Wait! I thought I was a loose knitter...

After gauge issues on a few previous projects convinced me that I'm a loose knitter, 2 more recent projects have me totally confused. First, the Greenery Hat. A fun hat to knit, the cables keeping me interested throughout. I used Knit Picks Superwash Merino that I dyed a few years ago--kelly green over royal blue.

This yarn is excellent--so soft! And I love how the color came out. The problem with this hat? Well, there's no modeled shot because I cannot get it onto my head. The author of the pattern said that it fit her big head so she thought it would fit anyone. And since I don't like gauge swatching, I didn't. Well, now I have a hat for small-headed person. :/ I want to make again, but I'll have to go up at least 1 needle size, maybe 2.

The next project that's made me wonder about my knitting tension: Columbine Peak socks from Cat Bhordi's book Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles. I feel like factors have conspired against me to make these socks a bit on the tight side. First, I'm using Zitron Trekking XXL Pro Natura, which I don't particularly like for sock knitting because it's finer than I like (why did I choose to use it? because it wouldn't require me to set up the swift/yarn ball winder--aka laziness). Then there's the needle I chose to go with this fine yarn: my US1.5 Addi Turbo Lace. Now I chose both of these things, no one forced them on me, but reading the pattern, I didn't anticipate these socks being too tight--it calls for casting on 72 stitches! 8 more than I usually have for a sock. I thought this would be sufficient to make the socks appropriately sized for me. But no, this will be a pair of socks for a smaller-footed person.

I like the way this pattern has some 1x1 ribbing down the foot, keeping it snug--just too snug for me. :/

I'm wondering if I'm taking my stress out on my knitting. A few months ago, when I was plagued by the loose knitting, I was much more relaxed than I am now (still unemployed, savings slowing dwindling). And I wonder how small and tight the lace shawl I'm working on will end up.

That purple blog is my Pangea shawl. I'm using some lovely alpaca laceweight by J. Knits that I bought somewhere in NYC, maybe Downtown Yarns on Ave A? It's a little bit halo-y, but I haven't any problems with it. And the color is quite lovely. However. I chose to use a smaller-than-usual needle size--3.0mm. The author includes options for working an additional repeat of one of the charts to increase size, so I did that, but I'm nearing the end of the pattern and it's still pretty darn small looking. Of course it will be bigger after blocking, but still, I'm thinking this is going to be more like a shawlette/scarf. :/

Let's see if I an redeem this blog post with one good knitting project to report on! My Noro Kureyon Sock FBS turned out great!

It still needs a soak to open up the lace and some buttons, but I'm in no rush to finish it, since it has no destination as of yet. As with most Noro colorways I've encountered, there's a section that looks like puke--in this case, it's the peach/gray business happening around the chest, but whatever, I obviously didn't object enough to remove it from the sweater. I did, however, avoid using these awful colors on the sleeves, instead working the yarn in the reverse direction than the body, going from yellow to green instead of yellow to puke. One sleeve turned out a bit tighter than the other, but I'm just going to block it a bit more severely and then not worry about it.

A quick note about books: I recently finished reading Persepolis 2 and really enjoyed it. As with Persepolis 1, it was interesting to read a memoir in graphic novel format, and also interesting to hear about life in Iran 10-20 years ago. I also liked the movie, which goes part way into book 2, if I recall. As I said to my mom the other day, it's a great "subtitled cartoon musical"--you don't seem many of those, especially of the autobiographical variety.. Now I'm reading The Reader, which is a good, quick read, though I'm not sure how I'd rate the book if I had to. Maybe 3 stars out of 5?

Hey, Buttercup!

Finished up my Buttercup sweater last week and took it out for an inaugural wear just after weaving in the last threads. I finally got around to giving it a soak a couple of days ago and took some good(ish) pics this morning.

Overall, I'm very pleased with how this sweater turned out. I love love love the yarn, Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool. It was soft to work with and has in interestingly nubby texture. I read complaints about all the vegetable matter in the yarn, but this didn't bother me too much--it made it feel more authentic, like I was knitting with yarn straight from the (blue) sheep. One thing about this yarn, though, it BLEEDS. Seriously, after the first soak, I was afraid the yarn was going to come out without any dye. Use some vinegar.

I changed a couple of things about the pattern. The main change I made was waist shaping. Although I got gauge, I found there was too much positive ease after I did the increases below the lace at the bust. And I realized that if I was to follow the pattern and work A-line increases (no waist decreases called for), it would result in an unflattering tent. So I worked 4 sets of paired decreases, starting a couple inches from the underarm. In retrospect, maybe I should have worked it one side smaller--it is a bit baggy through the bust. But the waist shaping helped.

Initially, I worked a whole slew of increases starting a couple inches above the natural waist line, akin to the A-line increases called for in the pattern, but when I finished, I decided it looked not so good. So I ripped back until I had just 4 sets of increases (to match the 4 sets of decreases), then worked straight until the desired length. The other change I made to the pattern: it calls for 1 repeat of the feather/fan lace pattern at the bottom of the sweater. I did 3 repeats. I like this better.

The other thing I wish was different about this sweater, besides the baggy bust, is the placement of the lace panel. I wish it had started sooner. If I were to make this sooner, I would start the lace panel an inch or more sooner. But still, I love this sweater! Especially the little sleeves. :)

I'm taking a break from yarn shopping, and so also taking a break from sweater knitting. But this doesn't mean I haven't been busy! I started a new lace shawl as soon as I finished the Buttercup.

It's Pangea by Sarah-Hope Parmeter. I'm using some lovely laceweight alpaca that (I think) I bought at Downtown Yarns in NYC. It's J. Knits Lace-a-licious, color "Tennessee." The yarn is just a little bit fuzzy, but the color is so lovely. I'm using size 3.0mm needles, a decision I may end up regretting. My previous lace shawls have been made on larger needle sizes, so we'll see how this goes. I think it will be fine, since the yarn is so fine.

I'm almost done with the Eunice socks, will post a finished object pic soon. My newest project is EZ's Baby Sweater on Two Needles, aka February Baby Sweater.

I'm making it out of Noro Kureyon Sock, color 95, purchased at Hilltop Yarn a few weeks ago. I think I've mentioned this before, I love Noro Kureyon Sock yarn. The color changes captivate me. I'm a bit worried this sweater is going to turn out smaller than any baby, besides a fresh new born. But I don't care. I love it anyways. And, it may be a bit scratchy for the skin of babies, but whatever. Maybe I'll put it on a stuffed bear.

socks by the sea

My mom went to the beach last weekend with my Aunt Jill and their friend Kris. They "camped" in Kris's trailer. Though it was chilly, they seem to have fun. And they all had their hand knit socks to keep their feet warm!

In honor of the new year, I've set a couple of goals for myself. In the hopes that it help me stick to them, I'm going to list them for you now:

1. Eat out or take out once a week. When I told my sister about this, her response was "Is that a lot or a little?" Poor girl, you have no grasp on NYC life. To be clear: that's a little. I think the hardest thing is going to be to avoid getting take out on the way home from school after a 12 hour day. But the eat out part is going to be equally hard. Often on days off from work, I would eat out, sometimes for multiple meals. The point of this goal is to save a little money.

2. Read more. This is such a vague goal that I've made a book-buying rule for myself. No more new books onto my book shelves until I read some of the un-read ones up there already. I did a count. There are currently 16 unread books on my shelf. Do I think I'll read them all this year? No. But I would really like to have half of them read.

3. Begin to tackle color-work in my knitting. (Yes, a knitting-related goal!) I want to knit a fair-isle yoke kid sweater.

I think that might be it for the goal department.

I've been knitting. Right now on the needles: a pair of monkeys for a friend's bday made from Shibui Knits sock yarn in a luscious raspberry color; a pair of merino lace socks for me(???) made from Fleece Artist SeaWool; an alpaca hat for a friend back home. And I still haven't quite finished the plum tweed sweater. All that's left is one button band, sewing up the armpits, blocking and finding buttons. That's so little work, it's a shame that I haven't touched the sweater in probably a month. Probably because I have no motivation. I tried on the sweater after the first button band was done and realized the fit is AWFUL. So, once it's done, it's probably just going to sit on the shelf in my closet. It's a bummer. No pictures of this knitting. How about some pics of one of the gifts I finished last month?

February Baby Sweater in Classic Elite Provence for Hannah's 1st Birthday

I love the way this sweater turned out! The yarn is slightly shiny. I'm so happy to have found the bird buttons and it fits her!

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in class...

Perfect time for words about those pictures. First, the progress on the plum tweed sweater. Cruising right along on the yoke. Not sure how I feel about the length of the body, but I'm just going to go with it. When I first added the sleeves and body together, I thought I would never get through the row--so many stitches! But the only way to make it less is to do it, so I'm chugging through.

Next: I've started a February Baby sweater as a gift for a friend's kid--I really hope it fits a 1 year old. I'm not sure....we'll see. The yarn is Classic Elite Provence cotton. So soft and shiny! I love it! And the pattern is fantastic, of course. I'm a bit worried about having enough yarn. We'll see how that goes.

Third project: Finally some pictures of the Embossed Leaves wristwarmers. Love these. The yarn is Socks that Rock mediumweight--too thick for socks, I think, but great for wristwarmers. These will be a great xmas gift, I think.

Lastly, it's snowing today!!! Can you see the snow? Look closely--you see those faint white streaks? Especially in the second picture. Earliest snow in my time here. Yea for snow.

Just pictures...words later