So, I finally had the intestinal fortitude to face the orchid mitts. The nearly completed mitt is still MIA and I am almost certain I dropped it on the plane. I try not to think about this bit of stupidity because it burns.
I frogged back, carefully and keeping an eye on the number of stitches, on the other mitt, and I finally found the problem all the way at the base of the thumb gussets. I was supposed to yarn over once, then knit three plain rounds and yarn over, knit one, yarn over. I skipped that first single yarn over, and that's why I was short a stitch. The stitch that would have been created by that single yarn over didn't exist because I skipped it, and so I ended up taking one of the other stitches.
When I discovered the error many rows later, I was tempted just to increase and move on, but it killed me that I couldn't figure out where I lost the stitch. I should have been able to see where I dropped a stitch or had an extra decrease. Because I couldn't find it, I wasn't happy just increasing, and so, I frogged.
Even I thought it was stupid to rip back so much work over one stupid stitch, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't shake the fear that it would turn out to matter, and sure enough, it would have mattered. My entire thumb gusset was off by three rows, and wouldn't have fallen the way it was supposed to. It might not have been noticeable, but it might have made a difference in the look and fit, so I'm really glad I went back and found the error.
But now...it's past time for bed.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Round and round
My spinning hit a snag earlier this week when one of my bobbins - one that was full of newly spun singles - fell apart. Both end discs came off (I want to call them whorls but they are not the whorl, so...discs it is) and I'm just sitting there with a wooden tube wrapped in wool that could leap off the edge at any moment. I'm a little miffed - this is not supposed to happen. I guess it's possible maybe I overfilled the bobbin? I googled to see if it was a common problem but I didn't see anybody else having problems, so I think it was just an isolated issue with my bobbins, which really weren't in great shape coming out of the box. Two out of the three were dented, though not badly enough to really affect the function, and one of them had one disc fall off before I even put any yarn on it. The SO is calling the place he bought the wheel to fuss a bit, but last night I bought some superglue and fixed them. One of the bobbins still has a problem, because the disc on the end is dented, which has splintered the wood a little bit, and splintered wood is not good for yarn. So I'm hoping he can get them to replace that one at least.
I tried gluing the discs back on the bobbin without taking the yarn off, but that didn't go well since the yarn kind of wanted to expand so it was pushing outward on the discs, and I didn't want it to get in the glue, so I had to wind the yarn off on my niddy noddy and then glue the bobbin back together.
I did order more bobbins and a tensioned lazy kate after all this insanity. When I took the merino off the bobbin to free it up to spin the Corriedale, I wound it off on my niddy noddy, aand I'm hoping that putting it on my swift like a normal skein would give me more tension than the kate, and make a nicer, less kinky and tight ball.
So, I have both the merino and the corriedale to ply (is it asking for trouble to ply the merino? Also, am I supposed to capitalize sheep breeds or not?) and I will have to ply both from center-pull balls, since I am not winding the Corriedale back onto the bobbin, so - I guess this weekend I am learning to ply from a center-pull ball!
I tried gluing the discs back on the bobbin without taking the yarn off, but that didn't go well since the yarn kind of wanted to expand so it was pushing outward on the discs, and I didn't want it to get in the glue, so I had to wind the yarn off on my niddy noddy and then glue the bobbin back together.
I did order more bobbins and a tensioned lazy kate after all this insanity. When I took the merino off the bobbin to free it up to spin the Corriedale, I wound it off on my niddy noddy, aand I'm hoping that putting it on my swift like a normal skein would give me more tension than the kate, and make a nicer, less kinky and tight ball.
So, I have both the merino and the corriedale to ply (is it asking for trouble to ply the merino? Also, am I supposed to capitalize sheep breeds or not?) and I will have to ply both from center-pull balls, since I am not winding the Corriedale back onto the bobbin, so - I guess this weekend I am learning to ply from a center-pull ball!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Oops
I could have sworn I updated more recently than that, but...apparently not. I did take a bunch of pictures, but they are all still on the camera. So, let's see. Friday night I got to the end of the first two balls on my Noro scarf. Saturday I worked on super sekrit knitting for the SO's birthday, which is Wednesday, since he ended up having to go to work. When he got home I hid that project and cast on a Just Enough Ruffles scarf in Malabrigo Silky Merino, colorway velvet grapes, which is just gorgeous. Yum. Sunday was more Noro scarf as we were in company and busy and I needed simple knitting. Monday, I was off of work, so there was more super sekrit knitting, since he was not. Then I got called into work, went to the grocery store on my way home, and knittted on the Noro scarf for the rest of the evening. So, that's where I am on the knitting front. Lots of scarf. Not much else.
I did sit down to swatch for my sweater, but it occurred to me to check the yarn requirements before I got started, and I discovered that while I did have what the book says it will take, I only had about 50 yards to spare. This seems like asking for trouble to me and I did not dare use any of it to swatch. Time to contact Webs, see if they have any left in that dye lot (unlikely, as the SO bought it for me in October) and if not, get a couple of balls in another colorway to use for swatching purposes. If I knew how much it would take to do the pentagons, I guess I could do the pentagons all in one color and do the body of the sweater in another, and hope it looked like a style element. But I'll have to think about that.
Thursday I gave the finished and blocked Whispering Pines shawl to the SO's Mom, and she was well pleased. I'm thrilled with the end product, and do have pictures, though I'm not sure how clear they are. I was a little punchy by the end of the blocking and may not have held the camera adequately steady. It's so beautiful, though.
I said something about Nature's Yarns in her presence and she wanted to go, so I met her there on Monday morning and we shopped and gabbed for a while (a long while, actually). She picked up a bunch of things but only actually bought a few, while I bought three braids of brown "Colonial Wool" (the shop lady said it was Corriedale) because my spinning needs work.
I have been spinning with great enjoyment but very little success. The first thing I spun was some Merino I got at Nature's Yarns, and I...should have listened to all the sources that said Merino was not a good beginner fiber. The first bobbin was uneven, overtwisted, and generally bad.
I thought about the problems I was having, and I went looking for some spinning videos on youtube and the joy of handspinning website, and I got a pretty good idea of what was wrong with my drafting technique. The next time I sat down at the wheel I
The second bobbin was better, but still way, way, overtwisted and kinky and not much fun to get off the bobbin. Winding it off onto a center-pull ball turned out to be not so much of a good idea. I'm not sure the ball is usable for plying purposes. I'm not sure I'm eveng going to bother to ply, I was going to just for practice purposes and because I have heard that plying will hide a multitude of sins, but I have several problems. One - the center pull ball is not very nice. Two - The other bobbin of singles is considerably shorter, or so I anticipate, than the second bobbin, in which I got the hang of drafting a little bit better and managed to draw the wool out much thinner. So, I will have to think on that for a while.
But, last night (after getting said mess off the bobbin to free one up), I started spinning the Corriedale, and while working with it was a little freaky (it is almost the same color as my own hair and the long staple length made it seem even more hairlike) it WAS easier to draft, but more importantly, my singles were still kinking up before I got them on the bobbin. I had thought this was happening because I couldn't draft fast enough, but when it happened on the Corriedale too, I thought, maybe I'm wrong, and so I tightened then tension to increase the take-up onto the bobbin, and lo - no more kinks. At least, not many. When they happen they are single kinks and not inch-long corkscrews. I felt both dumb, and elated. I think part of the tension issue was that I was testing the tension using my worsted-weight leader and when I was drafting out much thinner singles, the tension that worked for that worsted leader didn't work for those thinner, more twisted singles. I am slow.
Actually, I'm fast, which is another problem with my spinning. I need to work on keeping my treadling at a controlled pace. Actually, there are several things I am trying to pay attention to in order to improve my spinning.
--Watch not only the fiber in my hands, but the fiber between my hands and the orifice, to see how it is behaving between leaving my fingers and going into the orifice, so that I don't spin along thinking I am doing great, only to look at the bobbin and find that it is full of corkscrews.
--Stop the wheel when I start to lose control of the drafting triangle. Don't keep treadling while trying to sort it out because the twist just builds and builds and then I am in trouble.
--Treadle at a steady pace. I have an exercise bike for speed. Spinning is not a race.
--When I get frustrated, STOP. Walk away. Come back later. Working while frustrated just makes things worse. I tense up, I jerk on the fibers, and most importantly, I treadle faster, which adds more twist even more quickly and just kinks things up faster. It's not worth it. Just stop, and go away.
--Understand that it is a learning process, I have no teacher, and that it is okay to suck at the beginning. Breathe.
I did sit down to swatch for my sweater, but it occurred to me to check the yarn requirements before I got started, and I discovered that while I did have what the book says it will take, I only had about 50 yards to spare. This seems like asking for trouble to me and I did not dare use any of it to swatch. Time to contact Webs, see if they have any left in that dye lot (unlikely, as the SO bought it for me in October) and if not, get a couple of balls in another colorway to use for swatching purposes. If I knew how much it would take to do the pentagons, I guess I could do the pentagons all in one color and do the body of the sweater in another, and hope it looked like a style element. But I'll have to think about that.
Thursday I gave the finished and blocked Whispering Pines shawl to the SO's Mom, and she was well pleased. I'm thrilled with the end product, and do have pictures, though I'm not sure how clear they are. I was a little punchy by the end of the blocking and may not have held the camera adequately steady. It's so beautiful, though.
I said something about Nature's Yarns in her presence and she wanted to go, so I met her there on Monday morning and we shopped and gabbed for a while (a long while, actually). She picked up a bunch of things but only actually bought a few, while I bought three braids of brown "Colonial Wool" (the shop lady said it was Corriedale) because my spinning needs work.
I have been spinning with great enjoyment but very little success. The first thing I spun was some Merino I got at Nature's Yarns, and I...should have listened to all the sources that said Merino was not a good beginner fiber. The first bobbin was uneven, overtwisted, and generally bad.
I thought about the problems I was having, and I went looking for some spinning videos on youtube and the joy of handspinning website, and I got a pretty good idea of what was wrong with my drafting technique. The next time I sat down at the wheel I
The second bobbin was better, but still way, way, overtwisted and kinky and not much fun to get off the bobbin. Winding it off onto a center-pull ball turned out to be not so much of a good idea. I'm not sure the ball is usable for plying purposes. I'm not sure I'm eveng going to bother to ply, I was going to just for practice purposes and because I have heard that plying will hide a multitude of sins, but I have several problems. One - the center pull ball is not very nice. Two - The other bobbin of singles is considerably shorter, or so I anticipate, than the second bobbin, in which I got the hang of drafting a little bit better and managed to draw the wool out much thinner. So, I will have to think on that for a while.
But, last night (after getting said mess off the bobbin to free one up), I started spinning the Corriedale, and while working with it was a little freaky (it is almost the same color as my own hair and the long staple length made it seem even more hairlike) it WAS easier to draft, but more importantly, my singles were still kinking up before I got them on the bobbin. I had thought this was happening because I couldn't draft fast enough, but when it happened on the Corriedale too, I thought, maybe I'm wrong, and so I tightened then tension to increase the take-up onto the bobbin, and lo - no more kinks. At least, not many. When they happen they are single kinks and not inch-long corkscrews. I felt both dumb, and elated. I think part of the tension issue was that I was testing the tension using my worsted-weight leader and when I was drafting out much thinner singles, the tension that worked for that worsted leader didn't work for those thinner, more twisted singles. I am slow.
Actually, I'm fast, which is another problem with my spinning. I need to work on keeping my treadling at a controlled pace. Actually, there are several things I am trying to pay attention to in order to improve my spinning.
--Watch not only the fiber in my hands, but the fiber between my hands and the orifice, to see how it is behaving between leaving my fingers and going into the orifice, so that I don't spin along thinking I am doing great, only to look at the bobbin and find that it is full of corkscrews.
--Stop the wheel when I start to lose control of the drafting triangle. Don't keep treadling while trying to sort it out because the twist just builds and builds and then I am in trouble.
--Treadle at a steady pace. I have an exercise bike for speed. Spinning is not a race.
--When I get frustrated, STOP. Walk away. Come back later. Working while frustrated just makes things worse. I tense up, I jerk on the fibers, and most importantly, I treadle faster, which adds more twist even more quickly and just kinks things up faster. It's not worth it. Just stop, and go away.
--Understand that it is a learning process, I have no teacher, and that it is okay to suck at the beginning. Breathe.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Triumph and What Comes Next
Whispering Pines is DONE!! I finished the knitting on Saturday, and did the finishing and blocked it last night. It is currently pinned out in the floor of my guest room, and hopefully I will be able to give it to the recipient on Thursday.
I did have one snafoo...one minor meltdown last night. One little episode of tears. I have never grafted lace before, and when I sat down I was a little perplexed because I did not have an even number of stitches on each needle. I thought about this, checked the direction again, and concluded that I had a coule more rows to knit. I don't know if this was actually right, to be honest, but I think I fudged it convincingly. I got to the equivalent number of stitches and then just kitchenered it as I would a sock, very carefully, and then I wove in the end...
And then I realized that I had seamed it such that the seam was on the right side. CURSES. I just stared at it for a minute. Then I unpicked the end I had woven in, and looked at it again. I picked here and there...but I knew there was no way I could undo the seam. I cried. I sighed, I tugged, and finally convinced myself that it would not show much after blocking, and that no one would be looking that closely. I took the end over to the wrong side, and wove it in again.
I put it in to soak and after a mere 20 minutes or so, I took it out, took it upstairs, and pinned it. It was pretty late by then, which is why I only let it soak for a little while, but I was determined to be totally done, and I really needed the blocking lift to make me feel better after my little mishap.
I chose not to pin out the edging. For one thing, my triangle peaks are definatley more of a sawtooth look than nice set of equilateral triangles and I didn't think I could pin them out properly...and frankly, I liked the look of them the way they are. Time will show, I may regret it, I may discover that it was all a ploy of my inner laziness to keep from pinning out all the points, but I'm not going to fret over it too much. The rest of it looks gorgeous, and I have to say, the yarn is amazing. Because of the way the shawl is knit, the varigation appears in random stripey bits of color that slant towards the center line in a way that really makes it look like a snowstorm. Really amazing. I'm excited to give it away.
Now, of course, I am faced with the question of what I shall knit next. The sweater is definitely top of the list and I believe I have settled on the pentagon sweater. On the one hand, it might be kind of a complicated project for my first sweater, and I have an absolute terror of seaming things (apparently, not entirely unjustified, see above), but you know, go big or go home.
I am also knitting the Noro scarf, I'm working on the Tilli Thomas bag kit, Moonlight Sonata has lingered untouched in my basket for ages while I was working on the shawl...so maybe I am not so free to choose a next project as I think. So, yes - sweater, plus WIPs.
I am, however, trying very hard to decide on a new pair of socks. The Coffee Pot socks are still MIA (sob!) and I got a boatload of sockyarn for Christmas (see previous post - oh, shoot, I had more pictures and I forgot to upload them in the midst of the shawl finishing, must do that tonight). I'm having a little difficulty, both because I have so many yarns to choose from and because I am having trouble letting go of the ones I was working on, even though I have acknowledged to myself that I really hate the colorway. No one will be offended if I put that aside since it was not a gift; I bought it myself.
I did buy a couple of sock patterns from Pink Lemon Twist that I really loved - the Air Collection and the Visions of Sugarplums collection. But, I'm not really sure which pattern goes with which sock yarns. I also have The Eclectic Sole at home untouched.
I have to also say that I am frustrated at the loss of my goknit pouch. I need to find a substitute sock carrier, because hauling around a ziplock is not doing it for me. My purse is not big enough to fit the ziplock; I used to hang the goknit pouch off the side of it. I know somebody in the area carries the pouches - maybe I better go hit up the knowknits site and see if I can find out who!
I did have one snafoo...one minor meltdown last night. One little episode of tears. I have never grafted lace before, and when I sat down I was a little perplexed because I did not have an even number of stitches on each needle. I thought about this, checked the direction again, and concluded that I had a coule more rows to knit. I don't know if this was actually right, to be honest, but I think I fudged it convincingly. I got to the equivalent number of stitches and then just kitchenered it as I would a sock, very carefully, and then I wove in the end...
And then I realized that I had seamed it such that the seam was on the right side. CURSES. I just stared at it for a minute. Then I unpicked the end I had woven in, and looked at it again. I picked here and there...but I knew there was no way I could undo the seam. I cried. I sighed, I tugged, and finally convinced myself that it would not show much after blocking, and that no one would be looking that closely. I took the end over to the wrong side, and wove it in again.
I put it in to soak and after a mere 20 minutes or so, I took it out, took it upstairs, and pinned it. It was pretty late by then, which is why I only let it soak for a little while, but I was determined to be totally done, and I really needed the blocking lift to make me feel better after my little mishap.
I chose not to pin out the edging. For one thing, my triangle peaks are definatley more of a sawtooth look than nice set of equilateral triangles and I didn't think I could pin them out properly...and frankly, I liked the look of them the way they are. Time will show, I may regret it, I may discover that it was all a ploy of my inner laziness to keep from pinning out all the points, but I'm not going to fret over it too much. The rest of it looks gorgeous, and I have to say, the yarn is amazing. Because of the way the shawl is knit, the varigation appears in random stripey bits of color that slant towards the center line in a way that really makes it look like a snowstorm. Really amazing. I'm excited to give it away.
Now, of course, I am faced with the question of what I shall knit next. The sweater is definitely top of the list and I believe I have settled on the pentagon sweater. On the one hand, it might be kind of a complicated project for my first sweater, and I have an absolute terror of seaming things (apparently, not entirely unjustified, see above), but you know, go big or go home.
I am also knitting the Noro scarf, I'm working on the Tilli Thomas bag kit, Moonlight Sonata has lingered untouched in my basket for ages while I was working on the shawl...so maybe I am not so free to choose a next project as I think. So, yes - sweater, plus WIPs.
I am, however, trying very hard to decide on a new pair of socks. The Coffee Pot socks are still MIA (sob!) and I got a boatload of sockyarn for Christmas (see previous post - oh, shoot, I had more pictures and I forgot to upload them in the midst of the shawl finishing, must do that tonight). I'm having a little difficulty, both because I have so many yarns to choose from and because I am having trouble letting go of the ones I was working on, even though I have acknowledged to myself that I really hate the colorway. No one will be offended if I put that aside since it was not a gift; I bought it myself.
I did buy a couple of sock patterns from Pink Lemon Twist that I really loved - the Air Collection and the Visions of Sugarplums collection. But, I'm not really sure which pattern goes with which sock yarns. I also have The Eclectic Sole at home untouched.
I have to also say that I am frustrated at the loss of my goknit pouch. I need to find a substitute sock carrier, because hauling around a ziplock is not doing it for me. My purse is not big enough to fit the ziplock; I used to hang the goknit pouch off the side of it. I know somebody in the area carries the pouches - maybe I better go hit up the knowknits site and see if I can find out who!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Self-Indulgence
Current knitting frustrations aside, my stash has experienced considerable growth over the holiday, even though only a couple of people got me yarn for Christmas.
The SO's mom gave me this:
and this:
(note the lovely handmade drop-spine box she presented it in)
The panda silk is so lovely I am considering whether it could possibly be used for something other than socks. Not that I don't love socks, but it would just be so pretty in a lace scarf or something like that. Pondering.
On top of this, I have managed to make her something of a knitting convert. She does crochet some, and learned to knit once many many years ago, but up until now she has continually protested that purling was awful, the height of all evils, something greatly to be detested, but then on New Years' Eve I showed her how to do it and she found that it was not, in fact, as difficult as she had thought. She promptly took herself to a yarn shop, procured some large needles and a variety of novelty-ish yarns, and is knitting away. Score 1 for the knitters! (she does, however, protest that she is only going to knit square things...and socks, eventually)
Such a convert was she that she called me about Aylin's anniversary sale, and met me there (even though she had already been and bought a bunch of stuff). I procured this:
One of the ladies working there looked at me and said, "Are you making...the scarf?" and I had to laugh and admit that I was indeed. Baaaaaah.
I also bought this:
The SO's mom (I shall have to think of a better way to refer to her, because that is getting tiresome and sounds oddly disrespectful to me) gave me a kit some time ago for a tilli thomas bag using these yarns, but she had only bought one skein of each, and when I looked at the yarn requirements, I found that - one skein was no where near enough. Fortunately, my memory was equal to the task and I was able to get matching skeins last night. They might be different dye lots, but they are close enough. I know I could have asked and Aylin's could've looked it up for me, but to tell the truth...I didn't want to admit in front of SOMom that she didn't buy me enough. It was very generous to get it for me at all and I didn't want her to feel bad. I am determined now to knit this bag up ASAP since I am sure she must wonder why it is taking me so long to make it.
Before I even left for Christmas I had ordered this:
which will become a Hemlock Ring Blanket. I'm going to go back and find the Ready-Set-Knit podcast knitalong for that too and pretend I am part of the cool crowd who knitted this ages ago.
I also ordered this:
Which is a sparkly mohair that I got for so cheap that I am sure it is not entirely on the up and up. I have had an uncomfortable feeling ever since I got the order confirmation and saw that it was shipping from Turkey. I will have to do more research before I buy anything there again. This is, alas, more Christmas knitting, but no deadline on it for now. A work friend wanted a white sparkly snowflake scarf. well, 2 down...I will have to work on the snowflake thing. But it's not as if I don't have resources. I have all this to draw on:
Wasn't that a lovely segway? Have some edging shots - big ones, because I could not find any that showed the edging to my satisfaction when I was looking to knit it, so here's hoping someone else will find these useful:
I was squinting at many other pictures trying to figure out if the purl side really was supposed to be the right side, and couldn't figure it out, so - I hope it is! I am somewhat concerned because I can't figure out how this is supposed to be the right hem, because it totally looks like the left hem to me in every way. Except, I guess, when you are knitting, because you are holding the shawl upside down? I am sure I could e-mail the designer or ask on ravelry and have her answer my question very nicely, but apparently I am determined to figure it out without help. It looks fine the way it is, anyway, so I'm trying not to fret. The edging does make it so pretty and feminine looking!
One more, to show a little more of the pre-edging:
I love the row of eyelets it's making along the edges. Should certainly help when it comes time to block! If that day ever comes (I am almost done with 1/2 of the edging).
If she does not like it I may cry. Kind of a lot.
Back to the yarn pr0n...
When I got back from my lousy vacation, and everything seemed to be going wrong, I bought some feel-better yarn, and it arrived to thrill me the day before yesterday - but I didn't see it until I was on my way out to work yesterday morning, so I grabbed the package and took it with me, ripped it open in the car, and admired it all day.
Handmaiden Casbah in Topaz:
and Peridot:
I didn't realize how much blue was in the peridot until I took that picture, but I checked the skein and it is definitely there. If it were on the other side, though, it would show more green.
I have decided that I really hate my current sock, and I think it is on its way to the frog pond. I already frogged back to the ribbing, thinking I just hated the way it was working up, but I really think I just can't stand that color combo right now. (it's hand dyed and I feel guilty for saying that - I'm sure the designer is a wonderful person and that this colorway is perfect for someone that I have not met yet, and will eventually meet a happy fate)
I started the Noro scarf yesterday to give me something simple to knit at choir tonight, but the rest I have put aside for now. Sockwise, I am caught in serious indecision. I am having a hard time letting go of my current sock, no matter how much I hate it, and I am having an even harder time deciding what I would knit and what pattern I would use. I did buy the Pink Lemon Twist new fallen snow pattern, but I just don't know.
Everything else must wait until the Christmas knitting is done, and so, alas, must this:
I am DYING. As a side note...I managed to make one of the footman joints about a quarter of an inch shorter than the other one, because I am apparently measuring impaired (really, I think that it has more to do with it being difficult to put the screw in without accidentally pushing the treadle either up or down before the screw makes it to the joint, but both possibilities are valid). Is this a problem? Am I going to be miserable? Should I just buy a new footman joint and fix it right away, and am I sabotaging myself as a new spinner by having uneven footman joints? Or am I being overly anal and is it really not that important?
(Please note that the smear on the treadle does not in any way mean that I do not love and respect my new wheel. I was just a little clumsy while oiling the hinges. I swear to be a better, more coordinated person in the future and not so reckless with the application of the oil. It is my first wheel, and I was excited.)
More stash to come, when I remember to photograph the rest of it. I have at least 4 more skeins to show!
The SO's mom gave me this:
and this:
(note the lovely handmade drop-spine box she presented it in)
The panda silk is so lovely I am considering whether it could possibly be used for something other than socks. Not that I don't love socks, but it would just be so pretty in a lace scarf or something like that. Pondering.
On top of this, I have managed to make her something of a knitting convert. She does crochet some, and learned to knit once many many years ago, but up until now she has continually protested that purling was awful, the height of all evils, something greatly to be detested, but then on New Years' Eve I showed her how to do it and she found that it was not, in fact, as difficult as she had thought. She promptly took herself to a yarn shop, procured some large needles and a variety of novelty-ish yarns, and is knitting away. Score 1 for the knitters! (she does, however, protest that she is only going to knit square things...and socks, eventually)
Such a convert was she that she called me about Aylin's anniversary sale, and met me there (even though she had already been and bought a bunch of stuff). I procured this:
One of the ladies working there looked at me and said, "Are you making...the scarf?" and I had to laugh and admit that I was indeed. Baaaaaah.
I also bought this:
The SO's mom (I shall have to think of a better way to refer to her, because that is getting tiresome and sounds oddly disrespectful to me) gave me a kit some time ago for a tilli thomas bag using these yarns, but she had only bought one skein of each, and when I looked at the yarn requirements, I found that - one skein was no where near enough. Fortunately, my memory was equal to the task and I was able to get matching skeins last night. They might be different dye lots, but they are close enough. I know I could have asked and Aylin's could've looked it up for me, but to tell the truth...I didn't want to admit in front of SOMom that she didn't buy me enough. It was very generous to get it for me at all and I didn't want her to feel bad. I am determined now to knit this bag up ASAP since I am sure she must wonder why it is taking me so long to make it.
Before I even left for Christmas I had ordered this:
which will become a Hemlock Ring Blanket. I'm going to go back and find the Ready-Set-Knit podcast knitalong for that too and pretend I am part of the cool crowd who knitted this ages ago.
I also ordered this:
Which is a sparkly mohair that I got for so cheap that I am sure it is not entirely on the up and up. I have had an uncomfortable feeling ever since I got the order confirmation and saw that it was shipping from Turkey. I will have to do more research before I buy anything there again. This is, alas, more Christmas knitting, but no deadline on it for now. A work friend wanted a white sparkly snowflake scarf. well, 2 down...I will have to work on the snowflake thing. But it's not as if I don't have resources. I have all this to draw on:
Wasn't that a lovely segway? Have some edging shots - big ones, because I could not find any that showed the edging to my satisfaction when I was looking to knit it, so here's hoping someone else will find these useful:
I was squinting at many other pictures trying to figure out if the purl side really was supposed to be the right side, and couldn't figure it out, so - I hope it is! I am somewhat concerned because I can't figure out how this is supposed to be the right hem, because it totally looks like the left hem to me in every way. Except, I guess, when you are knitting, because you are holding the shawl upside down? I am sure I could e-mail the designer or ask on ravelry and have her answer my question very nicely, but apparently I am determined to figure it out without help. It looks fine the way it is, anyway, so I'm trying not to fret. The edging does make it so pretty and feminine looking!
One more, to show a little more of the pre-edging:
I love the row of eyelets it's making along the edges. Should certainly help when it comes time to block! If that day ever comes (I am almost done with 1/2 of the edging).
If she does not like it I may cry. Kind of a lot.
Back to the yarn pr0n...
When I got back from my lousy vacation, and everything seemed to be going wrong, I bought some feel-better yarn, and it arrived to thrill me the day before yesterday - but I didn't see it until I was on my way out to work yesterday morning, so I grabbed the package and took it with me, ripped it open in the car, and admired it all day.
Handmaiden Casbah in Topaz:
and Peridot:
I didn't realize how much blue was in the peridot until I took that picture, but I checked the skein and it is definitely there. If it were on the other side, though, it would show more green.
I have decided that I really hate my current sock, and I think it is on its way to the frog pond. I already frogged back to the ribbing, thinking I just hated the way it was working up, but I really think I just can't stand that color combo right now. (it's hand dyed and I feel guilty for saying that - I'm sure the designer is a wonderful person and that this colorway is perfect for someone that I have not met yet, and will eventually meet a happy fate)
I started the Noro scarf yesterday to give me something simple to knit at choir tonight, but the rest I have put aside for now. Sockwise, I am caught in serious indecision. I am having a hard time letting go of my current sock, no matter how much I hate it, and I am having an even harder time deciding what I would knit and what pattern I would use. I did buy the Pink Lemon Twist new fallen snow pattern, but I just don't know.
Everything else must wait until the Christmas knitting is done, and so, alas, must this:
I am DYING. As a side note...I managed to make one of the footman joints about a quarter of an inch shorter than the other one, because I am apparently measuring impaired (really, I think that it has more to do with it being difficult to put the screw in without accidentally pushing the treadle either up or down before the screw makes it to the joint, but both possibilities are valid). Is this a problem? Am I going to be miserable? Should I just buy a new footman joint and fix it right away, and am I sabotaging myself as a new spinner by having uneven footman joints? Or am I being overly anal and is it really not that important?
(Please note that the smear on the treadle does not in any way mean that I do not love and respect my new wheel. I was just a little clumsy while oiling the hinges. I swear to be a better, more coordinated person in the future and not so reckless with the application of the oil. It is my first wheel, and I was excited.)
More stash to come, when I remember to photograph the rest of it. I have at least 4 more skeins to show!
Friday, January 2, 2009
Much the Same
I don't quite have the heart to say Happy New Year because it hasn't been that happy so far, but here it is and I'm still racing the clock. I'm edging the shawl as fast as I can go, in the hopes that I will be able to finish it by Sunday evening so that I can deliver it. I'm about halfway through the right hem edge, which leaves a distressing amount to be done tomorrow, but I made a lot of that progress tonight as I was a little sick yesterday, so I am still hopeful. So, rather than happy new year, I will say, up again and take another, and pray for better things after!
I had three knitting resolutions last year:
1) do something with cables
2) make at least one complex lace project
3) knit a sweater
Well, I got two out of three, and if I ever get free of the Christmas knitting, I intend to embark on the third this year. I received Knitting Nature for Christmas, and in addition to the swirled pentagon pullover I am really interested in a couple of other sweaters. I will have to swatch and decide...but not until I get this shawl done!!
I had three knitting resolutions last year:
1) do something with cables
2) make at least one complex lace project
3) knit a sweater
Well, I got two out of three, and if I ever get free of the Christmas knitting, I intend to embark on the third this year. I received Knitting Nature for Christmas, and in addition to the swirled pentagon pullover I am really interested in a couple of other sweaters. I will have to swatch and decide...but not until I get this shawl done!!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Disaster
My Christmas knitting deadline is tomorrow and I was determined to have the orchid mitts at least finished. They're small, they're relatively quick, that's totally doable, right?
No. Last night I got to the point where I was supposed to put the thumb stitches on the holder, only I had gone two rounds too far. Tonight, I picked back the two rounds and put the stitches on the holder, increased as directed and continued on...and found I was one stitch short. I backed up...still one stitch short. I put the thumb stitches back on the needles. Still one stitch short.
I am dead certain that I was counting those stitches at least every other round, if not more often. I cannot imagine where I lost that stitch. I can't find anywhere that a stitch was lost. I can't find any random extra decrease that I may have made. As far as I can tell the issue is not in the thumb stitches. I can't find it anywhere. I know that I could just increase an extra stitch and proceed, but frankly I'm afraid to do that without knowing where I went wrong. If there is a dropped stitch somewhere it will have to run eventually and that will be a problem. Still - I can't find one.
I put it down and decided to get out the other mitt and do the rest of the thumb. And...here's the really horrible part.
I can't find the almost-finished mitt. The SO and I have turned the house upside down (and discovered an extremely upsetting mouse nest in the process) without success. I called my mom to see if I maybe dropped it in their guest room. No luck. I'm terrified that I left it at the plane, and I'm certain that I had it here. Unfortunately, I have a very vivid imagination and I remember all sorts of things that never happened. I am sure I didn't take it out at the airport or on the plane, but again, "sure" for me is a relative term. And, even if I'm sure I didn't take it out on purpose, that does not rule out having dropped it out of the bag on accident.
I am extremely upset, not just because I don't have a present for my friend tomorrow, not even one completed mitt, but because this means that I will not be free of the Christmas knitting for even longer. The two things that I planned to knit for Christmas and I haven't finished either one of them and I am going to be knitting them FOREVER as punishment.
I know many people do not knit for Christmas do to this very feeling, but I really thought what I had on my list was doable (and it was, until work exploded, I got sick, and I added 3 other projects to my list).
I'm just so, so disappointed.
No. Last night I got to the point where I was supposed to put the thumb stitches on the holder, only I had gone two rounds too far. Tonight, I picked back the two rounds and put the stitches on the holder, increased as directed and continued on...and found I was one stitch short. I backed up...still one stitch short. I put the thumb stitches back on the needles. Still one stitch short.
I am dead certain that I was counting those stitches at least every other round, if not more often. I cannot imagine where I lost that stitch. I can't find anywhere that a stitch was lost. I can't find any random extra decrease that I may have made. As far as I can tell the issue is not in the thumb stitches. I can't find it anywhere. I know that I could just increase an extra stitch and proceed, but frankly I'm afraid to do that without knowing where I went wrong. If there is a dropped stitch somewhere it will have to run eventually and that will be a problem. Still - I can't find one.
I put it down and decided to get out the other mitt and do the rest of the thumb. And...here's the really horrible part.
I can't find the almost-finished mitt. The SO and I have turned the house upside down (and discovered an extremely upsetting mouse nest in the process) without success. I called my mom to see if I maybe dropped it in their guest room. No luck. I'm terrified that I left it at the plane, and I'm certain that I had it here. Unfortunately, I have a very vivid imagination and I remember all sorts of things that never happened. I am sure I didn't take it out at the airport or on the plane, but again, "sure" for me is a relative term. And, even if I'm sure I didn't take it out on purpose, that does not rule out having dropped it out of the bag on accident.
I am extremely upset, not just because I don't have a present for my friend tomorrow, not even one completed mitt, but because this means that I will not be free of the Christmas knitting for even longer. The two things that I planned to knit for Christmas and I haven't finished either one of them and I am going to be knitting them FOREVER as punishment.
I know many people do not knit for Christmas do to this very feeling, but I really thought what I had on my list was doable (and it was, until work exploded, I got sick, and I added 3 other projects to my list).
I'm just so, so disappointed.
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