Help me decide

My next goal is to finish my Rhinebeck sweater.  I only have the neckband and button bands to go!  I do need help deciding what to work on after that though.  I am torn between starting  the third shawl in the Seven songs series - Stravinsky
or starting a tablecloth for my Mom.

The Shawl pros:

1. Portable!  I need another portable project
2. makes me caught up to the release of the pattens.  I love feeling "on schedule"
3. uses wool.  easy on the hands, and I have the perfect colorway

The shawl cons:

1. requires a chart, so it is not EMINENTLY portable, like a sock
2. feeds into my weird need to always be "caught up" or "even".  Do I need to reinforce this weirdness in myself?
3. I have no intended use for this yet.  It will most likely be a gift, but I don't need to get it done right now

The tablecloth pros:

1. My mom specifically asked for one, so I know she will like it.  It won't be wasted effort.
2. there is a sense of accomplishment in finishing a tablecloth.  It is a knitting bucket list item for me.
3. it will be small for a while, filling the portable project gap for a little, then can become a stay home project after the sweater is complete.

Tablecloth cons:

1. cotton yarn is tiresome to work with.  But, this is true of starting this project at any time.
2. i haven't really picked a pattern yet.  The one i really WANT to do is in German.  That seems like quite the undertaking.  I have back up patterns, but am on the fence.
3. when it is finished I'll need to build a frame to starch and block it.  again, I'll have to do this whenever I make the cloth, I just feel like i should figure it out before I start, you know?

so.... opinions?

Early morning, sun comes out....

Evad and I are fans of free things, and when a free multi-stage music festival comes around, who are we to pass it up?  Sadly for us, the Scorpions were playing at the same time as another band that our friends wanted to see. 


Turns out the band our friends wanted to see was crappy, and Evad and I spent the whole time saying "play Rock You like a Hurricane!!!" while giggling madly, and eating all the snacks.  We wanted to be anywhere but there, and the Scorpions were teasing us. After the suck band was over we got to see James Brown.  That was cool.  I was his birthday.
Even though I did not get rocked like a proverbial hurricane that day, I can now say I have been.  Evad and I are fine - we even managed to keep power!  There is lots of flooding and damage, but we are safe. 

Rain, Rain, Go Away.

...and don't bother coming back another day, either.  Damn you.  You can come back at night, so we don't have a drought, but leave my last days of summer the hell alone.
Eh hem. 
Days like these are perfect for knitting.  A nice cup of tea, a cozy sweater on your lap, and a kitty nearby.  Ahh.  Too bad I'm suck at stupid work.  My sweater has no love for me either.  The bastard is mocking me from the car!
"You know you want to get me.  You can just drape me over your lap to keep warm.  Maybe a row or two while you wait for Quicken to update.  You are SO cold Costumechick!"
My sweater is mean. 
The shawl I'm working on is just as mean, but slightly less enticing.  It is much smaller than my Rhinebeck sweater, and therefore has less overall snuggle factor.  Still, it would be way more fun than working on loading crap into Quicken....

Seriously more fun.

earthquake!

WTH Virginia?!  Keep your shakey shakes to yourself!  New Haven got a good roll this afternoon from the Richmond 5.8 earthquake.  I've experienced quite a few types of natural disasters before, but this was my first apparent earthquake.  Crazy!  I tell you!
At first I thought I was getting sick. 
Then I thought the building was being buffeted by high winds, or the train station building project was doing some intense pile driving. 
After that, I looked out the window and saw the world moving opposite the direction I was. 
Then I heard the creaking of all the windows behind me. 
Finaly, I ran out of the building.  The entire staff was standing there looking at each other and saying "What the fuck just happened?"
Turns out it was an earthquake.
Sadly, though, Evad missed it. 

Train knitting FTW

I really do like when I have to go into NYC for a meeting.  Train knitting time is awesome.  Frankly, getting paid to knit is one of the only good parts of heading to the city for work, especially if it is a shopping day. Feeling like a  pack mule is totally not awesome.

Not much time to knit

Along with being back at my regular job, I am helping a draper* friend do some stitching. It has filled most of my nights and weekends for the last two weeks. Sadly, this means little knitting time. Happily it means extra $$ - which is good with Rhinebeck quickly approaching! About all I can muster when I get home, at 11pm, is about three rows on the yoke of my "Rhinebeck 11" sweater, or one hexipuff. In case you are a non-knitter, or a knitter living under a rock, these are hexipuffs:

Cute, right?! The hexipuffs are part of a long term project that will one day be a blanket. I'm calling mine "Hexi-Puff the Magic Blanket", but the designer calls it "the Bee Keeper's Quilt". The little things arefun to make, and take just the amount of awake-ness I have left in me when I get home at night. I also feel they will be an excellent tech project!

*draper - the person in a theatrical costume shop that creates a pattern for a garment based on the drawings of the designer.

Spinning... I do that now!

Last Christmas my Mom and Dad shocked the hell out of me and got me an Ashford Kiwi! (that is a spinning wheel, fyi) I am getting better each time I give it go! My lastest yarn looks like cotton candy, and is almost as fluffy. I hope WifeMomKniiter is s happy with it as I am, cause this one is for her!

I didn't run out of yarn!

it was close, but not as close as it has been before...
and definitely not the typical costumechick project that comes up short three rows from the end. Now, to block!

Gary

One ofmy two current projectsis this shawl. "Debussey", after the composer. It is part of a 7 shawl series based on songs. Sadly, I couldn't remember the proper name, and kept caalling it " something like 'Busey'." so, I named my green sparkle version after Gary Busey and his crazy eye.

lets call it a reboot

I think I stopped blogging almost a year ago because it was too much work to think of interesting things to say. The pressure of needing to update, and do it at length was too much.

Then, this summer I intended to pick up the blog again, in a new format. Well, here it is August, and I am just getting to it. I forgot my password... it's a long story.

So, from now on I am posting in a shorter format, and leaving off the details of Finished Objects. If you want the gritties, join Ravelry. Also, I plan to post more about life in general, and not just knitting.

Here we go!

It has been a hectic summer. I've traveled, went to a wedding, designed a show, and cleaned my house - which was no small feat. But, even with all that, I managed to do a little beach going.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Beach and knitting. If only my life could be like this all the time.

Summer Knitting Round Up (Part 2)

Shawls weren't all I knit this summer... I also did some sweater damage! I finished a sweater that I have been working on since... um... February.

Name: All purpose sweater

Pattern: Fresco Lace Bodice Cardigan

Yarn:Classic Elite classic 150

Needles: knit picks options 3,4,and 5

Notes: Dude. I cabled. You know I HAD to have a sweater if I was willing to CABLE for it. I also bought yarn SPECIFICALLY for it. This adds up to some serious love on my part.

The sleeves are a little long - which is crazy with my monkey arms. They aren't long enough for it to bother me, but it is odd for anything to be long on my arms. Long story short, the cables were totally worth it, and so was begging yarn off people on ravelry to finish it, since I ran out of yarn. I plan to wear it all the time this winter!

I also knit a tank top this summer:

Name: Red Raspberry Swirl

Pattern: Orange Smoothie

Yarn: Ella Rae Bamboo Silk

Needles: Inox size 5

Notes: I started this as a companion project for my "Thursday Night New Haven SnB Chuck Norris Shawl a Long" Shawl. It also happens to be from my book list. It is a fun little pattern, and it easily adaptable to fit a range of shapes and curves. The most challenging part is figuring out what changes you, personally, need to make.

When it was all said and done, I did two sets of short rows at the bust, and made the straps to inches shorter. I also single crocheted the center back cast off, since the pattern didn't call for any kind of finishing, and it wanted to roll like whoa. I wore it a few times, I like wearing it, but the yarn pills up pretty quickly. I'm still happy with it though!

p.s. the saggy boob thing is because my dress form isn't nearly as endowed as I am in the boobage department.

Then, just when you thought I'd be sweatered out, I started another one!

It is based off of a 1910's pattern. I call it "Rose Ate My Sweater". It is currently my "in the dark" project.

and a pair of socks:

Which I decided to knit upside down and without enough yarn. (eyeroll)

Lastly, I made a little cute baby hat.

Aww.

I have to admit, I didn't feel like I was knitting much this summer, but I guess I was wrong!

Summer knitting round up! (part 1)

Part one is all about shawls! I managed to start and complete 5 shawls since the beginning of June. 5!

Homage to Ricky

Lava is Hot, Hot, Hot

Merope in Green

Maia
The latest one is "Frank's Lucky Mom":

Pattern: #10 Beaded Shawl from Vogue Knitting, Holiday 2008
Yarn: JaggerSpun Zephyr in "cinnibar"
Needles: Knitpicks Options, size 4
Notes: My friend, Frank, asked me to knit a shawl for his Mom, for her birthday. She has been lusting after them in the Long Wharf Theatre Gala Silent Auction for several years, but has managed to get outbid each time. (good for the theatre, but bad for her) I talked with him about what he was looking for, what she would like.. you know, like you do. We decided that shiny is good, color is good and not pastel. Right. I don't think that Frank understood how open-ended this project still remained. I sat down in front of the yarn wall with my laptop, and cruised ravelry and my books searching for the perfect pattern. I know Frank's Mom pretty well, and she is not a "flowery" or "geometric" person. She is an exotic person. I was looking for something that felt Spanish, Indian... maybe Moroccan. I knew I wanted beads - or at least charted and easy to add beads. I came up with three top contenders, and after much deliberation, decided on the Vogue shawl based on sheer awesomeness.

It is, for all intents and purposes, a half circle. BUT, it is also squared off. whaaaaaAH? You see, my dear readers, it is three triangle sections, making it a half of a hexagon. It fits like a half circle shawl, AND is squared off at each triangle. This happens because you are increasing on the two center spines and the two outer edges, instead of evenly across on the "pi" rows like you do in a half circle shawl. Maths are good...

Anyway, it is a unique shape, and the motif feels exotic and non-leafy, and it is beaded. Oh boy, is it ever! Literally a bazillion beads. The beading was totally worth it though. It looks so nice. I am proud to hand this over to Frank for his Mom. He is going to get the "best birthday gift" award, if I do say so myself.

The pattern was confusing at first, since the edging is odd... but once I tried it, we were golden. I like that the beads are denser toward the end, making the bottom edging heavier. The half hexagon is awesome, too. It stays on the shoulders without a pin, and is long enough to wrap up and over the shoulder if desired. As a woman with a sizable butt, I appreciate the lack of "arrow at my butt" on this shape shawl, as well. (What woman wouldn't like that aspect?)
All in all, I am very happy with it, and I hope Frank and his Mom are too!
So, I evidently had an ass-ton of knitting time this summer, because part two is just as packed!

Nothing interesting to show you.

I am at the stage in project-land where I have nothing to show for hours and hours of work. I've been slamming through some seaming, and some plain boring knitting, as well as the 7 repeats of the body of the Shawl for Frank's Mom. None which make good pictures, frankly.
I am excited to start the edging of the shawl tonight! It means more interesting pictures for you, and new and exciting knitting for me. I counted last night, and I need 408 beads for the edging. I might need to go shopping for more. I'm going to be really, REALLY close.
I did do one interesting thing today. I made this:

It is a special surprise for Evad. I have no idea if it will be good, since I've never made it before. I'm just trusting Betty that she knows how to make lemon squares.

Frankie's Mom gets lucky

Last Friday, my friend Frank asked me to make a shawl for his Mom. Evidently, she has been a fan of my knitted lace pieces for a long time, and had planned on bidding on my shawl entry in the silent auction for the theatre. I guess she was disappointed that I didn't have a shawl in the auction this year, and Frankie decided to commission a piece for her for her birthday. Such a good son! This is the progress so far!

It's "what's on my lap" tuesday!

the dahlia sweater is back! I might have solved the issue that lead to it's hiatus. We shall see...

Maia - a cautionary tale

Last week I completed my 6th shawl for 2010, Maia.

Name: Maia

Pattern: Maia by Rosemary Hill

Yarn: Schaefer Anne in an unknown colorway

Needles: Knitpicks Options, sz 4

Notes: This shawlette is named after Maia, the eldest of the Pleiades, and mother of Hermes. She lived on a mountain top, surrounded by trees and nature - which is why I chose the colorway that I did. The combination of greens, blues, and browns remind me of a sitting at Mycenae, looking out at the surrounding countryside. In Ancient Rome, the month of May was named after Maia, and she was known as the goddess of spring and beauty. I think this design is a great homage to Maia, and will be a great gift this holiday!

The most complicated part of this shawl is the cast on. It starts with a provisional cast on, and has beads, lace and edging all in one fell swoop! then you do it again the other direction, and start in right away on the body of the shawl with tons of lace and beads! All the beads and lace aside, the start is actually very similar to the start of a top down triangle shawl. You knit a rectangle, then pick up along the long edge and short edge and start the body. Honestly, once you get past this little fiddly bit, it is all very straight forward.

It was fun to get back to knitting with beads. Even though it can break my stride a bit, the end result is always so pretty. I makes me want to bead everything. Socks for Evad? Beaded! Blanket? beaded! Washcloth? Beaded!

Ok. Maybe not a blanket....

With all this glowing happy knittyness, why do I say this is a cautionary tale? Companion project stupidity. In the picture above, you will notice the 1x2 garter rib, knit flat. while this requires you pay some attention, it is not difficult to do, assuming you can read your knitting. Well, what happens when your companion project is also in garter rib?

I heard you say it. Nothing. It makes it easier!

WRONG.

My companion project was this hat:


Cute right? True, but also a pita. It is in 2x2 garter rib, in the round. Good lord. My brain had some major issues switching back and forth. I shouldn't have to think so hard to make a little baby hat!! Take it from me, heed my warning, think before you leap.... pick your companion project wisely!

companion projects keep me sane(ish)

Those that know me in real life know that I definitely skirt the line of sanity most times. Granted, I'm not a pyromaniac, or anything, but I have a habit of doing things that make others question my sanity in a big way. For instance, designing 4 shows at the same time. Sane people just don't do that.
When knitting, I often find myself working on ill-advised projects (cough. mohair in July cough.) or way too many complicated projects at once. For my own sanity, I really should try to keep it to one or two WIPs at any one time, but it never happens that way. never.

What I found does work is knitting a simple project along side a complicated one. Some days, following a chart takes too much brain power, or a project is too cumbersome for the situation, or I can't do it in the dark. Those instances call for a "companion project". A project that allows for "brain rest" and ease of knitting.

I am currently floating two:

Red Raspberry Swirl Sweater. I just need to put in ends and do a little crocheting around the neckline. I started this companion project along with my Lava Shawl. Up until the bust section started, it was really mindless, and totally easy to do just about anywhere. It was taken off "easy" status with the bust shaping. Paying attention negates the purpose. But, it is almost finished!

This is my current one:

I call it "Little Blue". It is not only exceedingly portable, but also totally awesome because it will knock another book off of my "to knit from" list. Unfortunately, it might take me twelve weeks to knit this little thing, since it is only worked on at the movies, or in line, and late at night when I'm too tired to do anything complicated. Most of the time, I end up not entering these types of projects into Ravelry because they are so small, and I finish them before I feel like I have enough "project" to take a picture of. Silly,I know.

What, you might ask, is the little hat a companion to? Currently, it is Maia, the next shawl in the Seven Sisters Series. I am almost finished already! Evidently, I am no better at posting about big projects than I am at small ones!

Merope

I found out about a seven shawl series by Rosemary Hill from Jennsquared. Each shawl is inspired by one of the Seven Pleiades - the seven sisters from Greek Mythology that were relentlessly pursued by Orion. Zeus turned the sisters into doves, then later constellations, along with Orion, so he could ever pursue them. They, along with the Hyades make up the constellation Taurus. Since I am a Taurus, how could I refuse to knit these shawls?

The first one, Merope in inspired by the Mythological wife of Sisyphus - the mortal that had to keep pushing the boulder up the hill. Merope's star is very dim, since she married a mortal, and is often called the is the "lost Pleiades" since she astronomers originally couldn't see her. People are going to be able to see this Merope. Being acid green, and all...

Name: Merope in Green

Pattern: Merope

Yarn: Rowan Kid Silk Haze, 2 balls in color 597

Needles: Knit Picks Harmony, size 5

Notes: This was my first time using Kid Silk Haze, and I love the end result. The yarn has a beautiful halo, and even though it is half mohair, it isn't itchy. (at least to me, ymmv.) But, it is a pain in the ass to knit with. Not a huge pain, just enough to make it frustrating. It is simultaneously sticky and slippery. When you want it to slide, it won't, and when you want it to stay it slides. I didn't have to frog at all during this shawl, thank George, but I can only imagine the streak of unsavory language that would have come out. I have heard that throwing the project in the freezer for 15 minutes helps in the frogging process. I assume it helps lay the barbs on the mohair fibers down, not that the freezer suffocates the thing.

Morope is knit from the tip to the top edge, starting with "all pattern" and getting increasingly more stockinette filled in the center. It is a nice way to knit a shawl. It gets proportionally less "charty" as you go.

What looks like an applied edging on the sides of the shawl is actually a border that is knit simultaneously with the body. Some designers would make the three components of the edging, border, and center all separate charts, that you, the knitter, have to keep track of separately, Romi made hers one chart. Ahh.... one chart. I love simplicity in chart following.

The top edge has my favorite style of finishing! Knit on border! Only 7 stitches to bind off! woo! That was a lot of excitement over an edging...

All in all, I'm very pleased with this shawl, and super excited to cast on for the second shawl in the series. I think these will be great gifts!

knitting lately? Not so much.

I had a crisis in crafting three days ago. It was over a hundred degrees, I was knitting mohair, and it kept touching me.

Fuck that right in the head.
I switched to my sweater. It's cotton, it'll be fine!

So wrong. It was just as bad.
I decided to work up some squares for the Schuyler Blanket project. I looked through the “ends” bin and found two partials of Cotton ease, and had two more I just got from a yarn swap at SnB. woo!
I thought about knitting them, but had recently been thinking that I hadn’t crocheted anything in, like, 6 years. I didn’t want to totally lose the skill, ya’ know? I looked up an easy granny square pattern and went all Chuck Norris on 'em. 6 granny squares later… I decided I needed a change.

As luck would have it, my crochet stitch pattern book was at work. So I bought the pattern book for the "non granny squares" at AC Moore, along with another skein of yarn. I might have calmed the crochet bug for a while. 14 squares is pretty respectable!

The yarn is all cotton-ease except the orange yarn. The orange is Red Heart eco-ways. I hadn't used the eco-ways yarn before, and I can't say i cared for it. It was irritatingly splitty. It was kind of a let down after the cotton-ease, which i love.
I'm glad the tempurature has finally gone down. I want to knit my shawl again!

Why I long for Knit- A -Longs

When the Thursday Night new Haven Stitch n Bitch decided to have a shawl Knit-a-long, the first question from almost everyone was "which pattern?" We have quite a diverse group of people, with a wide range of tastes, skill levels, and lace experience. Choosing one pattern would be hard. How do we keep experienced fearless knitters, people with a mess of lace shawls under their belts, and new lace-kateers all going on one pattern?
We decided not to decide. :) Instead, we are having a "knit at your own pace, everyone knit the shawl you like, and we'll cheer each other on A-Long" Since that is a smidge too long of a name, we'll stick with "Shawl KAL".
I decided to knit this one:

Name: Lava is Hot, Hot, Hot!
Pattern:Faroese-Style Lace from Shawls and Scarves: Best of Knitter's Magazine
Yarn: Touch Yarn Merino 2 ply
Needles: Knit Picks classic circs, size 3
Notes: I choose this shawl for the KAL because it was on my "books yet to knit from" list, but also because it was a construction style I hadn't knit yet. It is cast on at the CB neck, but grows straight down the center, with two "triangle" side growing out of each side. You can see the straight center panel below, and the sides.

It also has a slight curve to the sides, making the whole business stay on your shoulders with absolutely no problem. Good knitting engineering! The yarn was a good all purpose base yarn - like Merino Ono, but being variegated, it was hard for me to imagine the final outcome. I loved the colors in the hank, but knit up - there is always potential for it to look like utter HORK. I officially think it does not look like hork. I think the combination of a very liner/ geometric pattern and big swaths of Stockinette makes the color shine and not distract from the final piece.

The edging was a wonderful change of pace when I finally got to it. It is knit on side ways, using up the live stitches as you go. This means, to those of you paying attention, that you only have 5 stitches to cast off at the end. 5!! The worst part of lace knitting is casting off. Trying to get a stretchy edge, that looks neat, and is consistent over 500 stitches sucks. This was way better. I've done edging cast offs before, and I can safely report that I still love it.


Overall, I had a great time knitting this shawl, and I loved doing a free form Knit A long. While most of the group is still plugging away, it is so fun to have a cheering section -and that is the final step of my KAL. Cheer till the last one's done!