Cabbage Eats Yarn

Juno (the shawl, not the movie)

2009-02-07T15:38:00.003-05:00

Love it! Raveled

...and maybe I need to turn up the heat since the furry ones are seeking out the space heaters and heat registers

Wintertimes Gifts

2009-02-01T21:54:00.004-05:00

In the Cabbage house we celebrate Wintertimes in December. And Mr. Cabbage receives nice Wintertimes gifts that Cabbage promptly forgets to blog about. So here, in February, are this year's Wintertimes gifts!

Yet another My So-Called Scarf. What can I say, that herringbone stitch exploits the Manos to its fullest potential. I was hungover when I cast on for this scarf and so I accidentally only cast on 26 stitches instead of 30. Whoops. Guess he gets a longer scarf :)

Next up, a pair of socks knit out of some always-lovely Cherry Tree Hill Supersock. Lovely indeed.

and oh, what is this? It is a tiny cat in a doorway! And another Seamless Hybrid. I know, unoriginal, but that's how my man likes his clothes ;-)

And in more hangover news, I felted two of said man's scarves one morning after a night of drinking (the same week I accidentally cast on 26 stitches for the above scarf. I was on staycation, so sue me.) Rut-roh. Time to knit him a new, improved (wider, longer) MSCS :

He is still awaiting a replacement for the other scarf I felted :/

Tina catching some fleeting December rays

Favorite Cardigan Ever

2009-01-29T08:52:00.002-05:00

Great yarn + basic color + basic-but-still-interesting pattern = luv!
I scored a bag of this yarn on sale and knew I wanted to make a really basic black cardigan out of it. Then along came the perfect pattern and BAM! I has a sweater. I knit the pattern as written except I made decreases in the arms (the pattern is top-down and has you knit the sleeves straight. I'm pretty much over bell sleeves at this point.)
Raveled here

Cowly Cowly

2009-01-03T12:01:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year to everyone! New Year's Eve depresses the crap out of me, but I actually really love starting a New Year. Clean slate and all that. With that being said, I still have several 2008 FOs about which I need to blog! I somehow got on a cowl jag (probably all of the queued cowls in my Rav queue taunting me) and knit five cowls this past fall (because you know, winter just started less than two weeks ago! egad!).

Behold my warm neck

And behold my laughingface because Mr. Cabbage made the comment that in the above photo I look like I have laser eyes.

This cowl was knit with about half a skein of Malabrigo. Which means I have half a cowl's worth left. Perhaps I should gift? I kind of love this cowl and wear it often, despite the fact that hot pink is not a Cabbage Color. Cabbage Colors are scarlets, plums, chocolates, and blacks. Sometimes green. But never hot pink. So why can't I stop wearing this cowl?

Moving on. I found some ShibuiKnits Baby Alpaca DK and was bemoaning the fact that I couldn't justify buying it because it was too expensive to knit a sweater or scarf out of. Enter my shopping buddy, Frek, who politely asked, "don't you have eleventy billion cowls in your Ravelry queue?".
So two skeins (one blue, one green) went home with me and the green became this:

It is a little on the large side, so I often use an oversized safety pin to smoosh it closed. Deets here.

This cowl I'm a bit less jazzed about. Perhaps I need to get used to it, but it just looks a little odd on.

Cowl numero quatro was knit from my friends Libby and Karen's new yarn shop! And I know some of you out there love yarn that still has spinning oil in it, and if that's you then you need to go buy summa this Frog Tree Alpaca.

Our final cowl was knit with yet another half-skein of Malabrigo and is significantly less drapey than the others, even after blocking. I therefore wear it a bit less often. If I knit this again, I'd add another width-wise repeat, fo sho.

And now that this post is done, what is with me and blogging about series of knitting? I never realized I was a serial knitter until five seconds ago.

Next up: twin scarves!

Not My Knitting

2008-12-26T19:16:00.002-05:00

Look what my mom gave me for Christmas!

It's a Clapotis! My mom is the sneakiest lady ev-ar. We went yarn shopping ages ago and we were drooling over some burgundy Malabrigo Silky Wool. Well she bought more than she needed so she could knit me this scarf! She is one sneaky lady. And I'm freaking IN LOVE. I'm going to wear this thing forever. And my mom made it, how cool is that?! I taught her to knit in April and she's taken off knitting all sortsa things.

Well she's not the only crafty lady in the family.
Look what I made her for Christmas

It's my first quilt! I made her the Stacked Coins Quilt from Last Minute Patchwork Gifts. It was a fun pattern and seemed to be good for a First Quilt. Certainly not perfect, but fun! I can't wait to make another one...

To wrap things up, here's Mo!

And if you've been wondering what I've been doing instead of blogging, go this page and scroll down to the picture.

Happy Boxing Day!

My First Mystery Knitting!

2008-10-29T17:51:00.002-04:00

I've always been a little jealous of people who decided to take part in all of that Secret of the Stole mystery shawl knitalong thing. I thought it would be really cool to be given a piece of the puzzle/pattern each week. But I am picky about shawls. And I knit them in DK or sportweight yarn, and not all shawls can be done in heavier yarns. So I was super excited when I found out about Through The Loops Mystery Sock on Ravelry. Sweet! Here's my finished sock (the basic version... there is also a cabled version)

They're knit in Socks That Rock Lightweight in Brick on size US1 needles and I love them! And they're done in time for NaKniSweMo, for which I will be casting on for my Tilted Duster (attempt #2)!

Scarves, Scarves, Wonderful Scarves!

2008-10-26T17:29:00.004-04:00

So I've been finishing scarves. I've had a major case of finishitis. Last Sunday I finished two Shifting Sands scarves. This one was started last December (hey, size 5 needles, can you blame me?) and uses the recommended (now discontuned) Sundara Sport Merino in some kind of wine colorway. Black over Merlot or some other wino color. The colors remind me of the movie Sweeney Todd, which in my memory involved a lot of black and a lot of blood. Behold, the Sweeney Todd Scarf!

Shifting Sands Number Two was knit on size 9 needles with Malabrigo Worsted in Bijou Blue. I now know, thanks to the two sweaters I've knit with Malabrigo, that this thing will look like shit in about five minutes. But for now, it is a nice, heavy, cushier version of the scarf.

This one was started back in May. What can I say, I take forever to knit scarves!

I also totally fell in love with Knitting School Dropout's Entrelac Scarf and I did something really shameful:

I knit the same exact scarf. I fell in love with the colorway of Noro Silk Garden, sought it out, learned entrelac, and knit a scarf out of it. And I don't regret it one bit! I'm just a tiny bit ashamed is all. Apparently some people find entrelac to be super-fiddly and annoying but I finished this thing in four days. Four days! Clearly I must be a sucker for entrelac, especially in Noro. So forget what I said about taking forever to finish scarves, apparently I'm a liar.

Moving onto something significantly more original (though not completely original, as it is based on a published pattern), behold my Fancy Lace Scarf that I finished yesterday!

This puppy is based on a scarf from Victorian Lace Today that has a boring name. I took the pattern and only knit one repeat instead of two and did a slipped stitch border instead of the knitted lace border in the book. It is knit with three skeins of Manos Silk Blend on size US 6 needles. And... it is seven (seven!!) feet long. Pre-blocking it was a mere five feet long but it sure as hell grew with blocking. I guess I didn't think it would grow so much because it is a DK weight yarn, but, um, I was wrong. So it wraps around twice or it looks slouchy and French (ew. I'm a Francophobe). I also started this scarf in May.

The last thing is a wannabe scarf. It's a cowl. Some say that the cowl is the new scarf. I've loved cowls for a long time and I'm kind of excited that there are so many "patterns" (some of them are pretty basic, hence the quotation marks) out there these days. Meet Gloria, or as I like to call her, Big Blue

She's knit with one skein of Malabrigo Chunky and size US 13 needles. She's pretty great. And Bee Tee Double-You, Malabrigo Chunky seems to hold up better than its worsted counterpart so far. This particular non-scarf was knit in just a day, woohoo for chunky yarn and size 13 needles!

Yay for November, hooray!

P.S. My arm is getting way better and clearly I'm knitting again. Thank goodness!

Crap, Does This Mean I Have to Sing That Annoying Saving Jane Song?

2008-10-16T23:33:00.001-04:00

Your results:
You are Supergirl

Supergirl		88%
Superman		70%
Iron Man		70%
Spider-Man		65%
Batman		65%
Green Lantern		65%
Wonder Woman		63%
Robin		60%
Catwoman		55%
Hulk		45%
The Flash		40%

Lean, muscular and feminine.
Honest and a defender of the innocent.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero am I?" quiz...

Oh dear

2008-10-02T14:25:00.000-04:00

Well, I done broke m' arm.

2008-09-22T18:08:00.002-04:00

I wrecked the Vespa ::sob:: and have two distal radial fractures that require surgery (tomorrow, yikes!) so there has been no knitting in the last two weeks here at Chez Cabbage and I've got probably another month (if all goes well) before I'll be capable. Not to say that I haven't tried. Three times, no less. In the meantime, here's Mo enjoying sheepy goodness. Mo loves sheep!

P.S. If you click on that picture and go back a few pics in my Flickr stream you can see some pictures of some lovely road rash. Y' know, if that's your thing.
P.P.S. Mercury is in retrograde so do not leave your house.

Some Damn Socks!

2008-08-28T16:16:00.004-04:00

Here is why my blogging has sucked lately:

Those are some damn socks. From the top:
1. Fibranatura Yummy in Peridot Spring. Not the softest yarn in the world, but that probably means it'll hold up a long time. The amazing colors and amazing pooling more than make up for the minor amount of roughness in the yarn (btw it is rough, not itchy. big difference).
2. ShibuiKnits Sock in Bark. Ohmygod I want to marry this sock yarn. It is the most freaking amazing sock yarn I have ever felt in my life. Talk about squishy. This yarn is going to have, like, ten thousand of my babies. Amazing. Purely amazing. I have another sock's worth of yarn in Pagoda that I'm dying to try, but it'll have to wait. I'm into trying new sock yarns at the moment (clearly).
3. Araucania Ranco Solid in Charcoal. Apparently I love this color so much I bought it in their sock yarn, their Nature Wool, and their Limari. Huh, who knew?

Those socks are all done. The rest of the socks are all in progress (including the one that just looks like a skein. It is currently 20 rows of ribbing. BTW, I have decided that 1x1 ribbing looks fantastic on everything, especially socks).

4. The Bane of My Existence socks(this is Silk Garden Sock). Mr. Cabbage saw these in the yarn shop and about swooned. He swoons for Noro really easily. He has about a billion Zeebee hats in Silk Garden. Really. Plus some scarves. Swoons. Really. But this yarn SUCKS to knit with. I will never, ever buy it again. Along with Colinette Jitterbug (way, way too many bad reviews) and Claudia Handpaint (knit socks out of this yarn and they freaking fell apart so fast, it was ridiculous).
5. Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Rosehip. This yarn has a little mohair (but not too much) so they're very soft and have a slight halo. Also not as stretchy. Note: cast on 2 or 4 extra stitches next time I use this yarn. Thanks, mohair, thanks a lot.
6. Some lovely Sundara Sock Yarn being made into some Waving Lace socks.
7. Neighborhood Fiber Co. Studio Sock being made into a really, really scrumptious pair of Spring Forwards. This is another sock yarn that is on my "buy again" list. I don't know what the hell she uses as her base or what the hell she uses for dye, but this yarn is like knitting with pearls. Smooth and with a sheen. Love, love, love. Once I make more of a dent in my current sock yarn stash I'm buying more.
8. Creatively Dyed Yarn's Almost There (discontinued). Got this stuff in St. Louis and even though it is just ribbing, it is already very pretty. Yay, blue :)

P.S. Sorry for the blurry photos. I don't know what's up with my camera but it can't take a good picture to save its life.

FO- CPH v2.0: Organic and Purple!

2008-08-27T10:10:00.002-04:00

This bad girl is finally finished!
Deets:
5 1/2 skeins of Vermont Organic Fiber Company O-Wool on US 8 needles (US 6 for the ribbing). I did this one in one piece from the hem to the underarms and I did an attached garter stitch button band. I started this thing back in February and it stalled for some reason. But I've actually worn it three times already, despite the fact that it is August. Yay for purple cardigan hoodies! Oh yeah, and this pattern is Central Park Hoodie. Did I even need to say that, though?

FO- Yay, Seamless Hybrid!

2008-08-26T08:44:00.002-04:00

Well, my main man turned 27 a couple of weeks ago and I decided to continue in the tradition I started last year by knitting him a sweater. Except that I sort of started this thing almost a year ago and decided to finish the last half of the hibernating sweater in time for his bee-day. Meet EZ's Seamless Hybrid, my first EZ sweater. I had previously knit two pair of her mittens (here and here) but had yet to try one of her sweaters. This one will definitely not be my last. I'm envisioning one for myself in pink DK weight tweed...
Anyhoo, this one was knit with 6 balls of Plymouth Galway, and I'm actually pretty impressed with the yarn. Its nothing fancy, just a good, cheap, standard worsted weight wool. But I think we need more of those. I'm not a fan of yarns that have too much acrylic, but those seem to be some of the only cheap yarn you can buy (I think this yarn was 5 or 6 dollars for 100 grams. 100 grams! holy moly!). Lamb's Pride is 1-2 dollars more, and has mohair (meh) and is single-ply (nice sometimes, but not as sturdy as plied). Personally I find Lamb's pride to be pretty fucking itchy. So I'm excited about this yarn, fo' sho'. What else? Size US 7 needles, 41ish inch chest, and oh yeah... the neckband...

for some crazy reason, my tubular bind-off looks like this. WTF?! I thought I did it too tight so I ripped it out and did it again and steamed it to try and relax the yarn, but nope. Luckily Mr. Cabbageeatsyarn thinks this is a design element (and I believe so did someone else that commented on it on Ravelry) so that's what I'm calling it. A design element. Here's an on-purpose design element:

a nice flat hem. I'll take credit for doing that one right.
Finally, here's a picture of the sweater being knit in the wild, bar-style. Gasp! Its Cabbage's face! I was beginning to doubt the existence of her face!

The Year of the Sock?

2008-07-12T10:28:00.003-04:00

Holy moth-eaten yarn, Batman! I can't believe I haven't posted since May! Dudes, I have kind of lost my crafting mojo. And bad timing, too, because I just bought a sewing machine (yay!). I've been feeling some major summer crafting lethargy lately, which I sort of always go through this time of year, except this time its pretty bad. And on top of that, all I want to do is knit socks. I've cast on for many (many, many, many) other projects, but man I have so many long-term WIPs, and all I seem to be finishing is socks!

For example, check this out:

I started this sucker in February, it is another Central Park Hoodie, and everything is done on it (including the knit-on button bands) except for one sleeve! Why can't I finish it?! I. have. no. idea!

But in the meantime I've started and finished these socks (sorry all my pictures suck, I need a new camera):

And I've cast on for Spring Forward using some really, really awesome yarn, plus a pair of socks for BZ in Lorna's Laces (my first time using this yarn, another pair of socks for BZ using Araucania's Ranco (worst name ever, great colors, hopefully this will soften up in the wash because its a little on the rough side right now), and some Waving Lace socks in some of the most awesome sock yarn ever:

When will the sock madness end?!

Hopefully never, though my sweaters-in-progress are getting jealous.

Some Socks

2008-05-21T08:25:00.003-04:00

I had long been eyeing the Embossed Leaves socks from Interweave's Favorite Socks book, but it wasn't until I saw Alligator's that I took the plunge.

Embossed Leaves socks, knit with Socks That Rock Lightweight in Jasper on US 1 needles.
It's funny... when I first started knitting socks, I turned my nose up at lace socks. I mean, first of all... lace... socks... I don't own any commercially purchased lace socks, why on earth would I want to spend hours knitting some? And they seemed so impractical... wool, to keep you warm... counteracted by lace... which has tons of HOLES! How silly! But I looooooove knitting lace, and wearing lace socks is not the problem I thought it would be. Bring on the lace!

And here are a pair of boring stockinette stitch socks I knit for that dude I live with :)

These are also Socks That Rock Lightweight in Corbie, US 1 needles.

And, because he's the best cat ever, I give you Pickle

(kindly ignore the baking soda on the fabric cubes behind him. We tried some green- as in environmentally friendly- carpet cleaning last weekend and made a mess. Oops!)

Blackbird Shawl- FO

2008-05-19T21:23:00.002-04:00

Another shawl! I love to knit lace (just not in laceweight yarn)! Here is the Swallowtail Shawl knit from a little less than 4 skeins of Elann Baby Cashmere in Black, US 5 needles. Love it!

My hair looks very Anton Chigurh in this photo for some reason.

Luna Moth Shawl- FO

2008-05-18T22:36:00.002-04:00

I recently took a trip to visit Bek in Saint Louis. We had some seriously good food (srsly) at Everest and LemonGrass and an Ethiopian place I don't know the name of, amazing strawberry lemonade at Mokabe's, a fantastic custard sundae at Ted Drewes, and (AND! AND! AND!) I went to three (THREE! THREE! THREE!) yarn stores! It was kind of funny... we went to the first one because I was dying to shop for Malabrigo in person (none of the three major yarn stores in Columbus had it until about a week ago, and the one that now carries it, Knitters' Mercantile, carries a lot of the variegated stuff that's not that great. Maybe they'll get the solids and semi-solids in soon?). I bought some Malabrigo Silky Merino for a shawl, and was thinking I had brought the right size needles, but then realized I hadn't. So we went to a different yarn store (where they had more Malabrigo!) and I got my needles and Bek got some yarn for some hats. Well Bek got home and realized she didn't have the right needles for the hat she was planning, so out we went to the third yarn store in St. Louis! And let me tell you, they were all awesome. If I could knit with one kind of fiber for the rest of my life, it'd be 100% wool. But coming in a close second are 50/50 wool/silk blend yarns. I LOVE them. Srsly. Love. And Malabrigo did not let me down. Out of 2.15 skeins of Silky Merino in Marron Oscuro and US 9 needles came this lovely shawl

This is the Luna Moth Shawl, I did 4 body repeats instead of the recommended 6. My shawl has a 52" wingspan and a 33" height. I really love the finished product, but the lace pattern didn't make as much sense and wasn't as easy to memorize as other lace I've knit. Overall, I'm very happy with it and I'm really excited that I have almost two whole skeins left over!

For My Mama

2008-04-03T15:00:00.003-04:00

Here is my mom's Mother's Day/birthday present, modeled by me:

Erm, my mom is thinner than me. So I think it will fit her well. Me, not so much! But I'm happy with it, it came out well and it steam blocked like a champ.
The stats:
Silken Cowl Tank from Sensual Knits. I knit the smallest size (tiny Mommy) and I knit it on a smaller needle size than recommended. I did this because I have knit with this yarn before and know that it knits up waaaay more loosely than the ball band (and patterns) say. In general, I wanted the sweater to come out more large than the smallest size, and my needle choice was purrrr-fect. I used about 2 1/2 skeins of Tilli Tomas Pure and Simple in color Hope. I scored this yarn for super-cheap when Sarah's Yarns carried it at an already-discounted price and decided to stop carrying it and discounted it further. Nice. So since I already had this yarn I didn't want to spend lots of money on its sequined accent yarn that is called for to knit the cowl, so I just used the same yarn throughout. I also lengthened the body of the sweater, cuz my mama's got a long torso, like me.
And that's all I have to say about that.

Wicked Buttony Edie- FO

2008-03-29T10:39:00.002-04:00

Taking a cue from hybrid cars, I decided to knit a hybrid sweater!

note the Take Back the Night pin :)

Stats:
A hybrid knit of Wicked, Buttony Sweater, and Edie, using US 7 needles and 8.5 skeins of Noro Cash Iroha (yay for ebay yarn!). Overall, this is a pretty okay sweater. It looks way better closed than open, and its kind of a floppy sweater, so I moved the buttons in a little bit after I took these pictures, as there were gaps that were showing.

And, for fun, here is a hat!

Another Zeebee, this one knit on US 10 needles with a ball and a half of Noro Silk Garden Chunky (wow, this is a Noro-y post, I guess). I cast on 30 sts, wrapped 8 stitches (7 plus the Crown Stitch), and it fits nicely except that it could have been a stitch or two longer.

Ciao, babies!

You have to watch the whole thing!

2008-03-03T10:33:00.001-05:00

Ramona- FO

2008-02-17T18:49:00.002-05:00

Ramona by Jared Flood from the book Sensual Knits

Knit with a little more than 8 skeins of Jaeger Extra Fine Merino DK in "Ocean," size US 7 needles. No mods. I wish I'd knit the smallest size, as the yoke is a bit baggy. I am not sure what happened, since I got gauge and am a 36" bust (I knit the 34" bust size). Oh well, I like it anyway!

Placed Cable Aran- FO

2008-01-28T08:57:00.000-05:00

This is the Placed Cable Aran knit from EXACTLY 9 balls of Debbie Bliss Rialto on US 7 needles. And when I say exactly 9 balls... well I had to go into my wastebasket (no worries, pretty much only paper and yarn scraps go into this particular wastebasket) to get some of the ends I had trimmed off after I'd weaved them in so that I could finish seaming the last arm in. All that, and then I put the sweater on and realized it needed to be longer. Not a difficult prospect, since it is a stockinette hem, but still annoying since I was scrounging in the trash for seaming yarn. I ended up modifying this sweater to make it a set-in shoulder sweater instead of a drop sweater. Otherwise everything is the same!

Tree Jacket- FO

2008-01-27T16:43:00.000-05:00

Tree Jacket by Zephyr Style, knit with 15.5 balls of Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk and US 7 needles.

Overall, I like the way this sweater turned out. I had to follow the instructions of someone on Ravelry because when I knit the first sleeve it was HUGE! The sleeves are still a bit long, I may rip an inch or so out of them at some point.

Joni Mitchell Cardigan- FO (and surgery pics!)

2008-01-20T18:59:00.001-05:00

My feelings about this cardigan have been quite roller coaster-esque. First, I loved it. Despite being knit on US 5 needles, it is a very fast knit. Until it came time for the decreases in the lace section. Oy! I don't know that I will ever knit a lace cardigan again. It is a miracle that this one fit together fine and didn't come out all wonky (haha, spell check on Blogger doesn't like it when I type "wonky." WONKY WONKY WONKY. oh, hrm, apparently WONKY is okay but wonky is not. wonky wonky wonky! The word has now lost all meaning. Moving on.). Then I started to like the cardigan again as I finished all of the pieces, and then I decided I didn't like it anymore because I didn't want to seam it. Reverse stockinette and lace? Ick. Enter Frek. Frek likes to seam things. Frek also likes marmite. And nori with mustard on top. We don't question the things Frek likes. So off the cardigan pieces went, all the way to St. Louis, to be seamed. And shortly thereafter I received a pieced together cardigan. One button band (I don't detest button bands the way that some people do. However, I try to knit them on along with the sweater fronts whenever possible) and a good blocking later and it looked... just okay. Not fabulous, but just okay. Enter the iron. Yes, I ironed the cardigan. This would have sounded scary to me, but a while back I read this post and decided to try it today. I loved the results so much that I grabbed another sweater (to be revealed in this post as well) that I had recently surgerized and ironed the "new" parts!

Behold, the Joni Mitchell Cardigan (sounds less silly than "Dollar and a Half Cardigan ):

Knit with less than 11 balls of Reynolds Soft Linen and US 5 needles (I knit the 36 1/4" bust). Now I just need buttons!

Here are the promised surgery pictures (well, these are all post-op, not surgery action shots).

Grumperina's Pentagon Pullover, sleeves and body lengthened, 2x2 ribbed cuffs replaced with a very slightly flared stst cuff and a single purl row. (This is the other ironed knit)

Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (aka Lace Leaf Pullover) with a rollneck:

Simply Marilyn, sans bib-neck, neck redone and unexpectedly shorter (knit to what I thought was the same length as the original. Oh well):

Foliage and Rogue look pretty much the same post-op, so I didn't take pictures. I still think I can eek out one more sweater before the end of my 12 months (for a grand total of 14 sweaters in 12 months, holy crap).

Surgeries are going well

2008-01-06T08:55:00.001-05:00

I'm happy to report that the surgeries are going well. Dead Leaves is now a rollneck sweater. It went way better than I thought it would. Yay!
Marilyn's cowl has been re-knit on US 9 needles (the rest was done on 10.5 needles). Somehow the neck looks drastically different. Like, way shorter. Hmmm...
Rogue now has arms that are about an inch longer than before. And she got a good shaving too. Wow, so Malabrigo does pill a lot, like they all say. Good thing I got razors for Christmas! Its still worth it, the pilling, for the lovely Malabrigo. Sigh!
Foliage is still too big, even after being re-knit on US 6 needles. It is a bit better, and more wearable, but really should have just had one less lace repeat. However, I'm not going to knit it again. It is fine the way it is.
I have decided that the gloves in this post are fine the way they are, as are the buttons on Wicked in the same post.
Buttony has not been re-knit, and will not be re-knit until later, as that is more of a "new sweater" and less of a "repair." I will re-knit it when I have less WIPs.
And the Pentagon Pullover has a longer trunk and one longer sleeve, so far. The other sleeve *should* be finished today. Weee! Pictures to come at a later date for all of this.

Here are some hats I have knit recently but not blogged about

Unoriginal Hat by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee in less than one skein of Cashmerino Superchunky, US 10.5 needles.

Utopia Hat by Smariek in less than 2 skeins of GGH Davos, US 8 needles.

Earflap Hat from Last Minute Knitted Gifts in less than 1 skein of Manos del Uruguay. US 9 needles.

Odessa by Grumperina in Rowan Cashsoft DK on US 6 needles.

Ahead of the Game

2008-01-05T14:20:00.000-05:00

Two finished sweaters, and my self-imposed sweater deadline is still weeks away! I decided that I needed to finish two more sweaters by the end of this month in order to meet my goal of knitting 12 sweaters in 12 months. So here are the final two (although I think it might be a baker's dozen by the time my deadline comes).

Meet Wicked in White

Knit with 7.2 x 50g balls of Indiecita Suri Merino in a color that is just barely off-white, size 7 needles, and 82 stitches cast on. Mother-of-pearl buttons from M&J Trimmings.

Meet Mr. Ziggs

Mr. Ziggs was knit with a little less than 4 1/2 skeins of Malabrigo in Burgundy, size 7 needles. I loosely used the Hourglass sweater pattern, with some changes. Instead of a sewn-down hem for the body and cuffs and neckline, I just purled the first row (or, the last row, in the case of the neckline). It blocked out and doesn't curl. The sleeves I cast on 52 stitches and knit plain for 12" before starting the bicep increases. I didn't do any waist shaping with increases and decreases, but rather put a cable panel in for shaping instead. I used the Mr. Ziggs cable pattern from Vogue Stitchionary vol. 2.

And finally, some socks. Not worth posting on their own. They're sort of like how politicians sometimes throw some crazy, secret line about a new tax for cigarettes into a bill that is otherwise entirely about making canadian geese droppings illegal to sell. They throw a semi-controversial line into a bill that they know will easily pass without being read much just to get it through. That's like my socks. My socks are the cigarette tax in this geese droppings blog post. Enjoy :)

What should I take...

2007-12-13T10:30:00.000-05:00

... on my holiday trip? I will be spending about 12 non-driving hours in the car, and with it being a car trip, I don't have space restrictions in terms of packing and project size. So... socks? sweater? lace? hats? I don't know what to pack! ::wails::

Surgery

2007-12-11T10:22:00.001-05:00

The buttons for my mom's Wicked came in yesterday. I was worried about them not arriving in time and they showed up two mailing days after I ordered them! So my mom will get her very belated 50th birthday gift (oh, didn't I mention that in my last post? Yeah, this gift is almost 8 months late... oops) on Sunday at our family's Christmas party. Hopefully I'll remember to take pictures!

Next up:
Knitwear Surgery. There are some things in my knit wardrobe that, while I really like, need some modifications. They will go under the knife soon. What am I changing? Well, since you asked...

This will be lengthened in the body and sleeves. And I may omit the the ribbed cuffs and hem and throw in a purl row instead. Nothing against ribbing, but it just isn't working for me on this sweater, and since I'm already going to be removing the hem and cuffs to lengthen it, why not change it?

Next is a big modification. One that's not actually a modification at all.

This is getting frogged. And re-knit. It is simply too small. Plus the neckline is too wide. Aggressive blocking has not helped. Wearing it has not helped. It is too small. I'm not too worried though, because it was knit on US 10.5 needles and won't take too long to re-knit. And I do love the sweater as well as the buttons, so lets git 'er done!

This lovely thing is great except for one small part

The turtleneck/cowl has relaxed just enough to resemble a bib. I will be re-knitting the turtleneck/cowl with a US 9 needle (it was originally knit on a 10.5).

This pile of coziness (it is a VERY warm sweater) needs a new neck.

I'm not sure how I'll do it, or if it will work (the neck is the cast-on edge), but it needs to change. I'm thinking rollneck?

This needs new buttons

The current ones are too heavy, stick out a bit too much, and are too many in number. I'm thinking wooden buttons, and I'm thinking of only sewing on a button at every other button spot. Don't know how that will work though.

This needs longer arms

...just maybe an inch will work.

These need shorter palms

and this is too big!

I'm going to re-knit it on US 6 needles because I really like the hat otherwise.

Whew! I have a lot ahead of me!

Progress

2007-12-07T09:17:00.000-05:00

Well, its been awhile since I posted, and that's because I haven't finished anything very noteworthy. I have knit a few hats and scarves for holiday gifts, those will get posted at some time. Good daylight is hard to find now. I haven't completed the two additional sweaters yet, but I have re-calculated and decided that I have through January to finish, because this sweater streak started in February of 2007.

On Sunday I decided to make my mom a Wicked out of the huge pile of off-white Suri Merino I have. I had 66 balls of that yarn. Why 66 balls? Its a long, long story that I won't get into here. Lets just call it a mix-up. Anyway, white is not my color. I actually hate white things. Diamonds, clothing, underwear, shoes, yarn, walls. Ick. So the yarn has been sitting around for a couple of years. Recently I swapped a bag out for 7 more balls of yarn for this sweater. And I'll probably get rid of 7 balls of yarn to make my mom's Wicked. The rest I am thinking about dyeing. We'll see how that goes. The yarn is actually quite lovely, but I've never had any interest in dyeing. I guess it would put that crock pot with which I never cook to good use. Wicked is coming along well. I started it Sunday and have two inches of ribbing for the hem left. Then start the 3/4 sleeves. I just ordered shell buttons from here, so hopefully they'll get here soon. My mom's family's holiday Christmas party is next Sunday and that's the only time this season I'll get to see her. I know the sweater can be done and blocked by then, but only time will tell whether the buttons will come in time.

The other sweater that has stalled but is near completion is the Dollar and a Half Cardigan. Here is a picture of the back (unblocked)

All of the pieces are now finished, with the exception of the button band. The seaming is what is stopping me. I hate seaming and linen is not fun yarn to seam and lace is not fun to seam and I don't like seaming. Wah. And I'm not motivated to finish it because I probably won't be wearing it much in this weather. But it will be finished. At some point. Maybe I'll offer to knit someone's CPH button band if they seam for me :) :) :) Or knit them a hat or socks or anything else they might like.

Next episode: Knit Surgery

2007-11-19T10:48:00.000-05:00

Which Typical Anti-Hero Are You?

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Not my FO

2007-10-28T14:26:00.000-04:00

So about a year and a half ago, I was reading Grumperina's knitting blog and I fell in love with this sweater. For a while now I've been really wanting to make this sweater, sans turtleneck, just like Grumperina did. However, I've never had quite the right yarn in my stash for the sweater, and it has been on the backburner ever since. Now and then I would think I had found the right yarn for the sweater, but then when it came down to casting on I realized I really wasn't sold. The pattern I was more than sold on, but the yarn? I wanted a nice smooth yarn, perhaps a merino or something along those lines. Many plies, very soft. Then came Grumperina's post about selling off her handknit sweaters. Having never worn many of them, she decided to part with the lovely works of art. So I bit. I emailed her and asked if the Swirled Pentagon Pullover she had knit last May was one she was selling, and if there were any prospective buyers yet. Well I guess I was the first one to email her about it, and after double-checking against my other sweaters and determining that the sweater would fit, I happily sent her the money to pay for the yarn, a small commission, and shipping (Grumperina, thanks for buying sale yarn!). And now this sweater is mine. With only one problem. I can't photograph the damn thing! These pictures are the best I could get, even though some are in daylight with someone else taking the pictures.

This sweater rocks. I am contemplating doing some very minor sweater surgery to lengthen the body and sleeves a bit. We'll see. In the meantime, I'm all about this sweater! I've already worn it twice. Yay for sweater weather!

I have always wanted a penguin...

2007-10-28T14:23:00.000-04:00

adopt your own virtual pet!

Swatch Wall

2007-10-24T09:11:00.000-04:00

Apologies in advance. It is dreary out and I had to use the flash. Pictures are somewhat sub-par and sometimes washed out. Now that you're so excited to read the post, I present to you...

My Swatch Wall. I got the idea from the book Last Minute Knitted Gifts. Basically, I had swatches lying around and decided to hang them on the wall. You can't tell from the craptastic picture, but It is actually kind of cool. And it is right above my desk, so I get to look at pretty yarn and knitting every time I'm in my office. Its pretty nice. So now my dirty secret is out. Sometimes I swatch. Not always, though. Swatches lie. But sometimes you need guidance. Like the following swatches:

This is cashmere. It was knit on size 6 needles. Frogging compromises fiber, and I don't want to compromise expensive yarn (even if it was wholesale) by knitting with the wrong size needles and then frogging.

This is from the LSD cardigan. The first time I started it, it was waaaayyyy too big. I was also concerned (this being superwash wool) about having the problem I had when I knit Tubey, I wanted to do a swatch with smaller needles and throw the swatch in the washer (and dryer) to see if it shrunk or grew. It did neither. So I cast on for LSD v2.0. I don't really like knitting it very much, and the yarn's not that great feeling, so progress is slow.

To make Zeebee, you have to swatch. You can't just guesstimate by the label (well, maybe YOU can, but I can't) because you knit the hat in garter stitch. You need to know both row and stitch gauge.
And, oh, what is this?

Its another Zeebee! In Noro Silk Garden. Thanks, Swatch! Quickie specs, since this is the 4th Zeebee I've knit, it doesn't need its own post. US 8 needles, 58 grams of yarn. I could have used less than one skein if I was knitting it for myself, but I wasn't. It fits the wearer nicely though!

This swatch was actually knit after I started the garment. It is from when I was knitting the Bluebell Boatneck, about which I did not blog (I don't think). The problem was that the parts of the sweater in stockinette looked fine, but where I did ribbing and garter stitch (and even reverse stockinette), it looked like the fabric was being knit on too-large needles. I was wondering if the yarn plumped up at all after washing, so I knit and washed a swatch. The swatch did plump up, so I knit on, and finished the body of the sweater. I tried it on and determined that I am not wild about the purl ridges that Stefanie Japel (the sweater designer) loves so much, unless it is on a more... delicate (?) yarn and smaller needles, like this sweater. So the sweater is waiting to be frogged and will become a top-down raglan in stockinette stitch with rolled hems/neck knit on US 7 needles (because I still think it would look better on smaller needles. Just for the hell of it, here is a picture.

This was knit for the Dollar and a Half Cardigan (I've got both fronts done now, but its not very blog-worthy. BTW, I hate decreasing for armscyes in lace. Though I think I might have it figured out, now that most of the sweater is done, HA). I was trying to figure out what size to knit, and I wanted to see if linen (or, rather, a linen/acrylic blend) grows much after blocking. It does not. So negative ease would be bad in this situation. 36" bust it is!

So there you have it, my secret is out. I am a sometimes-swatcher. And actually, I kind of like swatching. I like the little pieces of knit fabric, and I like being able to look at them and think of the sweater I have knit/am knitting/will kint (there are some swatches up there for projects I have not started yet).

Next episode, I will answer Bek's question: "What are you actually working on right now?" She asks that because she knows the baby sweater and hats were finished a couple of months ago, but I didn't want to blog about them until I'd gifted them, on the off chance that the wearer's mom would come across them (she is starting to knit, a tiny bit).

There's a baby coming

2007-10-23T07:37:00.000-04:00

...but it is sure as hell not mine! My co-worker is having a baby in less than two weeks. Her shower was a couple of weeks ago, and she was gifted with loose tea from Stauf's (the tea is for her, not the baby) as well as three knitted things from me.

Placket Neck Pullover from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts knit with two skeins of Debbie Bliss Rialto on US 7s for the smallest size.

The small and the large Umbrella Hat from Oneskein knit from one skein (both hats were knit from the same skein) of Classic Elite Lush on US 7 needles. This yarn was AMAZING to work with! Sosoft.

It was interesting knitting for babies... short, squat bodies, tiny arms, big-ass heads. And the knitting flew by, which was nice. Sorry for the bad pictures... normally I try to photograph FOs on the wearer but this wearer is in utero. Maybe her mom will give me a picture at some point?

What a Koolaass haat!

2007-10-21T14:15:00.000-04:00

I present to you the Library Hat (scroll down, the hat is called "Koolhaas").

While it does not resemble books, it has a really cool backstory. It incorporates two of my favorite things (libraries and knitting) as well as something that I bet would be a favorite thing if I had ever been there (Seattle). It is also a very cool-looking hat. And snug and and the perfect length. I knit it from 70g of Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran, a really great machine-washable merino yarn. I used US 6 and 8 needles (size 6 for the brim). The pattern itself was not the most fun to knit (it kinda made my hands crampy) but it was well-worth it, and this made things easier. Overall, I love the hat, and will be knitting another at some point. Although, not soon... what the hell happened to my sweater goal? I guess there are still two months left in the year. I could always knit up a couple more chunky sweaters, right? All of this fun hat and scarf knitting has gotten in the way. Instant gratification, my friends.

A Scarf for Me!

2007-10-15T08:50:00.000-04:00

I am very excited about this scarf.

Knit from two skeins of Manos on US 11 needles, it was a total Instant Gratification Project (2 days, I think?). I love how the herringbone stitch of the sweater is perfect for Manos's variegated colors. Plus it is a nice thick squishy scarf, of which I have few. Bring on the scarf weather! And the sweater weather and the glove weather and the hat weather...

Zeebee for BeeZee and Zeebee for MeeBee

2007-10-14T20:53:00.000-04:00

Two more Zeebees, knit on size 8 needles in Manos del Uruguay

and just for fun, here are two Octopodes, crocheted by Bek

and action shots:

The Octopodes are MeeBee and BeeZee

Buttony and a long-term WIP

2007-10-13T19:54:00.000-04:00

The last of my streak of sweaters knit on large needles

Meet Buttony. I'm a little "meh" about this cardigan. The design of it is great, but there were some problems with the pattern. It calls for 9 balls of Debbie Bliss Merino Chunky, knit on US 9 needles. Well, I decided to knit the sweater smaller than the one size that the pattern is written for (cast on 80 stitches instead of 96), and I decided to add waist shaping. I also knit the sweater on US 10.5 needles. So theoretically, I should have used less than the 9 balls of yarn. But I used 12. That's right. Twelve. And I didn't even lengthen the sleeves and torso (they were written long enough in the pattern). I'm wondering if the yarn that the pattern author used wasn't Cashmerino Chunky, which has 72 yards per 50g (for a total of 648yds) instead of Merino Chunky's 55 yards per 50g (for a total of 495yds). I used about 650 yards. Also, looking at the pattern photo, the yarn has a certain sheen that Cashmerino Chunky has but Merino Chunky does not. So that's my verdict.
Finishing this sweater was a bit of a pain. I had knit to where you separate the body from the sleeves (it is a top-down sweater) and I had used 3 1/2 balls of yarn. I realized that I probably wouldn't even be able to knit a 3/4 sleeve sweater with the 10 balls of yarn I had. So I set out to find more. Well, this yarn is discontinued. And apparantley the color I used (401) was discontinued before that. So I ended up having to beg someone on Ravelry to trade with me so that I could get a few more balls of yarn because the yarn was impossible to find from ebay or an online yarn retailer.
In the end, its a bit too tight and the neck is a bit too wide. I was trying to conserve yarn and thought the yarn would block out so that I could stretch the sleeves a bit, and thus knit the sleeves kinda tight, but no such luck, this yarn doesn't grow very much with blocking (maybe because it is superwash wool?). I might end up re-knitting the whole sweater at some point, as I have 5 balls of yarn left over. Lastly, I knit buttonholes every 16 rows instead of 10, as I wanted the sweater to be a bit less "buttony."

And now, for a much more brief introduction to a WIP that will most likely be long-term.

This is an Elizabeth Zimmerman-inspired seamless hybrid, and it is great movie theater knitting. It is for a man, so no waist shaping needed, thus it is perfect auto-pilot knitting. At least for now. So I only work on this when I'm watching a movie in a theater, hence it'll probably take a while to finish.

Dead Leaves and a Solution?

2007-10-08T09:09:00.000-04:00

Well I must have been thinking about the next FO I was going to blog about when I accidentally typed "drop stitch" instead of "drop shoulder" in my last post (well, my last real post). That's because there is a non-intentional dropped stitch somewhere in this sweater:

Meet Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground aka the Lace Leaf Pullover from Loop-d-Loop. Dead Leaves was knit on US 11 needles using Rowan Polar in color Combat. I used less than 5 balls of yarn for this sweater. Modifications? The usual- waist shaping. I decreased a total of 12 stitches and then increased 12, following the shaping on Marilyn, since they were knit at a similar gauge. Verdict? I like it a lot. The yarn is a little itchy, but I guess I'll usually be wearing a tank top under it at the very least (or a long-sleeved shirt if I wear it to work), and I have thoughts about re-blocking the neck so that its a bit wider. Good idea? You can also see the graft line (cuts my boobs in half laterally), but I'm thinking that will even itself out after a few wearings. Why is there grafting involved in this sweater, you ask? Well, I guess you can't knit lace leaves upside-down, so you knit the bottom half bottom-up, then the top half top-down, and then graft them together. Which some people hated, but I loooooove grafting. Seriously, love it. Its a way to knit with a darning needle- how darned cool is that?! Sorry, moving on... Oh and speaking of grafting- seaming and grafting with this yarn is a BITCH. It gets fluffier and loftier until it is essentially roving and really easy to pull apart. In fact, I'm going to blame the yarn for my dropping a stitch when I was grafting the top to the bottom. I realized it after I was done and didn't feel like going back, so I just pulled the offending stitch inside the sweater and tacked it down with some yarn.
As an aside... I accidentally bought a lot of this yarn (we won't say how much or how one "accidentally" buys too much yarn. But it honestly was a mistake, and lets just say that British currency was involved and leave it at that) and was thinking that, especially since they are 100gm balls, a whole sweater would make a dent in the pile I had, right? Nope, less than 5 balls used. So, it looks like I'll be knitting a simple all-one-piece raglan out of this yarn, because I'm not freaking seaming anything with it ever again!

Ok, onto the promised "solution?" to my drop-SHOULDER sweater problem mentioned here. Well, here is the body and cowl of the sweater

This is the Placed Cable Aran. And I love the sweater. But yeah, drop shoulder, not for me. So I think I might rip everything out to the armpits and re-knit it as a set-in shoulder sweater, so that I can keep the cables the way they are. I'm afraid that if I knit it up as a raglan, I'd lose a big chunk of the cables along the way. The one and only thing that pains me about doing all of this is that what I've knit so far has already been blocked out. I guess that shouldn't matter, but I've never re-knit already-blocked yarn. Well, here goes nothing!

oops

2007-10-07T21:36:00.000-04:00

oops, i meant drop-shoulder, not drop-stitch... hehe :D

A FO and a WIP

2007-10-07T09:34:00.000-04:00

Wip wip! wip wip! What a funny sound. So believe it or not, much has happened since I last posted, even though (gasp!) it hasn't been ages since I blogged. So here is a Fabulous FO. Meet Marilyn.

Marilyn was knit with 8.5 skeins of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky in color 26. This bad girl was knit on size 11 needles. September was an instant gratification knitting month for me. I knit not one, not two, but three sweaters on size 10.5 or 11 needles. Yikes! And I love them all, actually. But back to Marilyn. Marilyn was heavily modified. The XS size had a bust measurement of a whopping 41". Thanks, but no thanks. I ended up casting on 112 stitches total for the body (this was knit in the round instead of flat, like the pattern calls for) and did the decreases and increases as written. For the sleeves I cast on 24 and increased when I felt it was necessary (sleeves were also knit in the round). All in all, I love this sweater. Its very cozy and still cute... but this thing is HEAVY. 8.5 skeins of yarn, 100g per skein equals .85 kilograms, which equals 1.873 lbs. Yikes! Good thing I live in Ohio.

As promised, I cast on for the $1.50 cardigan

... and wow, the back is done already. How did that happen? Am I not working with size 5 needles and linen yarn and half lace pattern? Well yes, I am, but this pattern somehow seemed to fly by anyway. Before I knew it I was ready to decrease for the underarms. I then put it aside to treat myself to some new knitting with some nice merino, and I cast on for the LSD cardigan. And holy moly my gauge is way off. I'm substituting Debbie Bliss Merino Aran (pattern calls for Artyarns Supermerino) and so I knew there would be some difference, but this cardigan is clocking in around 40" (I'm knitting the 33" size). So time to frog, swatch, and cast on again. Sigh.
And lastly, I think I've made a decision regarding the drop-stitch mess in the aforementioned post. Details to come.

Jinxed

2007-09-30T19:53:00.001-04:00

Sigh.
I jinxed myself with my last post. Well, maybe not jinxed exactly. You see, I realized last night, as I was knitting sleeves for this that the whole thing was just not going to work. You see, ever since I knit Central Park Hoodie in the 40" bust size and realized that it was a bit of a mistake (albeit a mistake I can easily live with, in this case), and then I knit Wicked a bit too small, I have been knitting sweaters with negative ease, or, if I'm feeling like a comfy sweater, I'll knit something with no ease. I've found that that works for two reasons. First of all, I have a belly. And women with bellies look much better in things that are form-fitting rather than boxy crap like this which was knit a size 36" bust with no waist shaping. Bleh. Second of all, blocking my sweaters produces a drapier fabric that I love, but that usually stretches out somewhat. So I knit things small. Back to the problem at hand. So the sweater I'm working on now is a drop-shoulder sweater. I've never knit one of those before. I didn't realize, when looking at the model whose sweater is slightly oversized (but she's a model, so it looks good on her), that the sweater HAS to be sloppy-looking in order to work. So now I have this lovely sweater body and cowl neck all knit up and blocked, and a nice looking half-sleeve that will simply never work. Pictures will come later when its not dark out. Flash sucks. So I think what I'm going to do is rip the body out to the underarms and re-knit the yoke so that the sweater will either be a raglan or will have set-in sleeves. Le sigh. I also realized that the Tilted Duster jacket is not for me. I can't pull that off because I will look pregnant. And I'm glad I was able to realize that before I knit it, because it is a large... um... duster. So I cast on for the Dollar-and-a-Half Cardigan and because the yarn is not that lovely to work with (linen), I'm also going to cast on for the drug sweater. That's right, thanks to Bek the Lucy In the Sky Cardigan has a new name. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds=LSD.
Sigh.

And because blog posts without pictures are bad blog posts (at least where knitting is concerned, I leave you with this:

The elusive Tina cat. She sleeps more than any cat I've ever had/lived with/known.

Unintentional

2007-09-29T10:38:00.000-04:00

Every now and then I will read a blog posting in which a knitter declares that she/he is going to knit one sweater per month over the course of one year. I have never known anyone to have met this resolution. I always thought it would be kind of cool, and that if I worked less (I have one full-time job) or lived alone or was new in a city with few friends or SOMETHING where I had more free time on my hands, only then would I be able to acheive such a goal. Um, yeah... so I've knit 11 sweaters this year. Well, almost. I have one that I haven't blogged about because it is still drying on the blocking board,

one that needs the sleeves to be blocked, then sewn on the body,

and one that just needs another sleeve knit.

I count those because I expect to be done with them this weekend. Whee! I also count another sweater that I expect to be done with by mid-October at the latest. It only needs another 1.5 sleeves.

So that makes four sweaters that are nearing completion that I have yet to blog about. Plus these:
Central Park Hoodie, finished in February (started Christmas Day 2006)
Cabled Spiral Pullover, May
Rogue, May
Snow White, June 2007
Trumpet, July
Wicked, finished in July (started in June)
Fonn, finished in August, started April-ish

Which equals eleven. Now they were not all completed inside of one calendar month. In fact, one was even started a week before 2007 began. But they were all finished in 2007, and I figure that as long as I average 12 sweaters over the course of 12 months, I can say I knit a sweater per month, right? Now, before you start saying "wow, you knit a lot!" let me point out that four of these sweaters were knit on US 10.5 or 11 needles. That makes for very quick knitting. The others were all knit on US 6, 7, or 8 needles. No 4ply yarn for me, no ma'am.

So I need to knit one more sweater this year to meet that goal. What shall I knit? These are all looking like tasty knitting... but I can't decide what to knit next.

Swirled Pentagon Pullover on US 7 needles in this yarn (Cash Iroha), minus the turtleneck, like Grumperina:

Dollar-and-a-half Cardigan on size US 5 needles in the recommended yarn (Reynolds Soft Linen, a linen/acrylic blend)

Lucy in the Sky Cardigan on US 7 needles in this yarn (Debbie Bliss Merino Aran):

Tilted Duster on US 8 or 9 needles in this yarn (Jaeger Shetland Aran):

Decisions, decisions...

Oh dear...

2007-09-25T07:48:00.000-04:00

What is your Harry Potter Identity?

G'day Ronald Weasley!

You are the strategizer, the one who is loyal and has a sense of humor! Though you can become very jealous at times, you are always loyal to those you care about! You keep your friends and family very close to your heart and will always pack up the courage to protect them at the end, even if it means facing your worst fears!

Click Here to Take This Quiz

Quizzes and Personality Tests

And just for good measure:

Zeebee- FO

2007-08-17T14:34:00.000-04:00

Hat #3 (and the final birthday present) for Z:

Pattern: Zeebee!
Yarn: Manos del Uruguay in color "Jungle"
Needle: US 8 straight needles

Notes: I cast on 32 stitches and had a total of 10 rows per 1/8 segment.

Odessa- FO

2007-08-15T08:28:00.001-04:00

Behold, B's second birthday hat, a beadless Odessa (I was on a roll, I guess).

This hat took no time at all to finish, I think I did it in two days, maybe three. I used EXACTLY one ball of Rowan Cashsoft DK in color 517 Donkey. I used US 4 needles for the ribbed brim and US 6 needles for the rest. I believe I made the hat an extra .5" tall and therefore had the scariness of near-hyperventillation and "omigod omigod am I going to have enough yarn?!" The best part about this hat? Its machine-washable! The pattern was super-easy though, especially if you're doing a beadless version. Every row is exactly the same. And if you're doing a beaded version, every row is still basically the same except every six rows you have to throw a bead onto every 10th stitch. Easy peasy!

Fonn- FO

2007-08-14T07:43:00.000-04:00

To answer Bek's question, yes I have also finished Fonn from Lopi 25. I started this all the way back in March, and let me tell you, it took so long for two reasons. First, the Lite Lopi I used for the sweater was less like butter gliding through my fingers and more like... well... scratchy Icelandic yarn. And the body was 16" of stockinette with no shaping (of course, because its a guy's sweater), so it wasn't even interesting for a really long time. Oh, and sleeves? Sleeves, to me, are like other people's SSS (Second Sock Syndrome). Once I am done with the body of a sweater, it usually sits around for awhile until I am bored enough to cast on for the sleeves. But then they get done pretty quickly, because after all, sleeves really don't use up all that much yarn compared to the body of a sweater. What was interesting after all of that boring (almost) black stockinette was the fair isle yoke. While I wouldn't be interested in doing an entire sweater in fair isle, I like smaller projects like mittens and the yoke of a sweater. So behold, Fonn!

For this sweater (another birthday present for B... or at least it happened to get finished at a good time for me to call it a birthday present) I used 10 balls of Lite Lopi in Black Heather and 1.1 ball of Lite Lopi in Ash Heather for the 40" bust (um, chest?) size. I used US 4 needles for the hems, US 7 for the plain black stockinette, and I went up to a US 8 for the fair isle yoke because I am a bit of a tight knitter when it comes to fair isle.

Shedir- FO

2007-08-13T08:17:00.000-04:00

B's birthday was Friday and this was one of his gifts:

I started this hat (Shedir by the lovely Jenna Wilson of Rogue fame) in May while watching the worst movie in the world (Shaun of the Dead) and somehow I effed up the cabling and it was so badly effed up that I couldn't fix it without ripping back 4 or 5 painful cable rows. So it hibernated for a few months until it came out of its cave and I finished it in a matter of days. Actually, once you get the cable pattern down, the hat is total cake. But until then, its slow going. I used Grumperina's tutorial on cabling without a cable needle and will never go back to the Olde Way (that is, with a needle). All-in-all, a great hat that I will definately knit again. Yarn used was Rowan Calmer in color Cork (an accurate representation of the color is below. Even though I wasn't using flash on my camera, I couldn't get the color right on the FO.) and size US 3 needles. I know that sounds crazy small, but trust me, this pattern was so interesting that knitting the hat flew by.

P.S. By the way, the hat called for 1 ball of Calmer. I used 1.02. That's right, I had to use an extra effing GRAM of yarn from another ball in order to finish this hat. Mother effing effball.

Wicked-FO

2007-07-27T19:26:00.000-04:00

This is SO my new favorite sweater. My work is freezing so I wanted to knit something to wear over my t-shirts to keep me warm. This is Wicked from Zephyr Style. I used 6.5 skeins of Artyarns Supermerino in color 230, on size US 7 needles. I knit the 32-25" bust because I wanted negative ease for this sweater. I knit 5/8 sleeves instead of long or short sleeves, and I modified the pattern into a cardigan, after Flintknits's. I knit it a bit longer because I knew it would shorten up a bit when I had it buttoned closed. I also did mock cables at the cuffs.

I decided to do a 4-stitch seed stitch band on each side (i hate adding button bands later) and I added 2 stitches on each side since the cable panels down the front take up a bit of space. So that's the original amount of cast-on stitches plus 10sts. I knit the 32-35" bust size and so I would have cast on 120sts, but I actually cast on 104 (I wanted a not-so-wide neckline) and increased to the appropriate number of stitches for the size I was doing. I then knit the mock cable neckline as directed but I just didn't join it and I made sure to do the first and last 4 stitches in seed stitch for the button band. When it came time to put the markers, I made sure that the back and sleeves had the appropriate amount (42 and 20 stitches each, respectively) and then the fronts had a few more stitches (due to the button band and the extra couple of stitches). I kept 3 mock cable rows running down each side of the front at the point where the original pattern says to switch to stockinette. WHEW!

Trumpet- FO

2007-07-14T17:24:00.000-04:00

Behold, Trumpet!
This was an extrememly fast knit. The pattern is only avaliable in a size 32" bust, so I chose yarn and needles that yield a slightly larger gauge and it came out well. Happy!
Yarn used: 8.5 balls (740yds) of Rowan RYC Soft Tweed in color 005 Twig, which I purchased here for very cheap. I used size 11 needles and knit everything in the round instead of flat and used a seed-stitch hem instead of the weird-ass method she calls for (coz i lazy).

Here is a picture of it, blocked, pre-sleeves, which I have been told looks good (better?) than the sleeved version.

Snow White- FO

2007-06-30T09:56:00.001-04:00

Snow White has woken from her slumber! Or whatever.

This sweater was finished in a month, yay! I realize that for some people that is nothing, but for me, 2x2 ribbing on size 7's in a month is an accomplishment. Mostly because I was pretty monogamous with this project as I was test knitting it for Ysolda and she wanted it done by the end of June. Mine finished blocking two days ago and my partner was able to help me photograph it yesterday. So here, on the last day of June, is my Snow White!
For this sweater, I used 9.5 balls of Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk Aran in color 15 Clipper. I knit the Medium size and made a couple of minor modifications. I have a long torso and a bit of a belly, so I usually add an inch or two (or four in the case of the Greek Pullover). I added an inch or so at the bottom and probably didn't need to.

I also did only 12 rows of garter rib at the cuff instead of 24 and only realized it after I'd finished the sleeve, so I just added another 12 rows of ribbing to the top so that the overall length was the same. And then I repeated all of that with the second sleeve.

In the pattern you are given the option of doing a sewn tubular bind-off for the neck or you can do a picot bind-off. I chose the picot.

Overall thoughts about the pattern? I absolutely love it. The shaping is amazing, its so visually intresting as well as functional, yet still simple. If I were to do it again, I would do the tubular cast-on for the hem of the body on a larger needle (I actually did do it on a larger needle than the US 7 I used for the body, but apparantley it wasn't quite large enough). I would do the 24 garter rib rows instead of my mistake (although I think the cuffs look fine, I'm not complaining).
I'm also not 100% sure I'd use the yarn again. In a sweater like this, you really have to use a yarn that is soft against the skin, because lets face it, I can't even wear a bra with this sweater. Which means its best knit with a merino of some sort or something equally as soft. However, a lot of these yarns show wear kind of quickly, including the Sublime yarn I used. The yarn was absolutely delicious to knint with but it has a tiny bit of a halo already and I've never even worn it properly (it is June in Ohio, after all). I guess time will tell how much this yarn stands up to wear.

Now go buy the pattern! (erm, when its published, which I think is going to be soon!)

Best. Thing. Ever!

2007-06-30T09:20:00.000-04:00

Another Shetland Triangle- FO

2007-06-27T00:01:00.000-04:00

Yes, I liked the pattern that much. This was done with 3 balls of Rowan Cashsoft 4ply and size US 8 needles. Yay for another Shetland Triangle from Wrap Style!

FO- Shetland Triangle

2007-06-26T07:42:00.000-04:00

This is the Shetland Triangle from Wrap Style knit on 3.75 skeins of Louisa Harding Grace on US 9 needles.

Rogue- FO

2007-06-25T21:43:00.000-04:00

I finished this last month but hadn't gotten around to taking pictures of it. I had read a lot of 5-star reviews of Malabrigo yarn when I decided to take the plunge and buy enough to make a sweater, sight unseen. I am not sorry, myfriends. This yarn has held up really well and is super soft and not outrageously expensive. The pattern is Rogue. I used US 8 needles just barely under 6 hanks of yarn (100gm hanks). I knit the smallest size (36") and added a bit of length to the trunk and arms.

Kim's Hats- FO (and a teaser!)

2007-06-24T22:13:00.001-04:00

Today was a red-letter day in knitting for me. I finished TWO sweaters! Granted, I had a lot of time at home today, and its not like these sweaters were started last week. I started Trumpet in the first half of May and Snow White around Memorial Day weekend. I've also had a few days off here and there (yay Memorial Day weekend, Birthday Weekend, and Comfest) that have helped out greatly. They are all on the blocking board as we speak (well, the trunk of Trumpet was blocked about a month ago) and I should have pictures sometime next weekend. But for now, here's another FO from earlier this month.

I knit this hat for my boss, she really wanted a hat with earflaps that wasn't ugly or itchy. Enter Kim's Hats from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, knit on US 8 needles with GGH Bel Air yarn, two strands held together. I made the women's size and it came out a tad too big, but my boss liked it and that's what counts, right?

FO- Cabled Spiral Pullover

2007-06-24T09:34:00.001-04:00

Well, I guess my last post shows why it has been so damn long since I've posted on here. The reason is that I've become addicted to Ravelry. Part of why I started this blog was to keep an electronic notebook with details of my finished projects for my own reference. I used to keep a paper notebook and this sort of replaced that. But, as not everyone is on Ravelry, I shall continue to post!

This is my beloved Cabled Spiral Pullover from Knitting Nature
I knit the 36" bust size out of 628g (a little over six skeins) of Sarah's Yarns 4ply DK Mongolian Cashmere in Rich Blueberry. Yes, that's right, I knit a sweater out of cashmere. Its totally scrumptious and I got the yarn at wholesale. It was still an expensive sweater, but not the most expensive I've ever made. I used US 6 needles for this sweater. I also converted this sweater from a flat-knit sweater to an in-the-round sweater, I lengthened the body, and I added waist shaping to it (why the hell people design sweaters without waist shaping is beyond me). This sweater gets 8 million thumbs up, I love it, and I'm so sorry I finished it when it was beyond too hot out to wear it.

Ravelry

2007-06-10T08:52:00.001-04:00

For years I've been very anti-Myspace. Most of my friends have Myspace profiles and, either now or at other points in their lives have been... well, addicted to this site. Now, I think that professionally this can be a really wonderful tool. Authors, musical artists, bands, librarians/libraries, movies- these groups of people often have Myspace pages to offer information about their work. It is like an enhanced webpage. Lovely, I'm all for it. However, when Susie spends her time going to her boyfriend's Myspace page, searching for evidence that he is cheating on her by looking at his comments, or comments he has left other people, or when Bob searches his ex's pictures to figure out if she has a new boyfriend yet, this enables disgusting stalker-like behavior. Barf. And frankly, I don't need friends to leave me comments about how drunk I/They/Their cat was last night, even if they DID barf on someone I hate and I'd be really excited about it. I have a cellphone and email for that sort of necessary information.
Now, rewind to before Myspace was popular. I used to have similar feelings about blogs. Most of the blogs I was seeing back in, oh 2003, were of the "look at me! look at me! see what I had for breakfast?" variety. Lovely. I don't give a crap. But then I discovered the magic that is knitting blogs. I started by reading a post on Craftster by Eunny Jang on her Union Square Market Pullover. And I thought, "Wow, this woman knits beautiful things. I want to knit beautiful things. She doesn't knit with Fun Fur. I hate fun fur. I like the patterns she works on. I think I'll read this occasionally!" Then, in a post, she linked to another blogger, and I started reading another blog, until I had 3 or 4 blogs I checked every day. Then my boyfriend showed me the RSS reader in my web browswer (Safari- for Macs) and there was no turning back.
I read blogs not to be voyeuristic and peek into others' lives. I read blogs to peek into others' knitting bags and stashes. I like to see what other people are knitting, to get ideas for what I want to knit next or to find out what yarn I want to knit with. If a post doesn't contain knitting content or pictures, I move on. I am most interested in finished objects, with details following (which is why I set my blog up this way). I am also, at home, very interested in organization. I am a librarian and crave order. I have my yarn stash and needle inventory catalogued in Excel spreadsheets. I am... a dork. So though I never imagined myself joining a social networking site (like Myspace), I am eating my words. I have fallen in love. No, not with Myspace, but with Ravelry. I believe it will change the fiber arts world. It has changed my world. It is my Excel spreadsheets combined with my Flickr collection of knitting photos combined with Craftster combined with blogs. Holy moly.
I am Cabbage on Ravelry. Join in the madness!

Men's Rustic Scarf from LMKG- FO

2007-06-10T08:41:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Men's Rustic Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Maggi's Tweed Fleck Aran
Needles: US 11

Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf- FO

2007-05-31T08:24:00.000-04:00

Pattern:Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf
Yarn:2 skeins of Noro Big Kureyon
Needles:US 10

Irish Hiking Scarf- FO

2007-05-30T09:50:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Hello Yarn's Irish Hiking Scarf
Yarn: Dzined Wool/Hemp Sportweight
Needles: US 6

My So-Called Scarf- FO

2007-05-28T16:03:00.000-04:00

Pattern: My So-Called Scarf
Yarn: Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande in color 403
Needles: US 11

Hot Head Hat and Scarf- FOs

2007-05-27T12:04:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Hot Head Hat from Stitch 'n Bitch and my own scarf pattern based off of the hat color scheme.
Yarn: Lamb's Pride Bulky
Needles: US 10.5

Mom's Sophisticated Scarf- FO

2007-05-26T08:11:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Mom's Sophisticated Scarf from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation
Yarn: Five balls of Karabell Aurora 8
Needles: US 5 (kill me now)

Men's (faux) Cashmere Scarf- FO

2007-05-25T14:46:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Men's Cashmere Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: one hank of Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande in color 405
Needles: US 11

Purl Scarf- FO

2007-05-24T20:59:00.000-04:00

Pattern: The Purl Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Two hanks of Manos del Uruguay, two balls Classic Elite Le Gran, one ball Rowan Kidsilk Haze
Needles: US 15

Union Square Shawl/Poncho-FO

2007-05-23T09:22:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Union Square Shawl/Poncho from Weekend Knitting
Yarn: Tahki Donegal Tweed
Needles: US 9

Notes: This was one of my first big projects when I learned to knit. It was knit back in 2004, so I have no idea how much yarn was used, or what shade the yarn is. It was enjoyable to knit after I figured out the baby cable. I wear this all the time... but never outside the house, as it is rather large.

Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf- FO

2007-05-22T07:50:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf
Yarn: 3 skeins of Noro Silk Garden in color 224
Needles: US 9

Even More Socks-FOs

2007-05-21T00:02:00.000-04:00

The sock on the left is a 3x1 top-down sock knit from Knitpicks Memories in Cape Cod. Two skeins, US 1 needles, 66 stitches cast on.

The sock on the right is a plain, toe-up sock knit on size 2 needles, 52 stitches cast on, knit with Socks that Rock Mediumweight in Lagoon. I used this method for the short-row toes and heels.

Lorna's Laces Socks- FO

2007-05-20T10:28:00.000-04:00

Pattern: The one on the left is a generic top-down sock and the one on the right is this sock
Yarn: The yarn on the left is one skein (yes, one skein for two socks) of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in Irving Park on US 3 needles, the one on the right is specially dyed Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Manzanita on US 2 and 3 (US 3 for the calf). In my original post it said I was working with 1's and 2's but that sock turned out too small and I had to re-knit it with the suggested 2's and 3's.

Note: I love both Lorna's Laces yarn and the pattern for the Cable Rib socks, but I won't be buying the specially dyed sock yarn from Purl anymore. I was expecting the stripes to be wider and they clearly weren't. It would have been okay if they were the width/length that they are, but the contrast of white and raspberry is too much for the short little stripes.

LMKG Legwarmers- FO

2007-05-19T16:38:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Legwarmers from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: One skein of Cascade 220 and one skein of Rowan Kidsilk Haze held together
Needles: US 6

I loooove these legwarmers. I wear them all winter long. The Kidsilk Haze works well to take the itch out of the Cascade 220 (even though its not that itchy of a yarn, it still softens it up). I didn't make the legwarmers as long as the pattern suggests because my legs just aren't that long, so I only needed 1 skein of the KSH. Lurvely!

Greek Pullover- FO

2007-05-18T14:57:00.001-04:00

Pattern:Greek Pullover from the Fall 2005 Interweave Knits
Yarn: exactly 8 balls (872 yards) of Valley Yarns Florence (distributed by Yarn.com) in color 29030 for the size 38
Needles: US 7

Mods: After seaming, the arms and trunk were SHORT!!! This after I made them longer while knitting up the individual pieces. So, time for surgery, I snipped a stitch close to the purl ridge hems for the body and each sleeve, unraveled that row, picked up the stitches, knit 4 inches (!!!) to the sleeves and body. This yarn has GOT to be schizophrenic. Also, I found the neck to be more "open" than I would have liked, so I single crocheted 4 rows around the neckline instead of the suggested 1 row.

Norwegian Mittens- FO

2007-05-17T09:07:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Norwegian Mittens from Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac
Yarn: Knitpicks Telemark in Icicle (2 balls) and Skyline (1 ball)
Needles: US 3

Notes: This was my first colorwork project. I really liked it, even though it took me several tries to get the first mitten going. I knit them really tight though, so they fit me perfectly instead of being of a "large" size, like EZ states in her book. I guess that was just luck though... erm... I mean, I planned it that way! The Telemark is nice, though not the softest thing I've ever used. But its so frickin' cheap, why the hell not? This project cost under $6!

Dayflower Lace Scarf- FO

2007-05-15T08:40:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Dayflower Lace Scarf
Yarn: one skein of Soysilk Oasis in Rose
Needles: US 8

Notes: I probably won't knit this scarf again because it curls too much, even after severe blocking. It pretty much looks like a lace tube when worn. Perhaps I'll try it in an animal fiber to see if that helps, but... eh...

Island Cotton scarf- FO

2007-05-14T12:02:00.000-04:00

Pattern: 2x2 rib
Yarn: Island Cotton, one skein
Needles: US 15

More Socks-FO's

2007-05-13T09:11:00.000-04:00

The sock on the left is made with Claudia Handpaint Fingering Weight in color "Oops" on sise US 2 needles using this toe-up method.
The sock on the right is the first "real" sock I ever made, so its a bit floopy, just like the striped sock here. It was knit from Trekking XXL using US 2 needles.

Chevron Scarf- FO

2007-05-12T13:42:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: 2 skeins each of two different Koigu Painter's Pallette Premium Merino (KPPPM) colors (I forget which ones)
Needle: US 5

Cherry Tree Hill socks- FO's

2007-05-07T00:01:00.000-04:00

These socks were both made with Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn. The one on the left is from my second *real* (read: not made of bulky yarn on size 10 needles) pair of socks I ever made. It was knit on US 2 DPNs and, being one of my first attempts at *real* socks, I had not yet realized that I prefer my socks with about .5-1" negative ease and a fairly dense fabric. SO the sock on the right was knit with the same pattern and the same number of stitches cast on, but I knit it on US 1 DPNs and it fits marvelously. Much less floppy than the pretty strip-ed ones.

Central Park Hoodie- FO

2007-05-06T09:22:00.000-04:00

Pattern: The Fall 2006 issue of Knitscene
Yarn: about 615g/1125yds of Tahki Donegal Tweed in color 868
Needles: US 8 and 6

Notes: I made the 40" bust size because I wanted a roomier fit. I absolutely love this sweater, and have received TONS of compliments on it, but I would knit my true size (36") if I could go back and do it over. Also, I don't know why the sweater looks wonky in this picture, I swear the front doesn't hang down like that. Maybe I buttoned it wrong, who knows. I also grafted the top of the hood instead of seaming it. I just sort of guessed how to graft cables and it worked. Yay! I guess grafting lots of stst sock toes paid off.

Lace-Up Fingerless Gloves- FO

2007-05-05T22:00:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Lace-Up Fingerless Gloves from Alterknits size Small
Yarn: one skein of Manos Del Uruguay
Needles: size US 8 DPN's

Schaefer Anne Socks- FO

2007-05-04T16:39:00.000-04:00

Here is a pair of simple stockinette (I know, how boring) socks. These were knit on size US 0 needles with Schaefer Anne sock yarn.

Simple Knitted Bodice- FO

2007-04-25T10:19:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Stefanie Japel's Simple Knitted Bodice, size S
Yarn: Tilli Thomas Pure & Simple 100% spun silk, about 1130 yards of Ruby Wine color and Tilli Thomas Disco Lights 100% spun silk with petite sequins, about 70 yards of Ruby Wine color.
Needle: Used recommended US 6 needle (US 4 for lace and purl ridges)

Notes: My gauge is way off on this sweater, but I guess that's a good thing because the sweater fits well.
Modifications: I did less increases before the neck join. This made the sweater a bit more fitted and less of a low-cut neckline. All the purl ridges were done in the Pure and Simple instead of the Disco Lights. I did not do lace panels on the sleeves, but I did the purl ridges at the cuffs. I chose to not have flared sleeves, and instead decreased starting around the elbow. I decreased 2 stitches every 9 rows 5 times. For the purl ridges, I picked up 6 st/in along the "V" of the neck and 4 st/in along the back of the neck. I only did two sets of purl ridges for the neckline instead of three. I knit for a couple inches before starting the center lace purl ridges and lace panel and lengthened the sweater a bit.

Hourlass Sweater- FO

2007-04-11T22:35:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, size XS
Yarn: Noro Cash Iroha Color 97
Yardage: 10 hanks plus 8g of another hank (40g/99yds per hank)
Needle Size: US 7
Mods: I decreased the neckline more so that it wouldn't be such a dramatic boatneck sweater.

Shetland Triangle- FO

2007-04-03T18:09:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Shetland Triangel from Wrap Style by Evelyn Clark
Yarn: Rowan Cashsoft 4ply in color 430- approximately 464yds, a little over two balls (57% Extrafine Merino, 33% Microfiber, 10% Cashmere. 197yds/50g)
Needles: US size 8

notes: did 9 pattern repeats instead of recommended 8. If I had done 8 repeats, I would have used exactly 2 balls of this yarn, which would make it cheap! After blocking, this shawl measured 52.5" across its hypotenuse (that stretched to 60" after I wore it a few times) and 26.5" high. I lurrrrvvvve this pattern!

Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern- FO

2007-04-01T17:45:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Sundara Sock Yarn, in a solid color that appears to have been discontinued (the color number was 20)
Yardage: 100g/350yds per hank. One hank used.
Needles: Crystal Palace size US 1 bamboo DPNs

Awesome pattern. Awesome yarn.

Trekking XXL Sock- FO

2007-03-27T22:46:00.000-04:00

Pattern: generic sock pattern (see below for deets)
Yarn: Trekking XXL in Color 132
Yardage: 100g/460yds. One ball had enough for 3 socks (I only made 2)
Needles: Crystal Palace bamboo US size 1 DPN's (I lurrrrvvvvee these needles!)

I love Trekking yarn, especially after the first wash. They get sooooo much softer. For these socks I cast on 60 stitches, did an inch or so of 2x1 rib before changing to stockinette, and used a french heel and the commonly-used toe for which I cannot remember the name (I think I decreased to 24 sts and then grafted the toe together). Wheeeee!

One Skein Unisex Gloves- FO

2007-03-26T18:49:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Unisex Gloves from One Skein
Yarn: Araucania Nature Wool color 29
Yardage: 242yds/100g- I made the women's size and had more than enough yarn left over to make a third glove (but didn't)
Needles: the recommended US 7's and 8's, DPNs

Comments: I will never knit gloves again. Mittens for me. Yes... Mittens for me.

Cashmere Merino Cowl- FO

2007-03-24T11:00:00.000-04:00

Pattern: my own
Yarn: Karabella Boise, 50% cashmere, 50% merino
Yardage: 50g/163yds per ball. One ball used.
Needles: US 5 addi turbo 16" circulars
Gauge: 6.25 st/in

I knit this thinking it would be a nice alternative to wearing scarves in the winter. I got the yarn on sale (it was still pretty expensive) and thought, "what could I make out of one skein of this?". So I decided to make a cowl. I cast on 112 stitches and k3,p1 for 5 rows. Then I knit for 7 inches or so before finishing with another 5 rows of k3,p1 ribbing. This thing feels delicious against my neck, I absolutely love it!

One Skein Asymmetrical Hat- FO

2007-03-23T18:35:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Asymmetrical Cable Hat from One Skein
Yarn: Rowan Polar
Needles: size US 11 16' circulars and US 11 dpn's.

Tubey- FO

2007-01-17T08:20:00.000-05:00

OK so I will start where I left off- Tubey! Okay so after ripping out the sleeve tube three times, that finally worked out. Then I had to rip out the body tube once or twice because of weirdness. Then I finished it, and loved it. Great, right? Well, the wool I used is superwash, so I thought that rather than blocking it, I'd throw it in the washer and dryer. Easy, right? No, apparantley the yarn I used tends to bloom when I do this. The sweater is huge. Its completely obscene. BUT Bek has much bigger mammaries than me. So she has been gifted, after helping me move over the course of two weeks, with my Tubey. And she looks nine bazillion times better in it. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Yarn:Mission Falls 1824 Wool. I have no idea how much or what colors. I think there was a Raisin color involved.
Needles:Addi Turbos (or Blunti Stumpos), US8. I used circs for the sleeves, I found it to be much faster.
Size Knit:Small

Bad Cabbage!

2006-10-23T12:20:00.000-04:00

Bad blogger! ::slaps hand with a ruler::
So I haven't blogged. There's a good reason. Well I wasn't blogging at first because it was hot and gross and I wasn't knitting, so there was nothing to blog about. Then I realized I couldn't see any pictures that were hosted by blogspot. So I let it ride for awhile, tinkering with things here and there. And then it dawned on me that I could see pictures on blogspot blogs that were hosted by Flickr. So I tried to post that way, but it didn't work. I imagine that was my fault, I probably effed it up somehow. So then I realized that I should probably just reinstall my operating system on my computer, and then finally I decided to move. Wait, what? Move? Yes, I moved a couple of miles away into a bigger, cheaper place in a safer neighborhood. And then I had to unpack. That takes awhile when you work 53 hours per week. And its the holidays and you're out of town a lot. So finally last night I decided to reinstall the OS. And now I have pictures! However, now I can't find my digital camera. So it'll be awhile til you see anything current, though I have some FO's from the past six months or so that I'll post once I finish importing all of my pictures from my old hard drive. I will try to be a better blogger, I promise!
Until then, hope you have a happy new year!
-Cabbage

Tubey rocks again, finally!

2006-08-13T14:18:00.000-04:00

Ok, it has been a good knitting week. I picked Tubey back up, and I knit 9 body rows. I tried it on, and... success! Well, so far. I still have a lot to go. But I'm very excited, because I was seriously doubting that this sweater would ever be finished.

I have also started Pullover Flair from Sping 2006 Interweave Knits. Scroll down towards the bottom of that page to see the sweater.

The yarn is actually really interesting. Its two-stranded, one strand is this tweedy grey and white cotton, the other is this silky very orange ribbon-like yarn. I'm using the recommended yarn, Artful Yarns Olympic in 34 Tokyo and size 8 addi circulars. Its a fairly open gauge, which accounts for the extreme drape of this sweater (a big part of why I like it).

And, for fun, my lazy cat enjoys the sil on this beautiful day!

FO-Classic Tweed

2006-08-06T22:04:00.000-04:00

Yo. So Its been wicked hot here and the knitting/finishing has been at a minimum lately. I did manage to finish the seaming, weaving in ends, and ironing (yes, ironing) of the Classic Tweed Sweater. I'm happy with it in that it is a large finished project that doesn't suck. Do I love it? No. The yarn, though very pretty, breaks like its friggin' cotton candy. That's not so bad for knitting, but sucks for seaming. Oh and there's a lot of seaming. There's no waist shaping, so it looks a little lumpy on me. And the sleeves are doing this weird puckery thing... but overall I'm satisfied. I will wear it. Most likely with jeans on the weekend.

I've also made progress on the USMP. I am falling more and more in love with this sweater and getting more and more nervous about the curling that is going on. Again. pray that blocking works!

And, also, because it is the most beautiful WIP I've seen lately, here is the pre-sundried tomato pesto out of Sundays at Moosewood. I think this is beautiful before its blended. I love the layers!

USMP and Classic Tweed Sweater, continued... plus... cherrybutt!

2006-07-20T20:56:00.000-04:00

Well its been awhile since I posted... I have a few updates, as well as some booty-fruity (click here and here and here and here and finally, here). So classes have resumed and I can finally work on mindless stockinette again. The USMP is coming along... slowly but surely. I'm on the increases now and its taking friggin' forever. But its nice... and hopefully things will work... and then I'll be a happy camper.

I'm also making quite a bit of progress on the Classic Tweed Sweater, which pleases me (i'm CHUFFED!) considering it is DK weight yarn and size US 6 needles. I'm done with the front and a good way into the back. 2 1/2 hours of the back=sitting in Pirates of the Carribean Dead Man's Chest, 2 1/2 hours= Selection and Acquisitions class today.

And finally... the butt-cherry. When I first saw this I thought it was two cherries and then I realized it was supposed to be two cherries and they're all siamese-like instead. Anyways, looks like a butt:

Classic Tweed Sweater- started

2006-07-04T22:09:00.000-04:00

Ok so the Union Square Market Pullover is slow going and a bit tedious to work on, and Tubey is still drying, so I cast on for the Jo Sharp Classic Tweed Sweater (bottom right in the set of six smaller pictures). I am using the recommended yarn, Silkroad DK Tweed in 405 Emporio, a very deep purple with flecks of red and grey. The picture makes the yarn look almost black, but its not actually quite that dark. I really like it, it knits up nicely. I'm knitting it on Addi Turbos, size 6. And listening to a book on tape!

Weeee for new projects!

Tubey Surgery

2006-07-04T18:45:00.000-04:00

Well I was knitting Tubey and I had just finished the arms shrug tube thing and picked up for the body tube, knit an inch or so, tried it on, and realized that the flat part of the tube was too short. So I decided to block just the flat tube part.
Here's me soaking just the flat part

And while we're at it, here are my colors for the stripes

And now its blocking! :) Wish me luck!

Union Square Market Pullover-started

2006-07-03T20:17:00.000-04:00

Good grief its been weeks since I posted! Well its been hot... grumble... and I completed a Socky Sock. I am more pleased with the look than I was before, but its too small. ::sigh::. So I decided to do it again. I just bumped the needle size up... hopefully it won't be too lacy.

I've also cast on for the Union Square Market Pullover by Interweave Knits. Its the one on the cover (Fall 2005). I'm making mine in Garnstudio's DROPS Alpaca, in black and scarlet.

Let me tell you, don't ever attempt the invisible cast-on. This fucker says to use that cast-on, knit 9 rows or something, then fold it up and knit two together (kinda like a three-needle bind off) fo make a hem. Forget it. I tried with another needle and with waste yarn and made a HUGE mess both times. So I just cast on normally and then stitched it up... kinda like when I made the Last Minute Knitted Gifts Hourglass Sweater, except they told you to purl a row where the bottom of the hem is. I didn't, and now I'm wondering if I should have. But fuck it, I'm way too far with laceweight yarn and size 3 needles to rip this puppy out. I'll just "aggressively block" the sweater when I'm done. I'm also not too thrilled with the yarn choice. I couldn't for the life of me find the required yarn anywhere (Plassard Alpaga) and someone else posted to Craftster with her pictures and a link to her blog and said that she used the yarn that I am using now. She sorta gushed about it in her blog and I have to say, so far I am not that impressed with the softness of this yarn. I mean, it's alpaca, it should feel glorious. But its almost a little scratchy. Oh well, maybe hair conditioner would help. Wish me luck on this crazy sweater!

Socky socks

2006-06-14T12:25:00.000-04:00

So I love Lorna's Laces. I really do. And I love Purl and their online store (I've never had the opportunity to visit the actual store in Soho). So when I saw that Purl has Lorna's Laces sock yarn dyed specially for them, and I actually saw the hanks, I was very excited.

So I bought two hanks in colorway Manzanita and set to work on Interweave Knit's Spring 2005 Cable Rib Socks by Erica Alexander. I don't know how I feel about the sock so far.

I mean, I think the reddish color is pretty, and I kinda like the weird spiral white stripe... but I guess I expected the stripes to be more than just one row each. They kind of give me a headache now. I don't know if I think that this sock yarn just sucks, period, or if it needs to be in stockinette to not hypnotize me/give me seizures/make me ralph. From far away it doesn't look so bad though. I really like the cable detail (there are only two cable panels on the sock), but I think the crazy striping kinda makes the cables invisible.

The first four inches are worked on size two needles, then the rest of the sock is worked on size ones (ugh). I just switched, about three rows ago, to the ones, so it'll be interesting to see the difference in the striping (and that random diagonal white stripe) when I get a bit further. Stand by.

Body Bags!

2006-06-13T00:32:00.000-04:00

Peep these, yo. And snaps to anyone who can guess what is in the bags (there are two bags, not two pictures of one bag).

No, actually, there are no bodies in the bags, though I guess they look like they could hide a not-so-small child in them, don't they? I had four things to full and I remembered that I had destroyed my only zippered bag the last time I fulled something. So I hoofed it (okay, you're right, I drove) over to Bed Bath & Beyond to buy some new ones. I had a bag to full, and since it was kinda huge pre-fulling, I thought I'd just buy a bigger zippered pillowcase. Um, so yeah, king-sized bed things are ginormous. In fact, they look like body bags. Okay, now for the unveiling of the post-fulling items (please excuse the towels and plastic bags that are being used to shape them as they dry:

This is a stash bag loosely based on Leigh Radford's Alterknits stash bag. I used bulky yarns instead of worsted weight yarns. I actually really like this bag, even though it is lumpy, because I can point to almost every stripe and remember what the yarn in it originally was from. Like the green bottom is from the hat that I knit for my friend Tyler, and the purple stripe (the thin one) is from the wavy scarf in Melanie Falick's Weekend Knitting that I knit for my friend Beast even though I knit it out of Lite Lopi and it is way way too itchy to wear (the lady at the yarn store told me conditioner would make it softer. She lied.), the blue is from a hat I knit for my boyfriend, three of the stripes are from scarves I've knit for they boy, and the grey is from a scarf I knit. Now, let's talk about this grey stripe. i think this is what is making the top of the bag wonky. That grey stripe is a little stripe of alpaca yarn that felts like mad in comparison to its wool friends in the bag. So that stripe is HARD because it is so felted. I think that shrunk more than its share and it is drawing the bag in like a badly cinched waistline on some hippie shirt. Oh well, I love it because it tells a story.

This beauty is from Leigh Radford's One Skein. I followed the pattern exactly (I think the pattern is called something like "The Clutch You'll Never Give Up" or something) but I used Misti Alpaca Yarns' Misti Alpaca Chunky in VR1380 Sage. Will I ever use this? Maybe not. Do I love it, nonetheless? Yes, most definately. I have yet to add buttons, maybe I'll add them and then post another picture.

These bowls are also from One Skein. They both came out a lot bigger than I thought they would, even though the alpaca yarn shrinks like mad. The green one is from the same yarn as the clutch and the black one is from Brown Sheep's Burley Spun in BS05 Black. I may try and felt the black one again, we'll see.

Okay, that's all for now, folks! Oh and I also found out that the merc carries Lorna's Laces Sheperd Worsted, albeit only in variegated and solid black. I bought a berry-toned variegated anyway, because I loved making the One Skein Socklettes so much, half because of the awesome yarn. Weeeeeeeeeee!

I also finished the hemp scarf and added fringe and everything. Glad to be done with that. I finally finished knitting my friend Bek (Beast's sister) her two-weeks-belated birthday scarf though I forgot to take a picture of it. It was a herringbone stitch scarf knit in Plymouth Yarn's Baby Alpaca Grande (100% alpaca) and I stupidly forgot to take a picture. Bek, if you're reading, please take a picture of you wearing the scarf (you can chop your head out if you want) and send it to me to post!

Ok I'm really gone this time.

P.S. Happy Birthday to me on Thursday! YIPPEE! Quarter century!

I am Shetland Wool

2006-06-12T12:21:00.000-04:00

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Shetland Wool. You are a traditional sort who can sometimes be a little on the harsh side. Though you look delicate you are tough as nails and prone to intricacies. Despite your acerbic ways you are widely respected and even revered.
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