In which I learn some things

Lessons from knitting:
1. Negative ease can be my friend. Being 5'3" means even size small sweaters sometimes swamp me. (Alliteration is, apparently, also my friend.)
2. Short-row bust shaping is also my friend, even if it means putting a mauve stripe where I would just as soon not have a mauve stripe. (If I had to do it again, I'd start the short rows as soon as I took off the stitches for the sleeves and use two balls of yarn to avoid the giant mauve stripe.)
Pattern: Wicked (although I misplaced the pattern halfway through, hence the not-quite-matching sleeve widths that I need to redo)
Yarn: Patons Soy Wool Stripes in Natural Earth - about 770 yards (!)
Needles: US 7
3. Entrelac is a little bit like magic, especially with striping yarn.
Pattern: Quant
Yarn: a partial ball of Noro Silk Garden, color 226 (I think) that I got in a guild swap
Needles: US 5, because this pattern makes a pretty big headband

4. Yarn makes a great Christmas present; so do gift cards to purchase yarn.
From the top: 5 skeins of Malabrigo worsted in black, 5 skeins of Malabrigo worsted in apple green (thank you, Uncle D and Aunt S for the gift card!), 2 skeins of Plymouth Happy Feet in a red/brown multi that will be great for non-stockinette socks, 1 (of 2) skeins of Plymouth Happy Feet in a blue/green/red multi that is more muted than the colors suggest (thank you, Grandmother!)

5. If you give your sister a coupon for hand-knit socks for Christmas, she will pick out a) your favorite yarn from your stash, b) the lightest-weight (and therefore longest-to-knit) sock yarn, and c) a pattern prone to dropping stitches and yarn that, when dropped, will run approximately 1 inch per second. Oh well. It'll be an adventure. Fearless Knitting, right?
Yarn: Actual Size Creations in Rorschach
Pattern: Conwy, from Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road (at least I've made these before, so it's going pretty quickly)

Colors, colors, and more colors

In the knitting guild, we have swap meets twice a year. Last March, I got several balls of someone's handspun. It's going to be a striped scarf. I love how different brown yarns can be!

Here's a finished (-ish) object from the Malabrigo Magic Yarn Ball swap.
Pattern: A Touch of Whimsy scarf
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted, in Water Green (1 ball)
Needles: US 8. I used the Brittany needles Katy sent me, and they're lovely!
Cast on: 7/11/08
Cast off: 7/15/08
I really enjoyed this pattern. It's easy to memorize and interesting enough to keep your attention (which is a big deal for me!). The only problem? It's awfully short. So it might be frogged to make something else. The Malabrigo is too good to waste on a project I won't wear.

Here's a detail shot of the scarf. I love how there are cables and lace in it, but it's not too busy.

I also did some hand-dyeing this past week.

First, I made a giant skein. (Pardon the stuff on my dresser.)

I dyed it with egg dye in ~24 inch segments. It took about 15-20 minutes for the color to set in the microwave.

Here it is drying in my bathtub.

And here it is, all wound up and ready to go!

Is it just me, or do patterned socks get knit way faster than plain stockinette ones? It seemed like it only took a couple hours to do the whole patterned leg.
Yarn: Lang Yarns Jawoll Color Aktion, in the ever-so-poetic colorway 132.0188
Pattern: Spring Forward
Needles: US 1
Cast on: 7/21/08 (I think - it's been sitting around in my bag languishing in 1x1 ribbing for a while)

And now, a Basil update - remember this little guy? Look how big he is now! He spent the night at our house earlier this week. Aside from a couple of accidents, he did really well. (I think my brother feeds him sulfur bricks, though. Phew!)

Malabrigo madness

I have two Malabrigo FO's to show you!

Up first, we have a Coronet from Knitty.com in Peach Tree, with some variations - fewer cable repeats, more stitches picked up for the hat itself, and no flipped-up cable band.

This was a super-quick project - less than 24 hours from start to finish.

When I was at the Gourmet Yarn Company last week, I got a ball of Malabrigo Worsted in Noviembre. It's a mixture of dark green, rose, orange, and brown. The rose was so pretty in the skein, but as I said before, pink and I don't play nicely together. But one of my friends is moving to a colder state in a few weeks, and she loves dark rose.

I used a very interesting stitch for this scarf. It's called the Linen stitch. Every other stitch is slipped with the yarn on the "wrong" side - in front for the knit rows, in the back for the purl rows. The result is a dense but still draping fabric that DOES NOT CURL (woohoo!). Since each stitch is slipped once, you need larger needles than the ball band suggests (I used size 10 needles with Malabrigo Worsted). I love how the slipped stitches break up the color repeats. Another interesting aspect of this stitch is that the knit side is almost completely flat, like woven fabric, while the purl side has raised bumps.

New yarn and furry friends

One of the benefits of Ravelry is that you can trade out yarn that you're tired of looking at. I had some Schaeffer Anne in a bright yellow-green and Schaeffer Miss Priss in a variegated yellow, blue, and green - both lovely yarns, but my inspiration was waning with both. So I swapped them for some lovely Malabrigo. I received two skeins of Oceanos and one of Peach Tree. Oceanos is a variegated blue, from darkest navy to palest sky, and Peach Tree is a mix of warm peach with olive green.








Yesterday, we had a family reunion for my maternal grandfather's side. (And before you ask, no, these are not my family members!) Family reunions are usually almost as exciting as renewing your driver's license, but one of my cousins-several-times-removed) had a spectacular idea. She brought gumdrops and spaghetti, and the kids could build towers. So of course, "the cousins" (me, my brother, my two cousins, and one cousin's boyfriend) had to get in on the fun! (And for the record, my 19-year-old brother was the youngest of the bunch.) One of my cousins is an engineer, so her tower made it to almost four feet tall. My other cousin and brother made a fortress-thing, complete with gumdrop people furnished by yours truly. My cousin's boyfriend's tower wound up looking an awful lot like Barad Dur from Lord of the Rings. I think this may become a family tradition!

After the reunion, we went back to my grandmother's house. She has a small farm, complete with Eight-Ball the Llama, Magnum and Elvira the miniature donkeys, chickens, and peacocks. Eight-Ball looks a bit intimidating, but he's such a marshmallow. He loves to lie out in the sun on his back on hot days. The first time my granddad saw him out there with his legs sticking straight up and his neck turned back, he was sure he had a dead llama. Llamas can be such drama queens.

Magnum and Elvira are my buddies. They're getting up there - I think Elvira is at least 23 years old! - but they're so sweet. The old proverb about donkeys being stubborn is mostly true. There are only two things these two will move for - sweet feed and petting. Give them a few scratches behind the ears, and they'll follow you anywhere. Magnum especially loves hugs.



As I was cleaning my closet (yikes!) the other day, I found a partial ball of wool left over from my Tangled Yoke Cardigan. So I made a little headband from it. It's very easy.

CO 3 sts on a circular or double-pointed needle. Work in I-cord for about 6-7 inches. (You want it to be long enough to tie behind your head.)
Start working in garter stitch; k1, kf&b, k to end; repeat until you have 12 stitches.
Start cable pattern:
Row 1: k2, p1, k6, p1, k2.
Row 2: k3, p6, k3.
Repeat rows 1 & 2 twice more.
Row 7: k2, p1, c3b, p1, k2
Row 8: k3, p6, k3
Repeat until cable section reaches across your head from ear to ear. (Cable pattern is VERY stretchy.)
Start garter stitch end: k1, ssk, k to end; repeat until you have 3 stitches.
Work 3-stitch I-cord to the same length as the first I-cord. Bind off and weave in ends.

Day off

I'm taking today off. Due to some contamination problems with our cells, I have absolutely nothing to do in the lab today, and I have a 35 mile round-trip commute (which is almost 1 1/2 gallons of gas). I told my coworkers to call me if they needed me at all. I have a ton and a half of stuff to do around the house.

So why do I feel so guilty for not working?! Maybe my conscience is hyperactive.

I do have pictures to show you, though.

Here's Juliet!
Good: incredibly yummy yarn (Malabrigo Worsted in Tiger Lily), easy but interesting pattern, pretty design
Bad: can't decide what to do regarding buttons on the bodice, can't wear it until it cools down quite significantly

I've also started Emerald from Knitty in some recycled wool from Greece! It's still got the lanolin in it, which unfortunately doesn't agree with my hands. The bulky yarn works up wonderfully quickly. I cast on last Thursday on size 10 needles (for once, I got gauge with the suggested needles!), and all I have to do now is the shawl collar and ribbing. I think I'll do a belt instead of the button.

We've also got some new visitors out back.

Yes, that's a male pheasant, a female turkey, and two ducks. According to our bird books, pheasants don't get this far south. I beg to differ. Not sure where the ducks came from, since we don't have a pond or anything. The four of them like to hang out in the field behind our house. Last year, we had a pair of turkeys with a baby!

Still not done with the CDR.

But I'm making progress! I only have a little over one diamond repeat left on the right sleeve. One thing I've figured out, though - next time I do a top-down sweater, I'll do the sleeves before the body. These sleeves are taking so long!

I've got two Mmmmmalabrigo projects on the needles at the moment - a Mistake Rib scarf in worsted Azul Bolito...













...and a Swallowtail Shawl - my first "real" lace project! - in laceweight Tuareg.









Oh, and I got an email from WEBS about my (first!) order. They ran out of the chocolate brown Silky Wool, so I got some Araucania Nature Wool in a buttery yellow instead. I've been craving a soft yellow sweater.

I used my last two Amazon.com gift cards to get two books I've been eying - Victorian Lace Today and Fitted Knits. They should be arriving next week! So should my other major book purchase...*gulp* Not sure what I was thinking when I signed up for this class.