Slacker!

Vacation must have agreed with me a little too much. I've been knitting up a storm, walking with the Little One, and even doing a wee bit of housework as well. I came back from Stitches with 2 sweaters, 4 shawls, and a hat's worth of yarn. Eek! The immediate goal is to knit this new stash up before it has time to languish. But wait, there's more!

I've had a skein of Malabrigo Chunky in the Polar Morn colorway in queue for a while and it suddenly struck me that I needed to knit a hat. But not any hat. A slouchy beret! Huh? I am not a hat person but somehow I think this one works and it has the added bonus of knitting up very quickly. Like, 4 hours quickly. Pattern: Icing Swirl Hat by Ysolda Teague. I knit the large size on size 10 needles and had 4 or 5 yards left of the Malabrigo Chunky.

A fellow Purlygirl is having her first baby and it's a boy so I figured I'd knit up a little something something for the little guy. I love love love the book Vintage Baby Knits so I chose to knit the Rufus Textured Cardigan out of Cashsoft DK. This is a fun pattern but I did a lot of modifications. The pattern is written in pieces with the button band partially knit separately and then seaming the whole thing together. I cast on to work all the pieces at once from the bottom, using #4 dpns to knit the button band with the piece but at the smaller required gauge. I joined the arms in the round and knit a la EZ method. Once the button band had eaten up all the stitches for the fronts and sleeve caps I knit the edging sideways joining the held stitches for the back of the neck with the button band. I think I have better notes for this on my Ravelry page. Everyone at knitting seemed to really like this sweater, especially the little shawl collar.

Last, but not least, I finished knitting up Herbivore. This was the second part of my Ravelympics challenge that I did not finish by closing ceremonies. I really like the architectural quality of this piece. The columns of twisted stitches are simple and clean and draw the eye upward and the angular shape is very interesting. It's a nice change from the lacy little shawls I've been knitting recently and the color is gorgeous! I used Malabrigo Sock in Persia. This yarn just loves to be knit on size 6 needles. It's silky and drapey and although it is a sock yarn I think it leads an exciting double-life as lace yarn.

Back To It...Or Not

I'm back from California (and Stitches!) and back in my usual routine. I finished my Ravelympic vest by closing ceremonies and have been plodding along on some not-so-inspiring knitting. I think I need to cast something on in order to get out of this slump I'm in. Last night I found myself watching a movie and not even knitting!!! Zoh my gosh! What is happening to me? I'm feeling some sweater-love building but don't really know which sweater to cast on. Something from my queue? Recently purchased stash? New pattern? Ideas and input are greatly appreciated since I'm rather at a loss for what this funk is all about. Could it be post-Stitches withdrawal?

Ravelympics & I'm Off!

The Ravelympics (aka the Knitting Olympics) started last Friday during the Opening Ceremonies. For those out of the know, Ravelry hosts the Knitting Olympics in which you choose a project or projects to complete during the 2+ weeks that the Olympics are happening. You can join teams and enter your project in events to win Gold Medals if you finish by the closing ceremonies. It's fun and slightly silly and this is my first year as an active knitter. I chose to knit a cabled vest from Snow Day out of Cascade Pure Alpaca. Things are moving along nicely. I've got the bulk of the body done and should split for the neckline sometime today. I can't say enough good things about the yarn - it's squishy and soft and has excellent stitch definition. I'm pretty sure I can finish by the 28th.

In other news, I'm off to California tomorrow to hang with my family and attend Stitches West for the first time ever. I've got a list of things ready to buy yarn for and some comfy shoes ready to slip on. Exciting!

February Baby Sweater

My first ever February Baby Sweater! Hooray! I love this pattern and can't believe that I haven't knit it before. This puppy flew off my needles in a record three days. Don't let the Little One's sad face fool you. She loves this sweater and dragged it around the house with her until I put it on. The picture was taken very very shortly before a nap.

Pattern: February Baby Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmermann from The Knitter's Almanac
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy in Blue Lagoon (approx 1.1 skeins)
Needles: Size 7 & 8 Harmony Circs
Mods: I used heavier yarn to upsize the sweater to fit Little One. I used #7 needles for the garter yoke and #8 needles for the lace since garter stretches a bit. There are 3 buttonholes added at the yoke instead of all down the front of the sweater. The body is knit to 10 inches before adding the garter at the bottom but I kept the sleeves 4-ish inches long before adding the garter so they're a little bit cropped.

The Short & Short of It

I ran out of yarn on the damn shawl. 15 edging repeats short out of 84! BLAR! More yarn has been ordered but the damn shawl is on a serious time out while I knit on other things. Damn shawl.

Dear Mold,

This letter is to advise you, once and for all, that our relationship is over. You have been my constant companion for the past 5 years and I just can't take it anymore. You have until the end of the week to get your stuff and your friends and vacate the premises. I understand that appearances change over time but the additional girth and the change in your complexion is sickening. I asked you to keep your belongings contained and tidy. You ran rampant all over my grout and spread across my window sills. Your friends aren't any better and I'm tired of cleaning up after them and you. I'll be sanitizing your living space over the next few days which means that you'll be meeting the business end of a clorox-covered toothbrush. There will be no mediation, we're past all that. Don't leave any of your crap behind, it won't be here for you if you try to return. Any future contact will be responded to with violent washing and scrubbing. It's over. Deal with it.

-E

The Edging Effect

I've been busy creating a knitting callus on my right pointer finger and trying not to look at exactly how much of the edging I have left to knit versus the amount of yarn I have in my ball. I'm cutting it close. So close, in fact, that I've been knitting faster and faster trying to make my yarn not run out before I'm done. This is shawl number 2 for my 10 of the year and I'm uber-excited about how it's turning out. The pattern is Print O' the Wave by Eunny Jang and I'm knitting it in Misti Alpaca Lace. I tried casting on for this in my final trimester of pregnancy and my mind was not prepared for chart reading of any sort. The pattern is tedious but exceedingly beautiful and rewarding. Both halves of the center portion are knit separately, grafted together, and then stitches are picked up around the whole thing and an inner border is knit. Break the yarn, cast on for a sideways knit edging, and continue around until you meet up with your provisional cast on and then graft the live stitches together. The way the pattern repeats in the center portion does not allow for marker placement so you have to be really careful to mark where you leave off. But the edging!!! It's getting close to becoming the seventh circle of Hell. In total you knit 84 repeats of the edging chart and that is a whole lot of knitting back and forth on 20-ish stitches. I'm keeping my head down and my fingers flying until I'm done. If I stop now it just won't get done. Eek.