Charting

How do you feel about dice bags? I hope you like them, because they are going to be overtaking my attention for a little bit. Hubby's was not the end of the dice bag excitement. A friend requested a custom bag for his Warhammer random number generators (I admit 'dice' is getting pretty repetitive already). I couldn't resist  a request like that, so I've started prepping. He sent me a picture of his insignia so I used Knit Pro to make a chart.

From Drop Box

It is not quite perfect. I am going to have to do some refining with colored pencils, but what I'm really concerned about is the nice curved lines in the wings. They have already gotten a little blocky by putting it in the chart. Once I knit it up I will have to see what I think. Maybe I'll be able to devise a way to smooth them out.  Right now I'm thinking that if it is a problem, I could try some duplicate stitch or embroidery to fix it up.

Swatching Myrtle

I have recently realized just how long it has been since I've needed to meet gauge. The last article of clothing I created was Aleita in the beginning of 2009. That is too long, so I am getting very excited about Myrtle and something new, but I am also getting tired of swatching. I know that my gauge has changed in that time so I decided to start from scratch. The pattern calls for size US6 needles, but I am down to a size US4 right now. I've gotten the stockinette right, but the lace isn't opening up as much as I would like. I think I'm going to stick with the US4s.  It seems to me that the stockinette is a more accurate way to measure, and I think I might be able to open the lace up with a slight bit of negative ease.  You can remind me of this decision in a few months when I am crying over my poorly fitting sweater. For now, I'm off to start casting on.

Project Planning

I've just put my Viper Pilots in for their pre-blocking bath. That means it is now time to plan a new project. Instead of making a plan and coming back here to tell you about it, I am going to try to make this a little more stream of consciousness and write as I go through the planning.  I don't know how well it will work, but hopefully, you and I will both get to see how I work when I'm starting something new.  There might be a lot of Ravelry links in this post.  I'll try to note them, but I apologize to any non-Ravers in advance.

To the stash!  I usually go to one of two places when I'm looking for inspiration, my Ravelry queue or my stash.  I've been wanting to knit more out of my stash lately, so I've just pulled everything out of my toy box (yes, I keep my yarn in the toy box that I've had since I was a little girl) that struck me as next project worthy. Now I'm going to go through it one yarn at a time and look at my queue to see if can find the perfect combination.

First up is my Noro Sock yarn.  I just bought this over Thanksgiving as my souvenir Seattle yarn.  I think I want to make some simple socks out of them.  Glenna has a perfect pattern (Rav Link) designed specifically for the yarn that I think would be best. If you had asked me three months ago if I'd be casting on another Glenna pattern as soon as I finished my viper pilots, I'd laugh. Her stuff is beautiful, but intense. This patter, however, is even titled simple and a review of it doesn't include any Ktbl stitches so it is probably safe.

Next I have some left over Knit Picks Felici. I originally used this to make some leg warmers for Sydney, but I have quite a bit left of each ball.  I thought they would make some adorable toe up ankle socks.  It would be a simple project with some quick gratification.

I've also got just over 2 balls of Knit Picks Andean Silk left over.  I've used this for my Francis and a pair of mittens. I don't have a project picked out for this, so I'm going to queue to see what I currently have in there that needs knitting. Hats and cowls are what I'm seeing. I like Coline, Ribbed for Your Warmth (PDF), Fenimore, and Bas Relief Hat. I don't have any tams and I have a complete knitter crush on Jared Flood so if I go with this yarn I may just have to do Fenimore.

Next up, I have 8 balls of Rowan Cashsoft in a beautiful shimmery grey.  In the queue that may work for this is the Austin Hoodie, Myrtle Cardigan (Rav Link), Folded (Rav Link), and Dulce de Leche. The amount of yarn I have would be cutting it close for a few of those.  I think my favorite would be the Myrtle Cardigan.  I wouldn't have to worry about the yarn, and the lace cardigan would let me brighten up the grey color with whatever I'm wearing underneath.

Digging in my toy box, I also found Reid. This is an adorable Knitty pattern that I started in May of 2009.  I wanted to make it just because it is so darn cute, but since I don't have anyone to make it for or any sort of deadline, it has been untouched for a long time.  I'm on row 56 of 70 for the final sleeve.  It just needs to be blocked, seamed and edged once that is done.  Not much work at all to make this an FO.  I still have no idea who I'd give it to though.

Speaking of unloved WIPs, I also have a feather weight cardigan hibernating. Before I can work on this again seriously, I will have to figure out why there are two sets of needles in the bag.

I have two skeins of Knit Picks Imagination that I need to come up with a new project for.  I originally bought them for socks, but I think I want them to be repurposed.  I have a pair of Imagination socks that I love.  They are like  having a teddy bear cuddle with your feet all day.  They have slightly felted so they are perfectly form fitted to my feet, but they are a little too thick for my shoes and shed quite a bit. Besides this yarn should be admired more than my feet. I recently gave away my Hibiscus Shawl, so maybe another wrap would be nice.  My queue has a lot of great things, but I want to keep it simple since the yarn is so colorful.  I think Multnomah (PDF), Simple Things, Gaenor, Linen Stitch Scarf, and the Sango Shawl, would work well. The last two would prevent pooling, but the first three would really show off the yarn.  I torn on this one.

That's a lot, so I'm going to revisit and I'll throw the projects into a poll just so I can learn how to do that. Why do you tell me what project you think would be good.

What do you like?
	Seattle Socks
	Stripy Ankle Socks
	Purple Fenimore
	Grey Myrtle Cardigan
	Finish Reid
	Finish Feather Weight Cardigan
	Undetermined Shawl
pollcode.com free polls

That took longer than I expected, but now I think my socks are done bathing and ready to be blocked. Hopefully I'll have pictures this week!

Owen's Blanket: Part 1

The Plan

When I decide I want to give a hand knit gift to someone, Hubby gets involved in the planning stage. Usually this means helping pick out the pattern or choosing colors. This time he had a much bigger job.

We had a starting point though: colors. I was a bridesmaid in my friend's wedding. When I saw my beautiful mint green dress with golden sash, I just thought about how great it was going to look with my red hair. It wasn't until we were tossing around a football outside the Packer hall of fame in our formal wear that it really sunk in that I was wearing green and gold. Since they had decided to theme their big day with the wedding versions of Packer colors, I decided that this blanket needed the baby version.

So, Hubby and I sat down with Ravelry and looked for some blanket patterns that would work well with two (green and yellow) or three (green, yellow, and white) colors. Our honorable mentions were: Curve of Pursuit, Ribbons Baby Blanket, Carseat Blanket, Baby Shane Blanket, Mirbeau Slip Stitch Baby Blanket, Pathways Blanket (Rav Link), Apple Core Blanket (Rav Link), Amazement and Spinning a Yarn. The winner was Mitered Square Blanket (Rav Link) from Mason Dixon Knitting. It was the beautiful blankets made by ShinKitten (Rav Link) and Fuzzynoddleknits that really inspired our final decision.

We had a pattern and colors picked out; now it was time for the design. The plan was for Hubby to design the blanket, but I wanted to set him up so it would be as easy as possible for him to both create the design and convey the design to me. I made him some little tiles that looked like the squares I could make and asked him to have at it.

We both felt it was too busy, so Hubby decided to do things his way and hopped on the computer. Doing what he does best, he came up with these designs.

Seem Familiar?

So, the super secret project has been sent out, and I am just waiting to hear back that it has been received.

With that completed, I cast on my next big project. If you are thinking that this yarn looks familiar, you may be remembering the vest I started making way back last July.  This particular cotton, was just not loving the long stretches of stockinette.  (My gauge inconsistencies were not helping much either.)  if you remember back that far, you may also remember that this is the yarn I had originally intended to use for my Aleita Shell, but it was discouraged as a substitute yarn by someone on Ravelry because it didn't have any linen.  (I still find yarn substitution entirely intimidating.)  

So, I've been holding on to this yarn waiting for the perfect project I've spent months and months of cruising through Ravelry and looking at potential patterns, but I just kept coming back to Aleita.  I love the style of the pattern, and I think that the strong stitch definition of this yarn would really make the lines on the top half pop.  Despite the advice I was so graciously given.  I am going to press on an make another one.  

The other reason I was really wanting a new Aleita is because the last one is not really living up to my expectations.  I was hoping for a sweater that I could wear over a blouse with slacks for work.  I've tried to do that with my blue Aleita, but after the first washing the yarn really softened in appearance.  That, along with the color, just lends itself to a comfy pair of jeans.  When I put it on with slacks, I feel like I am making it be more than it really is.  It also doesn't fit me like I wish it would.  I followed the directions to the letter, and failed to make any adjustments to suit me.  Despite all this, I still love it. 

I am a little braver now, so I've made a slew of adjustments to the pattern, and so far, I am extremely pleased with the results.  

 

So pleased in fact, that I took this project along to knit on as I sat in the audience of the Martha Stewart Show. I could have picked anything to work on and declare my pride for on my first syndicated debut, but if you tuned in yesterday, this is what you would have seen me holding.  Stay tuned for more on Martha.

A little something that is already frogged...

A frogging seems like a sad way to begin, but I'm not giving up hope for this little project.This pattern is the Toddler Tunic(pdf), and I started it in some wisteria KP Swish Worsted that I had unclaimed in my stash. I started it in the middle of our LOTR marathon because I had finished all of my Kitchener stitch and Hubby's socks (which I'm trying to get a modeled picture of before I blog). I frogged it already because it looks off center to me. It is not, it is actually centered just fine, but all of the raglan sleeve increases are facing the same direction. I think that is what makes it look a little off. It would probably fit just fine, but since Francis was a top down raglan, it will be a great guide for which two rows of stitches need to be leaning the other way.

You may also notice that there is a band right under the armpits and where the collar joins that is much tighter than the rest of the sweater. I wouldn't have frogged it just for that, but it is nice to know I'll be fixing it. It looks like I went down a needle size or two for that section, but the truth is that was just the huge battle scene in Return of the King. I couldn't remember who lived and who died in the trilogy so I guess I was a little tense during the fighting.

I'm Spoiled

While Mom was here for Thanksgiving, she was determined to set me up with yarn for a project for myself. We made it out to Purl in SoHo, but the only thing that struck me as must have there was the fall issue of Knitscene. So, when Mom left, she gave me some money and a mission to buy something nice for myself. I spent a couple days going though my queue assessing all of my wish list projects and their fiber requirements. I ended up coming right back to that new Knitscene and setting my heart on the Nubby Cardigan.

I thought this would be a great opportunity to try out some Malabrigo yarn. Everywhere on the internet people are raving about this yarn and I haven't had an occasion to use it yet. I headed over to my LYS to pick some up, but the cubby of Malabrigo was close to empty. Patricia reminded me of the mill fire they had, and told me that she has an order placed, but she hasn't gotten a shipment since then. Instead of waiting an indefinite period of time, she helped me pick out an alternative.

I settled on some Cream/Tan colored Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted. It cost a bit more and I went over my 'budget,' but I'm confident that it was a worthwhile investment. It is a wonderfully soft 100% superwash wool with very subtle color variations. The main colors seem to be cream and tan, but there is also a definite hit of peach.

Last night I knit up, soaked, and blocked the swatches. As they were drying I read though the pattern and drew myself a little step by step diagram. I've decided that I am going to make the small size instead of the medium. My measurements fall pretty squarely in the middle of the two. The texture pattern is a 1x1 rib so it will have a lot of give, and so will the cables. I'm also thinking that since it is already a big cozy cardigan, too much positive ease could push it over the edge from cozy to frumpy. Hopefully I am making the right call, but I do have enough yarn to make the next size up. The only adjustment that I've decided to make to the pattern is to take an inch of the bottom ribbing. I don't wan the sweater to hit at the widest part of my hip so I am going to make it just a touch shorter.

I am excited and a little intimidated about this project. This sweater is knit in pieces and then seamed up so this is really the first time my blocking is going to be really important. It's going to be fun.

Catching Up: The Knitting

I have a lot of knitting to catch you up on, but not quite as many pictures as yesterday. Hopefully, the formatting will stay a little sane.

Mom's Christmas Socks
First we have to go way back to the pair of Christmas socks that never got blogged. We gave our parents their gifts while they were here, so there is no need to keep it a secret any longer. It started when I mentioned to Hubby that I was thinking of making Mom socks for Christmas. He said she would really love some heavy warm ones that she could wear around the house. I instantly thought of the Windowpane socks that were already in my knitting queue. The color work in these socks almost gives them an extra layer from the yarn that is being carried across on the inside. Originally I had chosen Essential in Cocoa and the Blue Violet Multi.

I was envisioning rich chocolate socks with a hint of color to lighten them up. I didn't get very far in my gauge swatch before I realized that the brown and the purple were too similar to really give the intended effect. Fortunately, I had some Essential in Buckskin waiting in the sidelines to become Hubby's socks so I was good to go, and the two colors worked even better than what I was originally shooting for.
The next dilemma that I had to overcome was the fact that I still hadn't successfully made a pair of socks that fit me. Mom and I wear the same size, so I needed socks that fit me. My first pair felt like they fit, but when I wore them the wandered all around my ankle. The second pair felt like it fit, but when I wore them for awhile they became uncomfortably tight around my leg. It took about 20 minutes of staring at my leg for me to realize that I have pretty good sized calves. I broke out my measuring tape and sure enough, there is more than 3 inches difference between my ankle and where the top of a hand knit sock would sit. I decided that this had been the problem since anything that fit my calf would be far too big for my ankle and anything that fit my ankle would be too tight for my calf. Knowing that Mom's calves are more muscular than mine, I decided that this was how I was going to try to attack my fit problem. I measured my leg every inch and incorporated decreases into the pattern to try and make a more custom fit.
Then I increased back to the original number of stitches across the five rows right before the heel flap. It makes it a little tight to get on, and you have to give it a serious tug to get that smallest section over your heel, but they fit me perfectly. They were really tempting to just tuck away for myself, but they seemed to fit Mom just as well.

Hubby's Parade Mitts
Next on the list is the Parade Mitts for Hubby. I started these about a week before Thanksgiving because Hubby was noticing what an advantage I was going to have at the Macy's parade because of the mittens I had made myself. The plan was to make him some Broad Street Mittens out of the Cocoa Essential that didn't get used for Mom's socks. Since time was short, I decided to make each of the gloves first and the mitten caps second. It was a wise choice, because I finished the gloves at midnight before the parade. I decided that Hubby could do with out the mitten caps for this parade, and maybe it would teach him that I'm only human and I need a little more time for completed masterpieces.
This picture should explain why I knit two socks at a time. Look closer....
The bottom pair is a half an inch longer than the top pair. Even on Hubby's long skinny hands it looks floppy. Since I'm not happy with them, I'm going to skip the mitten cap, make him a new pair, and eventually frog these. While he may not have had enough sense to give me plenty of time to make them, he did have the sense to love them once they were made (even if one didn't fit). Here they are at the parade. The Build-a-Bear float is in the background.

Sprinkles
I told you all about my Sprinkles socks and the alterations I made to the pattern. So all I have to report now is that they are done and I love them!
Here is a good close look at the patter, but the colors are a bit off.

Porphyria
I wanted to go up a needle size for Hubby's socks since he wanted the same pattern as Dad's but when he tried them on, they looked a little strained. I decided a quick fingering weight fingerless glove pattern would be a good way to try out my gauge on a bigger needle so I went with Porphyria (Ravelry link) and the left over Essential in the Blue Violet Multi. They were a super quick knit, and now that I have my first pair of fingerless gloves, I am completely addicted. Expect to see a lot more in the future.
I thought that these were going to be cabled, but the pattern is made with a stitch that is similar to the Holding Hands and Feeding Ducks stitch, except this one is done on the knit side. I used a size 1 (2.5mm) needle and the ribbing turned out really nice so that is what I decided to go for with Hubby's socks.

Hubby's Brooklyn Tree Socks
Hubby loved Dad's socks and decided that he wanted the same pattern for his. So, I pulled out the Brooklyn Tree Pattern (which is actually called Francie but I call it Brooklyn Tree when the intended recipient is a man) and the Essential in Buckskin and cast on.
This is as far as I got before I decided that they seemed a little big and had Hubby try them on. Sure enough, they are too loose and I am going to have to start over with a Size 1 (2.25mm). Since we had guests and they were residing in our living room, I didn't want to have a frogged yarn mess lying around and getting in the way. I just set these aside and picked up one of the many other WIPs from my basket.

Undetermined
The project I picked up, I was hoping would become a baby blanket for some friends back in AR who recently announced that they are expecting. Since I am on a strict yarn diet, I am stash busting the CottonTots that I have left from a couple other blankets that I made. I love the colors of this yarn and it just begs to be baby stuff. I've been working in a make shift log cabin like pattern from the center out, and trying to just keep the project square.
That way, when I run out of yarn, I don't have to worry because the project is square and can be complete. Well, I've run out and it is only about 22 inches square. I can't decide if I should send it to them or not. It is no where near large enough to be considered a blanket, but that doesn't mean it couldn't be useful. I think it might be a great diaper pad, or maybe it could be thrown over a car seat. I could go ahead and send this to the animal shelter as another kennel pad, but I intended it for the baby, and I'm not sure when I'll be able to buy a blanket's worth of yarn. I just don't know. Those of you that have had children (and those of you who haven't but have an idea), what do you think? Could you have used a knit square, or would it just be a nuisance?

Pretty Pretty Pictures

All of last weeks running around helped Hubby come to a realization. He is already jealous of the warm fingers that I am going to have during Thursday's parade. I tried really hard not to have any last minute holiday knitting, and despite celebrating Christmas early I thought I was successful. That was silly thinking. Hubby is now in need of his own gloves instead of socks by the end of December, he is going to be getting (if the knitting deities allow) Broad Street Mittens by the end of the week. I started them last Thursday night so I could take them on my errands and what not Friday. On a long trip back from Queens I did my first subway knitting and finished the first cuff. This weekend I finished the first glove minus the mitten cap. I've moved on to the second glove and I'll do both the mitten caps after that just in case time runs out. I think two fingerless gloves will be better than one full mitten. I was going to take pictures today to share, but my new Interweave Knits arrived and by the time I pulled my nose out of it, the sunlight was gone. I don't want to leave you with out any pretty knitting though so here are pictures from some of the projects that I am excited about.

He Likes It!

Another hubby update:

Mike started himself a garter stitch scarf, but he wasn't satisfied with the outcome. So, I taught him how to purl and now he is working on the scarf he wants instead of the scarf a 'new knitter' is suppose to be making.He took me at my word when I told him it was easy, and now he is making his very own Palindrome. He is a really tight knitter so the cable rows are his least favorite, but overall I think he likes it.

A Hat Too?

I joined my second ball of yarn the to my scarf during the presidential debate the other night. (Clearly I was relieving some frustrations with my needles because I was rocking that scarf for those two hours.) When the debate was over, I noticed that I had quite a scarf pile in my lap. My plan so far has been to knit the scarf until I ran out of yarn, but I thought it might be fun to measure it since it seemed to be growing so well. It was well over 40". My general scarf goal is 60". They aren't always that size, but it is usually what I am shooting for. It started to occur to me that I had no idea what i was going to do with a 90" scarf. Something that much taller than me seems destined to be dragged in the mud unknowingly. Then I realized that this scarf had a soul mate. I had to knit it a hat.

I didn't have to do much searching for the perfect project at all. The Amanda Hat was already in my queue. It calls for a half of a skein of Malabrigo and the ones I found that used Manos said they used less than a full skein. The stitch isn't the same, but feel that it is close enough that even a knitter with a critical eye and a tendency toward perfection would bless this union. (Especially since most of the pattern for the scarf is worked in the purl stitches, and I'm knitting the hat in the round and not purling at all during that pattern.) If you would like a good look at the two different stitches you can click on the picture and check it out much bigger.

I promptly cut the ball I had just joined off my scarf, and cast on for my hat. (Note: I don't recommend going swatchless for those playing along at home, but I am a little tight on yarn for this project so I risked it.) The new plan is to finish the hat and then use whatever is left over for the scarf. The scarf is big enough right now for a good wrap around the neck. If there isn't much left at all, it will still be a fantastic scarf. The slight shortage will be made up for by its personal happiness from having a soul mate and never being lonely again.

Earl Grey

I am half way though my Christmas knitting for this year, and I am starting to feel myself lag a little. I think there are a few reasons that my excitement is petering. First, I really like knitting for myself. I haven't done much knitting for me, and Francis was empowering. Beyond just creating something, I created something that is useful, stylish, beautiful, and it fits me perfectly. Nothing ever fits me perfectly, so now I am obsessed with wanting to knit more things for myself. To top that off, I don't have a pair of hand knit socks. Secondly, I am knitting socks for Christmas. No matter how simple the pattern is, they are still made on toothpick sized needles out of fingering weight yarn. It is not nearly as soothing as worsted weight (which I don't have to pay nearly as much attention to because I can feel what is going on a lot easier).

In addition to all of that, I think the biggest reason is that I am just not as confident about this gift as I am the others. My current project is a pair of Earl Grey socks for my brother in law. I don't know my brother in law as well as I do my other in laws. We just haven't spent as much time together. I gather that he has very fine taste, and it is obvious that he has a better fashion sense than me so it is hard to be confident in what I am making him. I went with some simple socks that small cable pattern along each side in a simple gray color. The yarn is soft and so far, the fabric is really nice, but my hubby can't give me any assurances that he'll like them.

To be honest, it is not the pattern or the yarn that I'm worried about. It is the concept of hand knit socks. I think that if he is going to like hand knit socks, he'll like these. So, I guess I'm worried that he won't like receiving hand knit socks, and he's not going to be able to return them to the store. I'm probably just being silly. His mother is big into crafts and so I have every reason to believe that he time and effort that go into handmade items. No matter how it turns out, that lack of confidence does take away a bit of the excitement of knitting for someone else.

In All Fairness

You may have noticed that when i was trying to pick out a blanket pattern, I liked to keep things equal. There were three pros and two cons for each, and quirky videos for both. So, it shouldn't be surprising that when debating over my scarf project, I couldn't resist knitting up a bit of the other pattern so that I could make a fair judgment on my scarf. I knit up some of the Holding Hands, and Feeding Ducks pattern, and it is beautifully obvious that this pattern and yarn were meant for each other. As much as I want one, I can't in good conscious go back to palindrome now that I've seen the yarn worked up like this. It is ok though, because I realize I've been going about this all wrong. A knitter only having one scarf could be considered just as scandalous as a knitter without any scarves. Instead of making the yarn I have fit the pattern I want, I really should just be out hunting for some more yarn. Last time I was there, Patricia's had some beautiful tweedy Rowan that I think would be incredible for a cabled scarf.

Moving on

OpArt is finished and on it's way to California (via Florida). The pattern was tons of fun to make and it was idea for an i-cord border. Since it is worked from the center out all of my live stitches were the outside edge. I just bound them off with the icord and managed to skip the bind off and the pick up stitches steps. I knit the blanket on US6 needles but did the i-cord on US8. It gave me a wonderfully stretchy border that allowed for the massive blocking.

Since I can't tell you about the super secret Christmas knitting, I'll share my new project. Granted it is so new that I haven't even cast on yet. I don't know if it was the mobiuses (what is the plural of that word? mobei?) that gave me confidence or what, but I am taking on a project with sleeves. The pattern is Francis Revisited by Beth Silverstein. It is knit in the round top down, so there isn't much as far as seeming and probably as easy as you can get as far as including sleeves is concerned. My gauge swatch finished drying along with the blanket, and I've finished all the math (well I think I've finished it anyway). Some patterns come with a little drawing at the end of the item with all of its measurements. Here is an example from the Abrazo pattern from the current Knitty.

These pictures are particularly useful to women like me who don't fit into any one particular size of women's apparel. For example (depending on the sizing) my shoulders might fit into a medium, my bust into a large, my waist into a small, and my hips into an xlarge. The little chart lets me check finished garment's measurements against my measurements. Francis didn't have one of these, so I decided to go ahead and make one. I started with a lightly drawn rough sketch of what I thought the sweater was going to look like, and then I went though the pattern step by step and added the heavier straight lines and measurements for what was actually going to be happening. It doesn't look that pretty (in fact, it kind of reminds me of Frankenstein's monster) and it certainly isn't to scale or accurate as a drawing, but it has already been worth every moment I spent on it.

First, I realized that the instructions for my size would give me a pretty consistent 2 inches of positive ease. Right up until the hips, then just fits with no ease. I knew I had to add in two more increase rows and because I went through the pattern I knew where they would fit easily to keep the gradual flaring after the waist. I also figured out how many rows should fit in the sections that say knit until X inches long. Finally, it has given me some forewarning that it may be a little sort under the arm pits and I'll have to check the fit when I join for knitting in the round there. It has kept me from playing with fiber, but this was so useful, that I may make one of these even if the pattern comes with a little drawing.