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knitting: commentary
30 july 2003 in with the old
it is bloody hot out here of late. though i grew up in heat [new mexico, western australia, guam], i appear to have finally lost the ability to deal with it. result: one cranky, barely knitting k. i did finish the bath set for the wedding shower. there is a lovely bar of lavendar soap in the little bag, so not only does it look pretty, it smells pretty. if it could talk, it would talk pretty, too.
i started back on jim's mom's cardigan. she comes for her annual visit in september, so i have plenty of time, but i want to get it out of the way. i finished the second sleeve this week and started in on the left front. once that's done, it's just seaming and a quick collar. i am again afraid it won't fit her as i can never seem to remember her size, but i will try it on and if i think it may be too small, i will work a seed stitch panel on the sides and under the sleeves. it's nice to have a recovery plan in place.
[if you look closely, you can see my teddy bear 'jamas peeking out from under the sleeves.]
[also, i am strangely pleased with my feet in this photo. i like their shape.]
new yarn! and i didn't spend a cent! my coworker brought me these three balls of yarn. i'm thinking scarf out of the vittadini which is lovely and soft and strung with tiny little sequins. also scarf out of the unmarked aqua/brown chenille-y stuff; maybe paired with something even furrier. and no plans for the multi-color which looks and feels like a cotton but is in fact a wool blend. maybe a little lightweight hat for sophie.
having of course not learned my lesson about substituting yarns, i am going to try again. i swatched and swatched and stretched and pulled and i think using the dk weight wool with a larger needle size is going to work for the trudie vest. my mother loves the yarn, so i want to use it for something for her. not enough for a sweater, and she's not really a hat/mittens/scarf girl. well, that's a lie, she is, but she is more than adequately outfitted in that arena.
27 july 2003 finished finished finished
camera is back online, so more pictures! i just realized having all these pictures on a page must really bite for dial-up, and as i am in dial-up land, i should be more sensitive. i'll dwell on it.
the baby layette for mike and beth turned out quite nicely. it is amazing how quickly little socks knit up in worsted weight -- i may have to whip out a few pairs for sophie this winter.
i decided to make a little toy to go along with the set, so went ahead and sussed out how mitered blocks work. it was really easy! i don't know why i had been so afraid of them. i liked the way the three came together to form a little pyramid -- might have to incorporate that into a halter of some sort one day.
one two hour meeting + one ball of sugar'n cream = one washcloth, or at least most of it. i decided to try the crocheted cast-on where you crochet over the knitting needle, rather than crochet a chain and then pick-up stitches along it. once i had the required number of loops on the knitting needle, i transferred the loop left on the crochet needle to the right knitting needle, knit the first stitch, then passed the crochet stitch over it. it made a fabulous, square corner, i was really pleased. and the edges of the cloth match up as the cast-off looks just like the cast-on. now to knit a little soap bag and the set will be done in time for shawna's office wedding shower.
and finally, the absolutely beautiful but non-fitting chickami! the length is great but it is at least four or five inches too wide. strangely, i am not all that disappointed, as it was fun to knit, it will be a great present for jim's mom, and i can always knit another for me!
now, back to jim's mom's cardigan. then the mission falls trudie vest for my mom. birthdays abound in september!
25 july 2003 good! bad!
good: the chickami is done and it is gorgeous! bad: it is WAY too big. good: the baby layette is done and cute as all get out! bad: i still wasn't invited to the shower. good: i started and finished a washcloth to be part of a wedding shower gift. bad: there really is no bad for that one.
more later, as bad: the camera is not paying nicely.
23 july 2003 a momentary change of focus
the chickami is still strapless, though that should change tomorrow night, or maybe friday. instead, i have been garter stitching like crazy to finish the baby einstein layette. i found out her shower is saturday, and though i am not invited [how rude!], i still want to send along a gift.
the sweater is all stitched, just needs a bit of sewing.
the hat is in the same state, all knit, just in need of a seam and a treatment for the top. and maybe something along the edge if i have enough time and feel like it. i used a pattern from kristi's site for the hat -- the wonders of short rows.
i still need to make a little pair of socks but i should be able to knock those out tomorrow. then it's back to things for me!
21 july 2003 almost
there has been precious little knitting since the last update. i did manage to finish the short and sassy scarf in time to give it to the departing coworker.
it's made of an unidentified ribbon yarn [may be crystal palace mikado, may not be] and an unidentified purple eyelash yarn. i cast on 150 stitches very loosely, a twisted knit-on, and then garter all the way: 4 rows ribbon, 2 eyelash, 6 ribbon, 2 eyelash, 8 ribbon, 2 eyelash, 2 ribbon, cast off. the loose cast-on coupled with the on-gauge cast-off gave it a slight curve, so it drapes very nicely. jennifer loved it, so all's good.
i went to the sequim lavendar festival on friday and bought lavendar. surprise! we stopped at churchmouse yarns on the way home. it is as lovely as advertised, and rudely expensive. it was nice to see so many yarns knit up, and not just in swatches, but in patterns. made me lust even more after the manos del uruguay. all we bought was an elizabeth zimmerman book, 'knitting workshop,' since i finally understood the surprise baby sweater, having seen one in person.
saturday was my company picnic out at remlinger farms. a beautiful day and a lot of fun, but no time for knitting. i did do a little yesterday, in between kitchen cleaning and library visiting. all that's left of chickami is the straps! i'm not going to go with the i-cord; i'm going to try an 8 stitch strap. looks as though the whole thing might be a little big, but we'll see once it's all together.
16 july 2003 quickly
just a short one to update the chickami progress. i'm almost exactly halfway through, and have just started my fourth skein. i had been worried i wouldn't have enough as it is a vintage yarn with no yardage on the label. my estimating skills are non-existant, so i was sweating it until i used up the first skein. felt a little better after the second and am happily beaming now after three. i have nine, i might even have enough for a little wrap at this rate.
i'm taking a quick break to work on a scarf for a co-worker leaving on friday. easy-peasy garter, a ribbon and an eyelash. should finish tomorrow and maybe by then bonne marie will have come up with a wider strapped version of the camisole.
14 july 2003 sparkly
i have had to make a deal with myself: no knitting on mondays, at least not until other duties are taken care of. i've been neglecting all manner of things, but most especially the small poetry press for which i am am editor. i really need to wade through piles and stacks and folders of submissions, so monday shall be deemed 'sit at the computer and deal with paperwork night', until i catch up.
but, since i am at the computer, and have answered two months worth of submissions already, i figured it is not really cheating to update my knitting pages.
i finished the sunshine layette this weekend. it is absolutely the cutest thing i have ever made. it is almost enough to make me go out and get another baby, just so i can dress it in the outfit. i hope jackie likes it. i hope i get around to mailing it before the baby is too big to wear it.
seriously, aren't these the cutest little shoes ever? i have a particular fondness for mary-janes, dating back to my own infancy, when i escaped from my mother and pediatrician at one year of age and ran through the hospital halls, naked except for ruffly socks and black mary-janes.
the chickami is coming along, slowly but surely. it's about 7 inches along, halfway through the waist rows, heading for the increases.
i wish i could get a better picture of this yarn. the whole process of this project, the knitting and the yarn, is so calming and pretty and rhythmic -- under, through, over, under, through, over. it's like knitting up a constellation. it spins slowly around and the light catches the sparklies, just like little stars. at this point, i don't even care if it fits, it has given me so much joy just knitting it.
09 july 2003 closer
still can't bring myself to start that last sleeve for the baby einstein. i did weave in all the ends, though, and seamed most of the first sleeve, so if i ever pick it up again, there won't be much to do. i did all the finishing work on the sunshine cardigan this evening, wove in a few stray ends, crocheted an edging, even sewed on the button.
i did all the finishing for the first mary jane as well. as long as i had the crochet hook out, i thought, why not? i need to make one more shoe, and seam the second half of the romper. one more crocheted edging and a few more buttons and voila! it will be done.
and just because i spent time honouring previous commitments, it doesn't mean i ignored my new shiny. the chickami is about two inches along, which doesn't sound all that great until you realize it would have been four inches if i hadn't made it to this point earlier today, realized that in spite of checking and checking and checking again, i had twisted the bloody thing when joining in the round and ripped it all out, before starting again. hopefully, second time is a charm. casting on 240 stitches just annoys me.
i joined Alison and Gina's knitalong for this one; i've never knitalong before.
08 july 2003 another detour
instead of working on all the layettes this long weekend, i instead did some top secret work in the hopes of contributing to the new knitty book. as with all secrets of a top nature, there is no photo. except this:
so now you know there is some white in the prototype. i finally finished one of the einstein sleeves. truly, i like this pattern, but lordy! it seems to take forever to make any progress. it's the garter stitch, i know. what i gain in speed, i lose in boredom.
i really need to buckle down and finish this set. and i desperately need to finish seaming and edging sunshine as it turns out jim's sister had her baby on june 25th. of course, since i really need to handle those two things, my thoughts turned to future projects and i started winding the wool for my suki bag. or my constant companion bag. i haven't quite decided.
and, i cast on for something new: bonne marie's chickami! though you can't tell from this photo, it is a white boucle-y wool blend with a tiny silver metallic ribbon running through it. it will be perfect for both work-related cocktail parties at the various conventions i must attend, and also for the holidays. can never start thinking about december too early.
01 july 2003 seamingly
i finished seaming the sunshine cardigan. i love the edging on the bottom and sleeves [though it is asking an awful lot to have me both seam and hem on one small garment], but have decided it is too heavy to use on the neck and button bands, as written in the pattern. maybe a simple crocheted edge? i-cord? a smaller version of the picot edge?
i blocked the matching romper tonight, so hopefully the seaming fun will continue tomorrow night. jackie's baby is due sometime near july 4th, so it will be just in time.
i also made more new stitch markers. i found some copper wire and went to town with it and some beach glass-esque beads. i am quite enamoured of the lot of them. i'm now looking for a project that requires scads of markers, just so i can use all of them at once.
the baby einstein was picked up again today, during an excrutiatingly long conference call. the green sleeves are now completely gone; they will be all black with green squares appliqued or sewn on for accent. i'm hoping to have it done by this weekend, so i can finish jim's mother's sweater and then finally work on something for me. me! me! me!
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