Brown, Black, and Gray

I've been knitting up a storm lately, how about you?

I've nearly finished my brown sweater.  I kept thinking, "I'll finish today, no problem" and then was surprised that I was hardly any closer to slapping a neck on it, the shoulder shaping just. kept. going. on. and. on.  A bit of knitting quicksand, but I slogged through.  All it needs now is of course the neck, and to graft the underarm stitches together and voila!

I foresee this simple sweater becoming a fall and winter wardrobe staple. 

The Twenty Ten Cardigan is also proceeding apace.  I'm almost to the split for the shoulders/sleeves.  Moss stitch looks very nice, but it is a bit of a pain to knit, as opposed to good old stockinette stitch, or garter stitch.

Geez Louise, I need to go get some brighter colors to knit with before I become a walking ad for the blahs. 



Thanks, Violet.  That's my girl, always seeking to bring a little joy and color to my blahs. 

Speaking of garter stitch, I cast on a project while watching the Olympic Opening Ceremonies (ahem).  Just curious, did anyone else find the Opening Ceremonies to be a little...all over the place?!?  Anyhoo, the project I chose to knit on while I watch the Olympics (I'm being daring here) is a classic:  the Tomten Jacket.  I dove into my stash and pulled up all kinds of worsted weight wool (good old Cascade 220) and some alpaca/wool blend (the gray yarn) and I'm roaring through the sucker.  Besides tempting the knitting fates by bragging on the fact that I'm already to the shoulders and about to knit the hood for the jacket, I'm tempted to get some more yarn from the LYS and seeing if perhaps I can knit two Tomtens before the Olympics are over.

I'm in a little color quandary since I'm knitting a larger Tomten than I had thought (maybe Vi can wear this when she's...four...or so) and I'm running out of the yarn that I thought would last for the sleeves and the hood.  So now I'm wondering if I want to make red sleeves and a red hood, or do stripey sleeves and a red hood, or just....go the LYS and pick up some more worsted weight yarn.  Something a little brighter? 

Funny.  All roads lead to Rome, or, to the LYS for the knitter.  Oh dear, whatever will this knitter do!  It's such a treat chore to go the LYS.  I'll have to make sure I don't tell my husband.  Um....

What are you knitting on?  Any brightly colored knits out there?

Oh what a beautiful moooooorning....oh what a beautiful dayyyyyy!

Somewhere out there my friend DJ is cursing me for getting this song stuck in her head.  Hey DJ!

I've been on a knitting tear, people.  I have in my hot little hands a fantastic summer sweater, the Krista Tee by Joan McGowan-Michael (got the pattern at Yarns Etc).  Knit up in some delightful raspberry-colored Louisa Harding yarn, I cannot wait to wear it out and about.

I am so edgy, so hip and trendy, that I block my hand knits on concrete.  Instead of blocking pins, I use nails.  I'm tough like that.  Rowr. 

As you can see here, this little sweater is rather open.  I'm definitely planning on this being worn over a camisole or tank top, but you know...if you want to shake it up...uh, yeah.  But the pattern is well written and not a bad choice at all for a new knitter.  I have completed the back, am halfway up the front practically, and the two short sleeves and voila, I have a staple for my summer wardrobe.  I can't wait to finish it. 

Did anyone else just start singing "Raspberry Beret"? 

Veni, Vidi, Steeki.

My friends, I hope you had a wonderful holiday.  Are you still recuperating?  I feel like I am!

We had a blast, ate dinner at my sister's house, and it was my parents first Christmas in Chapel Hill, and my daughter's first Christmas, too.  A couple of very nice firsts. 

Another first?  A knitting first for me? 

I steeked.

Having a moment of cold feet here....

Seriously! 

Those knitting writers weren't kidding when they talked about having a stiff one or lying down after cutting your knitting.  I didn't exactly have a lie down, but I definitely experienced an adrenaline buzz akin to how you feel directly after riding a roller coaster.  I may have terminal dorkiness, since I would get that systemically affected by yarn. 

It was really nice to steek for the first time at Yarns Etc.  There were several knitters sitting there, it felt somewhat like group therapy.  "We're all going to get through this together, Erin."  "Deep breaths, honey, almost there."  But you know what?  The cut knitting behaved exactly as I'd been promised it would.  It didn't ravel, thanks to some hand stitching I'd done around the basting/cutting line.  The whole thing did not frog itself, and I ended up with a really pretty nice sweater (if I do say so myself).



Elizabeth Zimmermann's Ski Pattern Sampler Sweater.  The wool is Lopi.  My husband is a lucky man.

While I was at the yarn store, I noticed many pretty items that weren't necessarily yarn, but were great when used in conjunction with yarn and knitting (or crocheting).  Have you seen the great selection of buttons? 

Or the ribbons?  Ribbon can look so beautiful laced through evenly spaced holes in a knit, along the hem, at the waist, even at the wrists or laced through a set of arm warmers, perhaps, reminiscent of the lacing on old-time clothing?



These gorgeous colors on the silk ribbon look especially fine.

Sometimes a little something extra can just bring out a hand knit, take it to the next level, as it were. 
And sometimes the something extra is just a gorgeous little runner like this:

Or you could try something like this fantastically unique yarn here:



This is made by Prism, and I believe the yarn is called "Stuff". 





And I fell completely in love with these adorable little measuring tapes. 



Lookit!  A ducky!

I saw a few nice husbands walk into the store back on Thursday, asking for yarn for their spouses for Christmas.  If you received such a gift, lucky you (I made sure my present was yarn!  Lucky me!), and you can come on in to get the little extras you need to make your hand knit shine.  


Best Laid Plans

I had this grand plan.  It was so simple.  Aren't those the two silliest sentences ever uttered/typed?  Every time I get really excited and start hatching a plan, the forces that be start laughing maniacally and get to work. 

I had planned on knitting two sleeves to go with the ginormous sweater I've been gestating for three years now.  I had planned on having oodles of time to knit both sleeves...this was going to be so freakin' easy that I'd sit down to knit and, 45 minutes later, I'd have two sleeves.  I had planned on then measuring the depth of my armholes, measuring the tube o' sweater I had finally, officially,  finished earlier this week.  Then I planned on breaking out the sewing machine, setting a nice line of stitches around my basting and breaking out the scissors for a little steeking.  But that wasn't meant to be, oh no.

Firstly, since I had oceans of time to knit two stranded knitting sleeves, I might as well cast on another project or two, since that's just not enough to occupy my time.  So then I busted out some graph paper, some good old Cascade 220 in black and white, and attemped to design mittens for my knit-finicky four-year old son that must have airplanes.  Not just any old airplanes.  They must be P-51 Mustangs.  Basically airplanes with propellers.  Does anyone out there have a freakin' clue how to do that?!?  I gave it my best shot:

That's my attempt right there.  I'd like to think that the art of knitting can encompass anything.  I've seen many a knitted thing that I didn't think possible.  I've heard tell of knitted boats, bizarre knitted animal attacks, and really teensy tiny knits.  I figured that I'd bang this out and it would totally look like a dang airplane on a dang mitten.  Um, no.  Also, if I try to follow the "rules" I've heard about stranded knitting (no more than two colors per row, no further than five stitches in one color), then you end up adding a lot of little "embellishments" to your airplane graph.  I'm attempting to explain it as flak to anyone who asks.  Including my son.  The palms are really rather nice, though:

Sooooo, after that little experiment, I thought I'd buckle down and start knitting up those sleeves, but then Violet got an ear infection.  It was accompanied by all manner of sad, feverish symptoms that made my poor little girl a very miserable, clingy, unhappy baby.  So, here is what came of my plans:  

Yup.  I'll be generous and say I think that's about 1/3 of a single sleeve.  In fact, since that picture, I have almost doubled its size, so at least progress is being made.  I also had to go to the fabric store and purchase more bobbins for the sewing machine since I sort of cracked the last one.  My sewing machine was originally my mother's.  It is beautiful, and you must treat it with respect.  It is not going to kiss on the first date, and the cracked bobbin was evidence of that.  I was being way too forward with the grand dame, and she let me know, in her dignified way, that I was out of my mind, sewing-wise.  My big plans for a post on steeking will have to wait for another post.  (I hope that might be next week.  I am now going to throw salt over my left shoulder, spin three times counterclockwise, and knock on wood.) 

Meanwhile, my lovely friend DJ gave me a moebius.  Not just any moebius, but a Cat Bordhi moebius:

Behold the Lacy Moebius Cowl!  Gorgeously knit up in Malabrigo Rios, in the color "Arco Iris". 



I just love the gorgeous colors in this.

 

So, for now, I'm still knitting sleeves.  I plan hope to be steeking in the next few days, but I must admit that it is the same kind of hope that I have when I hope I'm only in the dentist's chair for a little while, and that no cavity/gingivitis/unicorn/explosion is found.  I've been reading up on steeking, and I feel relatively prepared...except for the scissors going cutty cutty on my knitting.  That part gives me a hiney cringe.  There's just no other way to put it.  See you next time.  Oh, and:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Sweatah Weathah

I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween.  My son went as an airplane, which is different than any other day of the year, when he is an airplane.  If I were Super Mom (or perhaps well-rested) I would have remembered to take a picture of him, but alas, I forgot.

We also have had the funk.  The nose-swiping, circus-seal-impersonating funk.  Both the children and I have it, and my husband is somehow immune.  That's probably a good thing,  because we can't handle a man-cold around here.  We still have PTSD from the last one in July.  Violet was up quite a bit last night, gritching about her stuffy nose.  It's really hard to reason with a baby at 4 am, by the way. 

I have been knitting, quite a fair bit, too.  I find that I really go to town on something simple when real life is whupping my butt.  That sweater I was knitting a couple of weeks ago?  It didn't really work out, so I did a mercy killing and started something else.

This is my lovely assistant Violet showing the almost-completed body and the almost-completed sleeve of another Elizabeth Zimmermann pattern, the yoke patterned sweater (Cascade 220 in Denim Heather).  I swear I do knit other things that aren't EZ, I promise.  I'm just...going through a phase.  Maybe I need to branch out.   But right now the endless rows of stockinette are very soothing. 

Here is another project I've been working on.  This is the Landscape Shawl by Evelyn Clark (of Swallowtail Shawl fame).  I've knit this before, and I'm making this for someone for Christmas...which I found out is only 53 days away.  Gulp.  Please don't smack me the next time you see me.  I'm just telling the truth here, folks. 

Anyhoo, this shawl is made from the wonderful, cushy, bouncy Elsebeth Lavold Merino Lace, but in my humble opinion, it is rather thicker than lace.  Maybe more like a fingering weight.  What's nice about the shawl pattern is that it has instructions for different weights of yarn, from lace all the way to worsted.  Each section/chevron of the shawl is knit in garter, seed stitch, stockinette, moss stitch, or reverse stockinette, and it has a nice picot edging along the sides.  What is also very nice about the pattern is that I can actually knit it.  I am missing that part of my DNA that allows other competent knitters to make lace.  I couldn't knit lace if you held a gun to my head, or a flame to my stash.  I cannot even knit the super-popular Swallowtail Lace Shawl that everyone and their blind, three-legged dog can knit.  I've tried three times, and ended up saying things that blistered paint. 

I am also reaching into the mists of time, sifting through the stash for another goody that needs to be finished. 



It's Elizabeth Zimmermann again (sorry, folks, I'm going through a phase), the Ski Sampler Sweater.  My husband has been waiting for this albatross for about three years now, and this year (knock on wood) it's gonna happen.  I am knitting this up in fantastically rustic Icelandic Lopi.  My husband loves that sort of thing.  In fact, as I'm knitting along, sometimes I come to a bit of a twig still in the yarn and you know what?  I just keep it in there and knit it into the sweater too.  He loves scratchy clothing, which strikes me as bizarre to say the least, but at least I'm doing my part to make sure he is itchy-scratchy all over.  My husband is...well, that's another post for another day.  I'll just say he's hard to knit for.  So is my son, come to think of it. 

I'm almost done with the body of this sweater, and then comes the sleeves and then....DUM DUM DUM...I shall be steeking.  That's right, cutting my knitting all up.  Making armholes.  I've never done it before--have you?  I find it makes me nervous that in the books I've read about knitting, whenever steeking comes up, the author invariably recommends you either have a drink afterward, or lie down in a dark room.  Sheesh. 

WEAVING IN... LOOSE ENDS

This week has been all about finishing for me. One spell of cooler weather and my mind is very  ready to start sharing and wearing wool! Warm, comforting, delightful wool!

The first thing I finished was a new hat for my handsome husband, that's my favorite stripe pattern... as you will soon see. It seems strange to me that I always love stripes that are worked in an odd number of rows/rounds, I would have guessed before I began to knit that I would be most attracted to all things "even"- boy was I wrong!

Something special for him, something special for me!

This is my new sweater, which I love! Knit up in Cascade 220 in the only pink I can wear without looking like a very tired zombie. I knit this sweater from a new Chic Knits pattern the Basic Chic Pulli. This is my sample sweater for teaching the pattern in the Chapel Hill shop starting October 13th. I am quite pleased with the results, love the top-down-round construction, the perfectly flattering fit and the ease in which this pattern takes minor modifications! As some of you know I can't knit without doing something "different" I'm sure that speaks to my true personality, Ha! 

The major modification that I needed to make was to add length to the pattern, so I chose a nice contrast color and introduced it with a simple and dramatic slipstitch pattern over two rows. This highlights the modification and gives a classic sweater a sort of "Bride-of-FrankenKnits" feel, which I just adore! I chose a lighter color to have a slimming effect on an area that I didn't feel needed any extra emphasis.

I'm so happy that my plan actually worked... whew!

I'll share a secret... I actually properly blocked this sweater, damp towel, iron, steam- the works! It was so exciting, Thankfully I had watched Mary do some significant blocking at the shop so I wasn't too scared!

The next things I needed to put the finishing touches on- new hats for my rapidly growing niece and nephew, when it starts to cool down here it's already getting cold in Maine. I knit these up fast and in matching patterns (notice the favorite stripes) but one has lighter stripes and darker main color, and the other is opposite- to try and keep the kids from being too matchy-matchy. T. will be very happy to know that his hat looks like Jon's!

The last thing I want to share today isn't finished, but I am dreaming about wearing it, that counts right? Scarf/Shawl in Kidsilk haze!

Just one more color...

So, there's where I'm at, come by the shop and show me what you've been working on!

Hope to see you at Knit Night tonight.