them as tightly as I can and tell everyone not to leave the cats with them unsupervised. I don't think I could live with myself if a poor kitty choked on a toy I knitted for it. :oP
However, I did get a lot done on this hat, which I decided to make with the Manos del Uraguay cotton that I had bought. I'm knitting the large size since I was too lazy to knit a swatch and check the guage. Also, because I would have had to buy needles to knit the swatch with, and then a larger set of needles if I needed to switch up, which I didn't feel like paying out for. So, I just started on the large size, hoping for the best. I haven't decided what I am going to do with the finished project anyway so we'll see how it turns out. I may keep it, or I may give it to RJ. The colors I'm using have a strong mental association to her in my brain and as she is moving to NC she will need something to keep off the sun.
Knitting in the round has proven to not be terribly difficult at all. The decreases were also easy, except for the counting part, which I always have trouble with. A few stitch markers made that part easier.
Anyway, I did great and even added a pretty stripe of light blue onto my green hat (I think of it as Laura Ashley green) - and then I got to the part where I was supposed to switch to using two circular needles, and the whole experience kinda went straight to hell. :oP I think I have gotten the hang of it now, but I made some mistakes in the process, and I am not sure how the end product is going to look. It was a little disheartening because the project had been going so well. One of the reasons I chose this pattern was to give me a chance to practice some of the techniques I will need on my gloves when I start them, so I began the project without many expectations, but I got attached to it as I worked so it was kind of depressing to think it might all be ruined in the home stretch. :oP
C'est la vie, I suppose - no sense pouting until it's done, since it's hard to tell at the moment whether I was able to successfully fix my problems or not. Anyway, if I put my mind to it I should be able to finish tonight, or tomorrow at the latest.
Oh no, when I went to knitty to get the link for the double-circular technique I saw their sponsor ad for The Impressionist Collection and just about died. SO PRETTY. The one that they had on the ad that actually caught my eye was the beaded silk in Les Fleurs. WANT. But so expensive!!! That's over $3 per yard!! And what on earth would I do with it? I like the Snowscapes one too...AGH.
::covets anyway:: I'll just have to make a note and keep it in mind for a gift for my mom or grandmom or something like that. Something very special.
I have no idea what beaded silk would be good for but it is just so purty.
ANYWAY, I really wanted to do this project this weekend but Michaels does not carry needles of the size that I needed, so I ended up going to Capital Yarns - and they had the right size, but only in the Addi Turbo needles, which are a) expensive b) metal. However, I have seen these needles touted in several places as wonderful, so I decided to go ahead and try them.
I don't know whether they are really and truly faster than other needles, but I do think I prefer my bamboo. The metal ones are (shockingly) hard, and also pointer than my bamboo needles. This is a problem for me because somehow in my own bizarre way, I have developed this style of knitting in which I frequently push on the points of the needles to slide the needle down rather than sliding the stitches up. My left thumb and right forefinger are the ones I use the most freqently for this; the former handled it okay but the latter, not so much. I tried to simply stop doing things that way, but it has already kind of become habit and it didn't work so well. So my right forefinger is feeling very abused this morning, especially since I sliced it rather messily while opening an envelope after I got home last night.
The ability to actually finish a project in a reasonable amount of time has endeared knitting to me forever, and I think I can reasonably say that this is not just a phase. I lurv to knit. ^_^ I will probably go in spurts on it just like I do on my other crafts, but I don't think I will be giving it up any time soon.
When I lamented not having a cat to knit toys for, I did not consider how many people I knew that have cats. I now have catnip and cotton balls (to use for stuffing) in the house and I think I will knit until I have a whole basket of feline dim sum. Then I will take the basket to D&D (reserving a couple for L's cats and RJ's kitty) and send everybody home with some cat toys. I'm a little worried about the cats ripping them open and eating the cotton balls, but I will knit them as tightly as I can and tell everyone not to leave the cats with them unsupervised. I don't think I could live with myself if a poor kitty choked on a toy I knitted for it. :oP
Friday, June 1, 2007
It is finished!
I finished the scarf for Sbodd last night! Gaze in wonder!
And here is the original scarf I knitted, which...actually looks a lot less impressive next to Sbodd's, but it's still pretty!
Eee hee!!!
It's a little obvious on both scarfs which end I started from and which end I ended at - the start end is in both cases messier and wider than the finish end. But that's okay! I will get better!
I started casting on for the matching hat to Sbodd's scarf, so that is the next project. I still have my shawl on the needles as well. I should have thought to photograph that while I had the camera out because it is priiiiitty, but I didn't. Ah well!
Update: Please ignore my messy house in the background. You know I am proud of these things if I am posting these pictures with all that crap in them. :oP
And here is the original scarf I knitted, which...actually looks a lot less impressive next to Sbodd's, but it's still pretty!
Eee hee!!!
It's a little obvious on both scarfs which end I started from and which end I ended at - the start end is in both cases messier and wider than the finish end. But that's okay! I will get better!
I started casting on for the matching hat to Sbodd's scarf, so that is the next project. I still have my shawl on the needles as well. I should have thought to photograph that while I had the camera out because it is priiiiitty, but I didn't. Ah well!
Update: Please ignore my messy house in the background. You know I am proud of these things if I am posting these pictures with all that crap in them. :oP
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