2/26/07

Sweater Progress



Everybody in the pool! Sigh.
I just laid out what was finished so far on the Jawbreaker. Not any real blocking as yet. Lo and behold, I've knitted a pool of color in one of the fronts....Fellow knitters, this may be the last time I use variegated yarn for such a project. Perhaps I just wont use this type of yarn ever again... Oh, well. I'll knit on. And by gum, if the sweater won't fit me, I'll just have to gift it. I gotta go now.
Willy is attacking my knitting.

2/24/07

When the Going Gets Tough...

A). Buy more yarn
B). Cast on something else
C). Knit a washcloth
D). All of the above!
















I've never knit with linen before. Thought that I would give it a try since seeing it used as washcloths in the book Knitter's Stash recently. The aqua would be lovely in the eyelet swirls pattern that I used for the cashmere scarf. Hopefully, I'll get two cloths from each hank of yarn.

Once I sober up from three sweater blues, I'll return to the Jawbreaker for starters.

2/19/07

One of These Things is Not Like the Other

Long time coming Klaralund...Sigh.
It's the classic knitter's drama. You wait for months before you find the perfect yarn. Then, some more months pass by until you feel the time is just right to cast on (you finally finish other needy projects).
Stitch, stitch, stitch.
All is well. Almost finished the second sleeve and I'm done.
Double bam. I run out of yarn AND the first sleeve is hideous.



I so don't like the garter stitching around the top of my arms. In this yarn, Artyarns Ultramerino, which is not the recommended striping yarn, but a variegated one, the garter makes me look like an armadillo. Me no likey. Must find a different stitch pattern for that section. A couple more months pass by until I can get more of this luxury (shockingly expensive) yarn. ONLY to find that as I make progress on that final sleeve, I notice that the colors aren't pooling in the same way as the older ones. Boo, hisssss.


What once was a simple knit is now a slip of stitch. Grrr. I must rip the first sleeve and use that old yarn for the top of the sleeves where it meets the body. The new yarn will be used for the forearms. Seems to be the most consistant thing to do and hopefully all will blend in well. Sigh.
I must say that working with my new Lime and Violet glass circs have been an absolute pleasure. Once I got over the fear of breaking them with hulk hands grip, it's been a smooth ride on the short yellow bus. Hee, hee. The lunch box style cookie container was the perfect carry-all for my sleeve/glass needle knitting projects. No worries.
Tune in in another month or so when the Klaralund should finally be finished.

2/18/07

A Project from the Way Back Machine


From time at home getting over a cold and a three day weekend, I dug up this.




It's the Seed Stitch Jacket by Twinkle from VK Winter 04/05.
The yarn is Brown Sheep Burley Spun, body in black and the ribbing in Moutain Majesty.

I was a very new knitter back then and became intimidated by the prospect of doing pockets which come up right after the bottom ribbing in this pattern. Now I've figured them out and of course had to make a more elementary mistake. I've been using the wrong sized needles! Ugh! Not ripping back. No way.
This'll be a very close fitting jacket. Think that I can increase the size of the button band ribbing to make up the difference. I hope. Trying to be optimistic about the sleeve caps.

I think that I can finish this week. Then I can get back to my other five WIPs.

2/14/07

Happy Valentine's Day!



2/4/07

Maybe if I knit with some of my bulkier stash yarns, it'll look like I don't have as much?
Worth a try. It's cold out. The Jawbreaker Cardigan from Interweave Winter '06 might be relatively quick. Here's what I've got so far. This Debbie Bliss Soho was one of the few things that I picked up at Stitches East in Baltimore. Something about this colorway that woos me...


2/2/07

Looking Back, Looking Forward

I'm still in the process of sorting myself out for the New Year.
Eleven months to go, Lord willing, so I had better sort a little faster to make the most of it.

Knitwise, I've got way too many projects that I'd like to tackle in the near future.
As an added distraction, I've picked up spindle and wheel spinning. If you haven't tried it yet, I highly recommend giving it a whirl. Once you get the hang of it you'll probably find it as soothing as I do.

Last year I finally learned to do cables, but haven't done a project since this dishcloth.