The Knitting o' the Green

Happy St. Patricks Day to one and all!


In other news, I finished my first pair of Monkeys at the guild meeting yesterday.
Sockotta isn't my favorite yarn. The cotton makes a very rough, hard sock that stretches out easily. But I got it for Christmas this year...and last year...maybe I need to drop hints that there's better stuff out there!

You know how sometimes a yarn just tells you what it should be?
Well, this one certainly did.

And who am I to question the yarn?

How to keep an eleven-year-old occupied

The little girl my sister tutors was at our house on Saturday with not much to do. The solution? Give her some recycled cream-colored wool, Kool-Aid, and egg dye.

This is the colorway that Bianka picked out. It's purple egg dye, pink egg dye, and cherry Koolaid-knockoff. The purple separated a bit, but the pink and red turned out well.

So now I have a big ball of girly-colored wool. I'll be making hats or scarves for Bianka and her sister.

This is the colorway I picked out. It's supposed to be dark blues and greens. I mixed blue and green Wilton's food color paste with Wilton's black color paste...and discovered that either the black was just ultra-concentrated red, or vinegar changed the color.

It took soooo long to get all the wool dyed on this one. I had it packed in too tightly, and when I poured on the dye, it stuck to the closest wool and wouldn't budge. Every time I thought it was done, I'd pull a bit out and find huge white blobs. I had high hopes for this colorway ("Mess"), but you can't even see any blue on it!

A woolly day

Today was the type of day that is positively perfect for wool. It started with a thunderstorm and was snowing by the time I was on the road. So I'm wearing my Hourglass Sweater, some socks from Lion Brand Magic Stripes, and earlier I also wore my Lunch Break Hat, Dreamswatch scarf, and Fetchings. It's such a joy to be able to keep others (and yourself!) warm with things you make from waving around string and sticks.

Good news on the Tangled Yoke Cardigan! I sent it through the washing machine, and it's back to its intended size. Machine washing the Silky Wool also gives the fabric a velvety texture. It's a good thing, too, because I really did not want to frog that sweater.

My goal this year is to knit six sweaters. I've got two-ish down, but now I'm having a hard time deciding what to knit next. For a while, I've been adoring Eustice from Berroco, but I have just barely not-enough sportweight wool for it.

A pretty and an (intentional!) ugly

I've been in a race with myself to see how fast I could make this. (That, and the book's due back at the library.)

Pattern: Shetland Triangle from Wrap Style
Yarn: Sportweight/DK-ish cashmere from a thrift store sweater (color's most accurate in the closeup)
Needles: US 8
Cast on: 2-21-08
Cast off: 3-1-08
Blocked: 3-2-08
Modifications: I did an extra repeat (or maybe two) of the main fir cone pattern to make it bigger.

Lace on big-ish needles goes SO fast! It also had the benefit of being a very easy-to-memorize lace pattern. This was also the first time I've worked with cashmere. It's soft, but somehow it didn't feel as elastic as wool. When wet, it also smells just like wool.

And for the ugly: remember the Frankencloth? Here it is in all its completed, misshapen glory.
This was a fun project - it's just a bag of dishcloth cotton odds & ends amalgamated into a...thing.

I worked on my second Monkey sock yesterday on the way up to Tulsa. My grandmother has an acreage south of Jenks, and we went up to clear branches out of the tractor lanes. The weather was, simply, perfect. We came home filthy, scratched up, sunburned (especially me - the joys of an Irish complexion!), and exhausted, but all in all, it was a very good day. I got to hang out with my buddies Magnum and Elvira, the miniature donkeys, and Eight-Ball, the slightly deranged llama. (Totally forgot my camera yesterday. Rats.)

Lesson of the week

I learned something very important this weekend.

WASH YOUR SWATCHES.

After a gentle soak in hot water with wool wash, my Tangled Yoke Cardigan is now gigantically huge. Machine washing and drying are in its future to help it regain its slightly fitted shape, but I'm wearing it right now, and it's ginormous. It's not even baggy-sweater comfy. If machine washing and drying it doesn't fix it, it'll be taking a trip to the frog pond, I fear.

About the Hourglass Sweater - it's done, it's comfy, it's been worn once, and it's been washed, and it's still the same size. I like it quite a bit.

More writing and pictures later when I'm not tired and crabby about amazing growing sweaters.

Can I call it done yet?

So, I've been knitting a sweater. It's almost done.Pattern: Hourglass Pullover from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts
Size: I used the numbers from the 37" size, but my gauge was a bit smaller and I liked the resulting fabric, so according to my math, it should be 35" at the bust.
Yarn: Araucania Nature Wool
Color: Apricot (That's the official colorway name, and it sounds better than what I've been calling it - Harvest Gold.)
Needles: US 6
Cast on: 2-4-08
Modifications: longer sleeves, short rows in bust (see below) and back of neck. If I were to knit it again (a distinct possibility!), I'd provisionally cast on and knit the hem facings in a contrasting color, then knit the hem together before continuing on. Now I have to go back and sew them all up.
It has sloppy bust darts. (Hopefully blocking will fix this.)

And this is where I stopped on Monday - ONE ROW LEFT when I ran out of that ball of yarn. Seriously. But I do have two more balls, so it's okay. I just wound up one, so I may have a finished sweater by the end of the night! I really hated to break into a ball for a few yards of yarn. I almost just scrounged up the little ties that held the skeins together, but that would mean more ends to weave in. Silly, I know.

I also started a shawl from this recycled cashmere. Originally, I used the "Handsome Triangle" from Victorian Lace Today, but the pattern just wasn't a good fit with the yarn. Tonight, I'll try it with the Shetland Triangle from Wrap Style. Orange has never been one of my favorites, but somehow the tangerine color just looks so refreshing after all the brown grass, brown trees, and grey skies we've seen lately.

Yellow

Button, button, who's got the button?

I've got the button! Nine of them, actually.

Pattern: Tangled Yoke Cardigan, from Fall 2007 Interweave Knits
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, color #41 (light yellow, although it looks straw-colored to me), 6.25 skeins
Needles: US 3, 2, and 0
Cast on: 10-5-07
Cast off: 1-27-08
Buttons sewn on: 2-1-08

The sleeves are a little longer than they're supposed to be. This is because I modified (messed up on) the sleeve increases. I saw on Ravelry (hint hint Beverly!) that the sleeves tend to be rather large, so I didn't increase as fast as the pattern states. Okay, to be completely honest, I was being stupid and not reading the pattern thoroughly. But I like how they turned out. I prefer my sweaters to have slightly longer sleeves.

I also made the body of the sweater a bit longer than the pattern calls for. I could have made it quite a bit longer still, since I have 2.75 skeins left!

Also, I knit the buttonholes a row early. This made the buttonholes harder than they should have been. (They really weren't that hard, though.)

But this is definitely my favorite FO so far!

Lunch Break Hat (and rambles)

I made a hat today.

I like it.

Lunch Break Hat

Yarn: Superbulky wool - I'm going to say about 120 yards. I'm not really sure. This was wool I frogged from a thrift store sweater, and I used about 3/4 of a sleeve.
Needles: US 10 (UK 4 - because that's what I happened to have in my bag)
Gauge: 10 stitches/4 inches in stockinette stitch knitted flat (but as long as the k2p2 ribbing pulls in to your liking, anything goes)

CO 44 stitches; work in k2p2 rib until you have as much as you want.
*K1, k1f&b* to end - 66 stitches.
Work in stockinette stitch until piece measures about 8 inches long from cast-on edge.
K2tog across - 33 stitches.
P1, then p2tog across - 17 stitches.
Cut about a yard of yarn, thread through the remaining stitches, and sew seam. This could easily be modified to knit in the round (and thus avoid seaming, which I would have done, had I brought appropriately-sized circular or double-pointed needles to work today!).

I wore my Cable-Down Raglan to work today. It's nice and warm without being scratchy. The verdict's still out on the sleeve length, though - when my arms are at my sides, they're about two inches above my wrist, but if I raise my arms, they retreat to about 3/4 length. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I definitely should have divided for the sleeves earlier, as the shoulder-to-clavicle region is rather baggy. When I raise my arms, my upper torso looks like a hexagon, and while teaching geometry is important, that's not what I'm attempting here.

The Tangled Yoke Cardigan is, sadly, still buttonless. I've made several attempts at finding buttons, but the right ones just haven't been discovered yet. If the roads weren't a skating rink tonight, I'd try a few more places - maybe tomorrow? It needs 9 ~5/8" buttons, and I'm thinking either a pewter or a light shell button would be pretty. We'll see.

A few things

1. The Tangled Yoke Cardigan is finished. Sort of. It's buttonless at the moment. I'll have more details and photos when I sew on the buttons (hopefully Friday - my weeknights have suddenly gone nuts on me).

2. I have NO WIP's at the moment. This is a first for me. It's kind of weird. There are loads of things I want to do next, but I just haven't cast on for any yet. Admittedly, I do have two socks that need their mates, but...I just can't seem to get motivated to finish those.

3. My goal this year is to knit six sweaters. We'll see how that goes. I think I'll count the Tangled Yoke Cardi as one - or is that cheating?

4. I got Season 3 of Doctor Who on DVD. What does this have to do with knitting? Absolutely nothing. (Although there's a character who's shown knitting for a split second in one episode.) Great show, though.

Have I mentioned that I love knitting?

I've been working on the Tangled Yoke Cardigan almost nonstop since Christmas. I finally figured out how to do two sleeves at once on one circular needle - yay! - and I joined the sleeves to the body of the cardigan last Friday. Yes, that's about 17 days on the sleeves, and here's how I did it:

1. There was very little to do over Christmas Break besides eat, drink tea, and knitting. Which one doesn't make you gain weight or give you caffeine jitters? Yup.
2. The Thursday after I went back to work, I had to take my car in to the shop, because when they replaced the timing belt ($$), it had gotten off a notch/cog/doohickey, making the car shake. Thankfully, I'd grabbed my knitting bag on my way out the door, because three hours later, the mechanic told me that the repair would probably take all day. But at least I had been knitting through those three hours! I got a good six inches of the sleeves done that day. (Plus, they gave me free spark plugs, and I wasn't charged for the repair!) That day was "I knit so I do not kill people" day.
3. Knit-In at the Gourmet Yarn Company - four hours of knitting time! Stockinette is great for Knit-Ins.

I messed up a bit on the sleeve shaping, so the sleeves are a bit longer and narrower than the pattern says, but several people on Ravelry said the sleeves tend to run a bit large in this pattern.

Oh, and FYI to Oklahoma residents and visitors: admission to the OKC Zoo is free on Mondays and Tuesdays in January and February! It's recently undergone some renovations, so if you haven't been to the Zoo lately, this is a great time to go. There's a new Oklahoma Trails exhibit with animals found in the state - including a large room with bats flying around. We went on New Year's Eve Day, and aren't these little foxes the cutest?

A wooly week

I have to say, there are definite perks to my otherwise mind-numbingly boring job - like not having to work from December 21st to January 2nd. Most of that time was spent in Tulsa with my mom's side of the family. But I did take a day to go thrift shopping (my favorite kind, aside from yarn shopping!).

A huge Shetland tweed sweater - I'd call this DK to light worsted. And there is a TON of it. According to the label, it's a size small. Yeah, for a small Hagrid. Notice the iPod* for size reference.

This is my favorite! It's the softest, springiest 100% wool I've ever unraveled. And the manufacturers were kind enough to tell me that this is "worsted wool." Thank you, manufacturers!


This was maybe not so bright of a purchase. I bought it based solely on the colors. When I got home, I did find the fiber content on a tag inside the shoulder seam (how uncomfortable would that be!). It's 50% wool, 50% acrylic, and unfortunately, it has serged seams. I think, though, that the seams aren't actually cut. (At least, I hope so.) The yarn is so pretty in that variegated stripe! I know I can unravel the body from the underarms down.

These, believe it or not, are two different sweaters! They're the same brand and same color, but one's a medium and the other's a small. Both are super-soft one-ply 100% lambswool. I don't care for the color, but can we say overdyeing?



Here's a 100% silk sweater with a twist - it's knitted from ribbon-like strands of torn silk fabric. I started unraveling this one...then I found deodorant on the underarm. GROSS! So this needs a serious wash before I mess with it any more.


This sweater is rust-colored 100% silk. It unraveled beautifully, and it's about a sportweight/DK.


Here's another 100% wool sweater - this is a sportweight/DK lambswool. It's a pretty tan with white, brown, and almost black nubbins. Again, notice how huge it is!


No, this isn't a sweater. This is a velveteen coverlet I found for my bed! I'm determined not to let it become like my other blanket...


...completely covered in dog hair. Nearly everything I own is completely covered in dog hair - that's the price you pay for having a dog that sheds year-round. But Tucker's so cute that it's hard to kick him off the bed.


Last Saturday was the Gourmet Yarn Company's end-of-the-year sale, and I picked up some Cashwool and Jojoland Harmony - both lace yarns I've been wanting for a while. That's almost 2 miles of wool, by the way. Now that I've done a lace shawl, I want to make something bigger! I've been looking through my copy of Victorian Lace Today, and it's both exciting and overwhelming. The knitted-on borders look a bit daunting, but I think I'll just have to plow through one.

*I love my iPod and librivox.org! So far, I've put the entire New Testament, seven or eight good-sized audio books, thirty or so hours of podcasts, and my entire music collection on it, and it's only about 10% full.

The internet has returned!

I has teh interwebz!!!1!

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas! I spent Christmas south of Tulsa, as usual, with my mom's side of the family. We ate (too much!), drank (lots of tea, especially Pomegranate Oolong), and were very merry. I learned a new game (Fluxx), opened lots of great presents (including a lovely sampler embroidered by my grandmother), and ate way too much homemade eggnog candy - did I mention that?

I also knitted a sock...well, actually, the second of the Embossed Leaf Socks for my mom's birthday...

...and worked on my Tangled Yoke Cardigan. These are the sleeves so far; they're both on one size 3 40" Addi Turbo. That was a challenge to get going! I wish the circular needle was just a few inches longer so it would be easier to handle.

And look at the yarny goodness that Santa (aka Grandmother and Dear Aunt & Uncle) left me under the Christmas tree!

Plymouth Sockotta - I think this colorway would be perfect for Pomotamus, don't you?

And this lovely skein is Tempted, a sock yarn from a shop in Tulsa. Here's an up-close look at the lovely colors in the Fiesta colorway.

Speaking of the shop in Tulsa, they were having a big sale on the 26th. So I dragged my patient and obliging Mom (there's a reason she's getting knitted socks for her birthday next month!) down to the store. Here's what I got:












That's right. Nothing. Although I can say that I have seen the new Noro sock yarn. I wasn't impressed with it, to be honest. It feels like baling twine. I can't imagine having it on my feet. I was looking for something that I couldn't get in OKC, but I really didn't see anything that I wanted. GYC has much better prices, even counting the Tulsa shop's 25% off.

Merry Christmas!

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Thank you Panera!!!

Well, possibly as a result of the ice storm that hit my state last week, we haven't had internet at my house for almost a week. So I'm here in Panera Bread taking advantage of their WiFi. Thank you, Panera!

Anyways, I got some lovely yarn in a swap from Sanibelle on the KH forums yesterday! Two skeins of Malabrigo and one of Schaefer Miss Priss!

I'm thinking about the Retro Redux Shrug for the Malabrigo - wouldn't that be cozy? And some sort of hat, scarf, or mitts from the Miss Priss would be fun.

Two things to be proud of

So, I cast off on the Swallowtail Shawl for my grandmother on December 3. Here's what it looked like:

It's about two feet wide by 15 inches deep here - if you stretch it. Kinda dinky, honestly. Some serious blocking is needed for this puppy.


It needed a bath with some Soak wash - I got a sample in the Aquae scent at the Gourmet Yarn Company a while back. I used about 7 drops/dribbles in a sink of tepid water. (This stuff smells great, by the way!) So I VERY GENTLY pressed it into the wash - since the Malabrigo laceweight is a single ply, it's very prone to fuzzing and *gasp* felting.


After 15 minutes of leaving it alone (yes, I had to set the kitchen timer), I VERY GENTLY (seeing a trend here?) lifted it out of the water, pulled the plug, and let it drain into the sink.


I VERY GENTLY spread it out onto a bath towel, then VERY GENTLY rolled it up and pressed on it to squeeze out some of the excess water. (After all, I was blocking it on my sister's bed. She doesn't know about this, so please don't tell her. It wasn't that wet, anyways.) See how big it's grown already?


Then I put a towel on my sister's bed (she has a queen size bed and I have a twin, okay?) and VERY GENTLY pinned out the scallops. It should be dry by morning!



And this is how much yarn you have left from one skein of Malabrigo Laceweight minus one Swallowtail Shawl. (Plus, I have another skein in the stash - maybe I'll try one of the patterns from Victorian Lace Today next.)

And the other thing to be proud of - I survived Biochemistry! It's OVER!!!

Good news and bad news

Bad news: Because of the ice storm, I don't finish Biochemistry until Thursday.
Good news: Because of the ice storm, I don't have to take my Biochemistry final until Thursday!!!!!!

Good news: I finished my grandmother's Swallowtail Shawl, and it's simply lovely (although not yet blocked).
Bad news: My camera's batteries are dead and there isn't a single AA in the house. (Pitiful, ain't it?)

Good news: Our campus is closed tomorrow, so I get a snow day to knit and bake cookies and wrap Christmas presents and do fun stuff! (oh, and study my behind off)
Bad news: Um...thinking...nope.

And this week's Blogstalker - excuse me, last week's Blogstalker topic - is/was Your Favorite Invention of the 20th Century. Here's one of mine that came to mind this past week.

Clarification: DNA was not invented in the 20th century, I know. But its structure was elucidated in 1953 through the combined efforts of James Watson, Frances Crick, and Rosalind Franklin (and probably a bunch of research techs like me!). Not only is it the source of my job, it's just so elegant - four "letters" combine to make a girl, giraffe, or goat. How cool is that?!

I'm back!

Things I'm thankful for

My Redeemer - "How deep the Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure, that He should give His only Son to make a wretch His treasure."

My family - Dad, the protector and geek after my own heart; Mom, the nurturer and teacher; Dear Sister, the smacker-down of mouthy 7th graders; and Dear Brother, the comedian extraordinaire. Not many people my age can say that their parents are still married to each other - thanks, Mom and Dad.

The men and women of our military, past and present, including my Granddad, my Dad, and my cousin - they have defended our country's freedom and kept us safe.

My grandmother, who taught me how to knit - it didn't "take" the first time, but her patient lessons stuck with me until my mind was ready to handle sl1 k2tog psso.

The many friends I've made through knitting - the first time I heard someone talking about double pointed needles (besides saying "Oh, I could never do that"), I felt like I'd come home.

The END of Biochemistry - currently 3 days, 13 hours, 28 minutes, and 45 seconds away, after which I should be able to post more regularly!