I just looked at the date of my last post and was appalled that it's been so long since I posted. I've been dealing with some health stuff the past couple of months (which is better now) but I've still been away longer than I thought.
As of this week, I am officially on VACATION! I am taking one month - ONE WHOLE MONTH (!) off and doing some much needed projects around the house and traveling. Just a few days in, and I'm already putting last semester behind me.
In the time away from the blog, I have been knitting. I finished Skywalker and blocked it. Even took some pictures of it. Was going to show you, but realized that they are still in my camera. I finished my Color Affection, but still need to block it. And I have been doing Laura Nelkin's Mystery Knit Along, Juego. I'm still working on the fourth clue. I doubt I'll have it done before the final clue comes out on Friday, but I'm almost there. Oh, I've also been working on Clarus in lace weight. No photos of that (are you really surprised?) but just imagine a big pile of dental floss. That's pretty much what it looks like right now in it's pre-blocked state. It will be a while before I finish this one.
Well, another photo-less post. Good thing I'm taking a photography class at Squam in a couple of weeks!
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Thursday, April 4, 2013
I have pictures!
I know, don't faint. After many of posts with lots of text and no pictures comes a post with lots of pictures and little text.
Color Affection (do I really need a link to the pattern - doesn't everyone know this one?) Yarn - Sundara Petite Sock Yarn, discontinued colorways: Driftwood, Bing, and Dark Side of the Moon. It's almost finished. Just a couple more (endless) rows on the border. I really love the colors in this. It looks kind of blah in the photo (I think because the khaki color is so similar to the upholstery on my chair!) - but I really think it will be lovely when finished.
Aranami Shawl. Yarn: Plucky Knitter Primo Fingering in (from top to bottom) Glacier, Grey Goose, Narraganset Gray, and High Cotton. I need to find another color for the top two rows and then I will be finished with this one! I had originally picked a blue as my final color. When the skeins were lined up together I liked it with the other colors. When knit up - not so much. Only three weeks until the Plucky retreat - I'm sure to find the perfect color then.
And yet another shawl. For someone who never knit a shawl before last year, I sure seem to have caught the bug! This is Skywalker by Laura Nelkin. It's used in her Craftsy class, Knit This: Mastering Lace Shawls. This is my first lace shawl. I'm slowly moving out of my garter stitch phase. The thing about lace is it looks like utter crap until you block it. I find this both intriguing and frustrating. I was worried that some of my yarn overs looked wonky, but Laura assured me they were OK and they would even out in the blocking. How cool is that? I posted a question to the class about my concern - she asked if I could upload a picture. Then, after looking at the photo, she said it looked like it would block out fine. Sometimes technology is so cool. (other times, not so much - like when my credit card got hacked last week).
Well, that's it for today. I've been thinking a lot about my knitting stages of grief - but more on that next time.
Color Affection (do I really need a link to the pattern - doesn't everyone know this one?) Yarn - Sundara Petite Sock Yarn, discontinued colorways: Driftwood, Bing, and Dark Side of the Moon. It's almost finished. Just a couple more (endless) rows on the border. I really love the colors in this. It looks kind of blah in the photo (I think because the khaki color is so similar to the upholstery on my chair!) - but I really think it will be lovely when finished.
Aranami Shawl. Yarn: Plucky Knitter Primo Fingering in (from top to bottom) Glacier, Grey Goose, Narraganset Gray, and High Cotton. I need to find another color for the top two rows and then I will be finished with this one! I had originally picked a blue as my final color. When the skeins were lined up together I liked it with the other colors. When knit up - not so much. Only three weeks until the Plucky retreat - I'm sure to find the perfect color then.
And yet another shawl. For someone who never knit a shawl before last year, I sure seem to have caught the bug! This is Skywalker by Laura Nelkin. It's used in her Craftsy class, Knit This: Mastering Lace Shawls. This is my first lace shawl. I'm slowly moving out of my garter stitch phase. The thing about lace is it looks like utter crap until you block it. I find this both intriguing and frustrating. I was worried that some of my yarn overs looked wonky, but Laura assured me they were OK and they would even out in the blocking. How cool is that? I posted a question to the class about my concern - she asked if I could upload a picture. Then, after looking at the photo, she said it looked like it would block out fine. Sometimes technology is so cool. (other times, not so much - like when my credit card got hacked last week).
Well, that's it for today. I've been thinking a lot about my knitting stages of grief - but more on that next time.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
not much new - or is there?
There hasn't been much knitting going on here for the past couple of weeks. I went to see my mom for a week to do her taxes and help out around the house. Did some knitting while I was there. Mainly my Color Affection, which is driving me nuts. I'm on the final border and figure I have about 8 rows left. Not too bad - except for the fact that each row takes about 30 minutes to knit. Ugh. Sure, it's mindless knitting, but it's gotten so large it's hardly portable anymore.
I was looking through my UFOs and found my Aranami shawl. More comforting garter stitch. Maybe I was on this garter stitch kick before my dad died? I made a lot of progress on the shawl. Do I have any pictures to show for it? Of course not. Maybe today I will take some photos. Or maybe I'll spend day watching basketball (GO BLUE!). Oh, yeah - back to knitting. I got to the last color on the shawl. I don't know what I was thinking when I picked out my colors. After all green-based hues I suddenly switched to blue. Ummmm - no. That's not going to work. I'm going to have to find a new color of Plucky Primo Fingering. Luckily I'm going to the Plucky retreat in Holland, MI in a few weeks. Actually, I'm not signed up for the full retreat - just classes on Saturday. My plan is to drive out Friday and arrive just in time for SHOPPING!
Yesterday, I went back to my Skywalker shawl. Made some significant progress, although at 10PM I had to tink back a row and a half. I should have known better than to work on lace after 10 PM.
I've also been swatching for my Blank Canvas. The gauge on my first swatch is way too large, which is too bad because I really like the fabric it made. I can't find interchangeable tips in size 6. I thought they might be in use on one of the shawls I'm working on - but those are mostly 5s. It's driving me nuts that I can't find them. So, not much more to report there.
Well, how about that - I actually do have a lot of knitting progress to report. Who knew? Now I just have to start taking photos of that progress. Yeah, yeah. I'm getting to it.
I was looking through my UFOs and found my Aranami shawl. More comforting garter stitch. Maybe I was on this garter stitch kick before my dad died? I made a lot of progress on the shawl. Do I have any pictures to show for it? Of course not. Maybe today I will take some photos. Or maybe I'll spend day watching basketball (GO BLUE!). Oh, yeah - back to knitting. I got to the last color on the shawl. I don't know what I was thinking when I picked out my colors. After all green-based hues I suddenly switched to blue. Ummmm - no. That's not going to work. I'm going to have to find a new color of Plucky Primo Fingering. Luckily I'm going to the Plucky retreat in Holland, MI in a few weeks. Actually, I'm not signed up for the full retreat - just classes on Saturday. My plan is to drive out Friday and arrive just in time for SHOPPING!
Yesterday, I went back to my Skywalker shawl. Made some significant progress, although at 10PM I had to tink back a row and a half. I should have known better than to work on lace after 10 PM.
I've also been swatching for my Blank Canvas. The gauge on my first swatch is way too large, which is too bad because I really like the fabric it made. I can't find interchangeable tips in size 6. I thought they might be in use on one of the shawls I'm working on - but those are mostly 5s. It's driving me nuts that I can't find them. So, not much more to report there.
Well, how about that - I actually do have a lot of knitting progress to report. Who knew? Now I just have to start taking photos of that progress. Yeah, yeah. I'm getting to it.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
More learning - can my brain take it?
I know, there aren't any pictures. Get over it. But my brain is bursting with insight and learning and I just have to get this down in writing and out of my head - just to confirm that what I think is an epiphany really is as ground-breaking as I think it is. There hasn't been much knitting this week anyways.
I am learning so much in Ysolda's class, I can hardly take it. I'm learning a lot about myself as a knitter and why my projects don't always work out how I hope they will. OK, Epiphany - what was it again? Oh, yeah - STOP BUYING SWEATER QUANTITIES OF YARN. Huh? But I want to knit a sweater, aren't I going to need a sweater's quantity of wool? Well, yes I will - eventually. BUT don't buy a whole mess of yarn without knowing how that yarn will behave.
1) Don't buy yarn "on spec" - that is, with no project in mind. Just because it's pretty or on sale, that doesn't mean I will find a suitable pattern for it. In fact, if a sweater's quantity of yarn is on sale, or closeout - there is probably a reason for it. Even if it's a lovely yarn that's going away forever - don't buy it. It will just live in my stash forever. How much yarn is just sitting in my stash because it was on sale/closeout and I had to have it because it would never be available again? How much of it have I actually found a purpose for? That's right - one. The Mirasol Coltani - which made a very nice cardigan even though I knit it way too short and it really needed bust darts after all was said and done but I refused to go back and fix it because I were sick of knitting it. So even though I used it, I still ended up with a sweater that I don't like.
I haven't gone completely zealous - I can still buy single skeins of beautiful yarn that can become accessories. I mean - come on. That's okay for single skeins of sock yarn - that can always become socks or a shawl, but not sweater quantity. (I'm not going completely cold turkey here people).
2) Even if I have a pattern in mind - don't buy a sweater's quantity all at once. Especially when substituting yarn. I won't know how that substitute yarn behaves until I swatch. Buy one skein. Swatch. Even if the fiber content and weight is similar to the yarn called for in the pattern, it is important to swatch. I've had to abandon a number of yarns because I couldn't get gauge with them for the pattern I wanted to knit or if I did - it just wasn't the right fabric for that sweater.
That Damn Cathay. One of my first impulse purchases. Debbie Bliss Cathay - bought on closeout from Elann. A lovely silk and cotton blend. All and all a very nice yarn. Do you think I can find a single project for it? Of course not. Even patterns written for that yarn - I can't get gauge. Or if I do get gauge, the fabric is not at all what I want. I finally found a pattern last year that is sort-of working. I think I knit on it for a week and then abandoned it because I didn't even like the pattern. The final product was nice, but it was BORING to knit. It's destined for the frog pond. I think I will need to get that yarn out of my life.
3) What if I want to use the yarn the pattern is written for? Still - buy a skein and swatch. Make sure you like it. If you do - THEN buy the sweater's quantity. Case in point - my current purchase of Shelter for Stowe. I started swatching and am not loving it. Let me rephrase that. I like the yarn, I like the pattern. I just don't think I like the density of the stitch pattern knit at the gauge suggested. I think it will require some MATH to figure out. I think I need much more information from Ysolda's class before tackling that - or maybe it's destined for something else. Ooh - maybe a throw!
Now these three items may seem like common sense - after all, it is. But this is EXACTLY why I've been having trouble with sweaters. I am supposedly a fairly bright individual - HOW DID I NOT FIGURE THIS OUT SOONER?
And how much sweater quantity yarn did I just buy? Some random Merino from Elann - in brown of all colors. I don't even wear brown. Not sure what wackiness took over there. And the Pricey SHELTER. I'm pretty sure I will find a use for the SHELTER. Don't know if it is going to be the Stowe pattern or not. I do love that sweater, but the stitch pattern - not so much. May need to do some tinkering there. I am getting ahead of myself.
It's time to really go through the stash and see what sweater quantities I have that I love and even if I don't find something right away - I'd be OK with that. If it's good yarn, I hope I will eventually find something for it. Other stuff - I think it is time to part ways. Looks like I'm in for a big de-stashing.
I am learning so much in Ysolda's class, I can hardly take it. I'm learning a lot about myself as a knitter and why my projects don't always work out how I hope they will. OK, Epiphany - what was it again? Oh, yeah - STOP BUYING SWEATER QUANTITIES OF YARN. Huh? But I want to knit a sweater, aren't I going to need a sweater's quantity of wool? Well, yes I will - eventually. BUT don't buy a whole mess of yarn without knowing how that yarn will behave.
1) Don't buy yarn "on spec" - that is, with no project in mind. Just because it's pretty or on sale, that doesn't mean I will find a suitable pattern for it. In fact, if a sweater's quantity of yarn is on sale, or closeout - there is probably a reason for it. Even if it's a lovely yarn that's going away forever - don't buy it. It will just live in my stash forever. How much yarn is just sitting in my stash because it was on sale/closeout and I had to have it because it would never be available again? How much of it have I actually found a purpose for? That's right - one. The Mirasol Coltani - which made a very nice cardigan even though I knit it way too short and it really needed bust darts after all was said and done but I refused to go back and fix it because I were sick of knitting it. So even though I used it, I still ended up with a sweater that I don't like.
I haven't gone completely zealous - I can still buy single skeins of beautiful yarn that can become accessories. I mean - come on. That's okay for single skeins of sock yarn - that can always become socks or a shawl, but not sweater quantity. (I'm not going completely cold turkey here people).
2) Even if I have a pattern in mind - don't buy a sweater's quantity all at once. Especially when substituting yarn. I won't know how that substitute yarn behaves until I swatch. Buy one skein. Swatch. Even if the fiber content and weight is similar to the yarn called for in the pattern, it is important to swatch. I've had to abandon a number of yarns because I couldn't get gauge with them for the pattern I wanted to knit or if I did - it just wasn't the right fabric for that sweater.
That Damn Cathay. One of my first impulse purchases. Debbie Bliss Cathay - bought on closeout from Elann. A lovely silk and cotton blend. All and all a very nice yarn. Do you think I can find a single project for it? Of course not. Even patterns written for that yarn - I can't get gauge. Or if I do get gauge, the fabric is not at all what I want. I finally found a pattern last year that is sort-of working. I think I knit on it for a week and then abandoned it because I didn't even like the pattern. The final product was nice, but it was BORING to knit. It's destined for the frog pond. I think I will need to get that yarn out of my life.
3) What if I want to use the yarn the pattern is written for? Still - buy a skein and swatch. Make sure you like it. If you do - THEN buy the sweater's quantity. Case in point - my current purchase of Shelter for Stowe. I started swatching and am not loving it. Let me rephrase that. I like the yarn, I like the pattern. I just don't think I like the density of the stitch pattern knit at the gauge suggested. I think it will require some MATH to figure out. I think I need much more information from Ysolda's class before tackling that - or maybe it's destined for something else. Ooh - maybe a throw!
And how much sweater quantity yarn did I just buy? Some random Merino from Elann - in brown of all colors. I don't even wear brown. Not sure what wackiness took over there. And the Pricey SHELTER. I'm pretty sure I will find a use for the SHELTER. Don't know if it is going to be the Stowe pattern or not. I do love that sweater, but the stitch pattern - not so much. May need to do some tinkering there. I am getting ahead of myself.
It's time to really go through the stash and see what sweater quantities I have that I love and even if I don't find something right away - I'd be OK with that. If it's good yarn, I hope I will eventually find something for it. Other stuff - I think it is time to part ways. Looks like I'm in for a big de-stashing.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Learning new things
It's day 3 of Ysolda's class. I'm already behind, but I'm OK with that because I'm already learning things and gaining insight. I didn't buy yarn for the class because I figured I could knit from my stash. I have some DK weight yarns in sweater quantity and I need to knit down my stash. Not to mention my bank account would appreciate it. I went to the ATM today to get $$ and was surprised by my balance. It's only the 6th of the month - what happened? Oh yeah, grief induced yarn shopping. That needs to go somewhere in my knitting stages of grief - hmmm.... but I digress.
Oh, yeah - back to what I'm learning in Ysolda's class. She suggests we use a DK weight wool or wool-blend yarn for our Blank Canvas sweater. It will be a while until we get to the actual sweater - but this week we are covering selecting yarn for a project. I went to the stash to see what I had in DK weight in potentially sweater quantity. I was shocked. Almost all of it was cotton or linen! Huh? That can't be right - I live in Wisconsin. More importantly, cotton and linen have no elasticity. They are difficult to knit and to get the fit right. I re-read some of my earlier posts and looked at my Ravelry project page. A lot of my sweater knitting recently has been summer garments. The lightbulb started to come on. Try learning about fit with more forgiving fibers.
I think I need to buy more yarn.
Oh, yeah - back to what I'm learning in Ysolda's class. She suggests we use a DK weight wool or wool-blend yarn for our Blank Canvas sweater. It will be a while until we get to the actual sweater - but this week we are covering selecting yarn for a project. I went to the stash to see what I had in DK weight in potentially sweater quantity. I was shocked. Almost all of it was cotton or linen! Huh? That can't be right - I live in Wisconsin. More importantly, cotton and linen have no elasticity. They are difficult to knit and to get the fit right. I re-read some of my earlier posts and looked at my Ravelry project page. A lot of my sweater knitting recently has been summer garments. The lightbulb started to come on. Try learning about fit with more forgiving fibers.
I think I need to buy more yarn.
Am I ready to share?
Update: Over the weekend, I worked on Laura Nelkin's Crafsty class on knit shawls. I'm up to lesson #6. I had to cast on about four times, but I finally got it. Things were going swimmingly until Sunday afternoon when I got to section 4 and the star stitch. Got about halfway through the motif and I was short a stitch. Damn. I missed a yarn over somewhere. Thought I found it. Tinked back. Nope - that's not where it's missing. Couldn't figure out where I went wrong. Ripped back to my lifeline. Started the section again. Then, on the third row of lace, I was a stitch short. Found the missing yarn over. I unknit the purl row until I got to the spot and faked the yarn over by pulling up a loop from the row below. It looks a lot smaller than the other yarn overs, but I'm hoping blocking will help it out. Decided that my brain was done with lace for the weekend. Worked on Tungata while watching Argo. Decided that was mindless enough for the evening. I have one more round of the blasted ribbing left.
This week, Ysolda's Perfect Sweater class started. I've spent most of the morning reading the blog and introductions from all of the students. I'm really excited. The students are from all over the world, which I find very exciting. One of the things we can do is share our blogs with the other students. Am I ready to share this? It's on the World Wide Web - so it is already "out there" in public. But I don't think many people have found it. That's OK with me. I know a couple of my Ravelry friends have read some posts, but I know them. This is really putting myself out there. Also, I started this blog with the intent of sharing what I've learned about getting garments to fit. But, I haven't had a whole lot of success on that front since starting the blog - thus the sporadic posts. PLUS sharing a blog that is supposed to be about learning to get your knits to fit in a class about getting your knits to fit - highly appropriate but SCARY! If I share my blog, then I also need to make the commitment to post regularly AND post photos because a blog without photos is BO-RING! (She writes in a post with no photos). I will have to think about it.
This week, Ysolda's Perfect Sweater class started. I've spent most of the morning reading the blog and introductions from all of the students. I'm really excited. The students are from all over the world, which I find very exciting. One of the things we can do is share our blogs with the other students. Am I ready to share this? It's on the World Wide Web - so it is already "out there" in public. But I don't think many people have found it. That's OK with me. I know a couple of my Ravelry friends have read some posts, but I know them. This is really putting myself out there. Also, I started this blog with the intent of sharing what I've learned about getting garments to fit. But, I haven't had a whole lot of success on that front since starting the blog - thus the sporadic posts. PLUS sharing a blog that is supposed to be about learning to get your knits to fit in a class about getting your knits to fit - highly appropriate but SCARY! If I share my blog, then I also need to make the commitment to post regularly AND post photos because a blog without photos is BO-RING! (She writes in a post with no photos). I will have to think about it.
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