Finishing Touches

Crumpets

Mossy Jacket

Haven't I mentioned Mossy? It's for a pregnant friend. I couldn't decide which (there are two) so I kept it a surprise. I'll give it tomorrow, so now she knows. The beige is the Brooks Farm yarn I frogged a while ago and the yellow is Lorna's Laces. The Brooks Farm is a merino silk blend, so it's not washable. Both friends know how to take care of wooly items, though, so I'm not worried it will be cared for.

I also finished knitting Page 18 Elephante, but I can't crochet (I'm all thumbs). I can't make the ears. Rachel said she'd make them for me. I just have to get the materials and instructions to her before I head to Michigan.

I'm on the cuff of Stef's sock. I am using the same stitch pattern as I used on his scarf. I like it. It isn't making that cool snakelike zigzag pattern, which I didn't expect, but I am liking the variegated yarn with garter stitch, which I also didn't expect. I'll probably finish the first sock this week, since it is the only project on the needles. Stef has some large feet, though, so the second may take a while. I wish he could try them on for me. I'm worried that they are going to be too large.

Friday is frogging day. I can't wait. Perhaps I'll take video.

Crumpets is done. Or, almost done. I have to get a pretty ribbon and maybe make some straps. This took way too long to make. Miles and miles of stockinette will start to make me crazy, even though I do love the way stockinette looks.


I have a bad habit of making something just because. In this case, I was shopping at a store in Muscatine, Iowa last weekend. I bought a couple balls of 1824 Cotton (there wasn't much else that caught my eye, though I think they had every color of Cascade 220 available) and they had this pattern posted as a suggestion. So when I finished Crumpets and felt like I needed a quick knit, I turned to this. It was fun. I have no recipient intended, and it's a bit too small for my feet. If any of my family or friends wears an 8 or smaller and would like a pair of cotton slippers, let me know and they are yours.

I like the 1824 Cotton. I didn't think I'd like the nubby-ness of it, because I am not crazy about the Manos Cotton Stria. I like the texture this made. I think I'd even like a sweater out of it.

This I knit in a hotel room in Urbana, Illinois. I was there for work and needed something to distract me from a crazy headache I had. The food they have at conferences isn't really conducive to paying attention in sessions full of slides and powerpoint. That's my complaint of the day. I'm not showing the whole thing, which only took a few hours and is made from Print 127 from the stash. It's for DG for our upcoming road trip. I'll be sure to get a picture of it in action.

Now I am trying to think of something special for Renée. Yeah, I know, I made Crumpets for her, but I think it will be too big. I'm thinking something more along the keepsake line than fun wearable. I don't do lace, and I don't really have time for lace anyway. Renée's christening is the second weekend in June, so I'd like to have it done before I head to Michigan. Any ideas?

In the meantime, I'm finally starting socks for Stefan from the Artyarns Ultramerino 4 that I got last fall. So, I'm a procrastinator. Oh, that must be why I make slippers for no reason.

Lessons Learned

1. Designing a sweater is hard.
2. Waist shaping is easy.
3. Measuring the armholes pays off in the end.
4. Working back and forth on circulars makes a different gauge than working back and forth on straights.
5. Negative ease helps accomplish the fitted look.
6. Top-down sweaters worked in one piece make sense.
7. Cascade's Pima Melange is very splitty.
8. Stockinette gets really boring when you don't want to work the project you're working on.

And so much more. I started this last summer. I'm considering it a good exercise, but not a successful project. I have trouble with the armholes on all the sweaters I'm making these days. I think it's because I'm going to the larger chest measurement when I fall between two. In this case, since I was loosely following The Handy Book of Sweater Patterns, I just based it on my exact measurements. Obviously, my gauge changed somewhere along the way. Overall, the sweater fits great in the hips and waist. The arms are too baggy and so's the chest. Oh well. I learned.

Countdown

Yesterday I submitted my resignation. I will be jobless as of May 31.

In preparation, I organized all my yarn, and matched yarn to the projects on my To Knit list. Luckily, I have enough yarn to knit about half the projects. Of course, that list is ever-changing, so I'm already craving different things.

I've been trying to walk home from work at least once a week. Yesterday I made it as far as the yarn store. I resisted the urge to congratulate myself with some yarn, but Nina did suggest I take the needle felting class today. Here's a sample of my work. It was so much fun. I'm glad to know another fiber-related skill.


Today I couldn't resist the purchasing temptation, and bought a pattern book, Coast. I like almost all the patterns. I'm particularly interested in Seaton and Hartland. Must be the ribbon. Luckily for me, Nina doesn't carry Cotton Jeans or I might have come home with enough yarn for both projects.

Soon, I'll have plenty of time to knit, but for now I'm still trying to finish up a couple UFOs. I had to rip most of the sleeve on my sweater because I was increasing too gradually. Crumpets is pretty boring, so I keep it for times when I'm reading or talking.

I finished the Wick socks last Wednesday. I started and finished the second sock on a trip for work. Three hours on the bus and a night in a hotel room makes for good knitting time. The socks are just a toe-up pattern using the Turkish cast-on. I did a 4x2 rib with mirrored cables on each side, and one cable twist, also mirrored, at the very top.


Earlier in the week, I finished up Dan's hat. I hope it works for him.

Perhaps I'll muse next post.