Ok, so I see what you're saying about the hexagons (it does need to be knitting, so crocheting them is out), and I love the hex coat, so anything like that is really appealing. But my worry is that people would be put off by fussy knitting and/or fussy finishing. I have this great pattern for a stuffed sheep that I've never made because of my hatred of bobbles, for example. But do you think they wouldn't mind? That people who knit stuffed animals are expecting fuzzy finishing?
I've never made a knitted stuffed animal, so I'm not the best person to ask. I did sew several jointed teddy beards in elementary and middle school, and didn't mind all the pieces at the time... but now I haven't made one for nearly 20 years, in part because of all the pieces.
Wait! What about just 3 hexagons along the top, then the rest picked up and knitted down from there?
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Monday, August 6, 2007
Tour de France Scarf Finished!
But not in this picture! (Please ignore my hair, squint and overall funny expression. Look at the scarf!)
TdF Scarf
Even though I was a terribly TdF blogger, I did keep chugging away on this scarf pretty steadily though the 3 weeks of the tour. But apparently I didn't actually want the tour to end, because I stalled for over a week with only the second border to knit. In my defense, I needed my whole brain to knit the border pattern (unlike every other lace pattern I've tried, this one didn't seem to have any kind of rhythm or logic, and I needed to rely entirely on counting and remembering where I was... and the pattern is 24 lines long), and made me tense and cranky.
I worked on it a little bit Saturday, and finished it up last night. Kevin's not used to how much I needed to pay attention to it (remember that I can usually knit while walking and reading, as well as the usual talking, listening to podcasts and watching TV), so he didn't quite believe me when I said I wouldn't be able to talk while working on it, but it's completely true. Every time I opened my mouth (even between rows) I lost my place and had to count stitches to figure out where I was again. At least I didn't need total silence, and the TV could stay on.
I'm glad to be done though! Blocked shots (and that second end) soon. Maybe.
To rest my brain, I cast on for a nice simple baby surprise jacket this morning as my "break and walking to work" project. (Although I'd never think to construct a jacket this way in a million years, the knitting itself is straightforward--all garter stitch, with regular decreases and increases.)
I have just a tiny bit done so far. (I sent this picture sent directly from my phone to Flickr... it's like I've finally entered the 21st century, huh?)
BSJ beginnings
Just a little smidge of a sweater so far, and I'm not sure if I'll have enough yarn (it's my own handspun, and the ball there is about half of what I have). I may be visiting one of my many friends with a new baby in a couple of weeks, and if it works out (and is finished, and seems like it might fit come fall, etc...), it may be a present.
TdF Scarf
Even though I was a terribly TdF blogger, I did keep chugging away on this scarf pretty steadily though the 3 weeks of the tour. But apparently I didn't actually want the tour to end, because I stalled for over a week with only the second border to knit. In my defense, I needed my whole brain to knit the border pattern (unlike every other lace pattern I've tried, this one didn't seem to have any kind of rhythm or logic, and I needed to rely entirely on counting and remembering where I was... and the pattern is 24 lines long), and made me tense and cranky.
I worked on it a little bit Saturday, and finished it up last night. Kevin's not used to how much I needed to pay attention to it (remember that I can usually knit while walking and reading, as well as the usual talking, listening to podcasts and watching TV), so he didn't quite believe me when I said I wouldn't be able to talk while working on it, but it's completely true. Every time I opened my mouth (even between rows) I lost my place and had to count stitches to figure out where I was again. At least I didn't need total silence, and the TV could stay on.
I'm glad to be done though! Blocked shots (and that second end) soon. Maybe.
To rest my brain, I cast on for a nice simple baby surprise jacket this morning as my "break and walking to work" project. (Although I'd never think to construct a jacket this way in a million years, the knitting itself is straightforward--all garter stitch, with regular decreases and increases.)
I have just a tiny bit done so far. (I sent this picture sent directly from my phone to Flickr... it's like I've finally entered the 21st century, huh?)
BSJ beginnings
Just a little smidge of a sweater so far, and I'm not sure if I'll have enough yarn (it's my own handspun, and the ball there is about half of what I have). I may be visiting one of my many friends with a new baby in a couple of weeks, and if it works out (and is finished, and seems like it might fit come fall, etc...), it may be a present.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Wedding Shawl Pictures
I brought the shawl I made for my wedding (last September) to visit the Yarn Harlot last night in Madison. She made a shawl for her wedding from the same book, and I'd felt silly commenting on it in her comments at the time... What does it say about my sense of weird that bringing the shawl to see her seemed nearly normal.
Anyway, I still lived in MA when I made it, so no one her had seen it before, or seen pictures of out wedding. We eloped to Iceland, without telling anyone but the 2 friends who witnessed our signatures on some documents (there were many documents). So here some are pictures--the rest are in Kevin's Flickr account.
This is the best close-up of the pattern, I swear. And, oh look! My ring!
Close-up
Knitting Before the Ceremony
Afterwards
There are lots of sheep in Iceland. During the summer, they roam freely, eating whatever. In the fall, they get rounded up, sorted out, and driven back to their owners' farms. Along the highways, in some cases--here are some we passed on the way to the hotel where we got married.
Sheep Road Block
Conveniently, the Lopi outlet store (formerly the factory, although I think the factory has now moved to another town) was also on the way to the hotel where we got married. It's possible that I went twice. Here's the official Lopi vehicle.
Alafoss Car
The shawl is the Azalea design from the First Book of Modern Lace Knitting, and I used about 3 ounces of Zephyr wool-silk. I knit it in about 3 weeks (we decided to get married, planned the wedding, and got married in 3 weeks... BUT we'd been together for nearly 6 years, so it wasn't as sudden as that sounds!). We drive to Ohio and back during that time, so I got in a lot of good knitting then, but I couldn't knit in front of very many people because the wedding was a secret and it's so clearly a wedding shawl that it would have given everything away.
Anyway, I still lived in MA when I made it, so no one her had seen it before, or seen pictures of out wedding. We eloped to Iceland, without telling anyone but the 2 friends who witnessed our signatures on some documents (there were many documents). So here some are pictures--the rest are in Kevin's Flickr account.
This is the best close-up of the pattern, I swear. And, oh look! My ring!
Close-up
Knitting Before the Ceremony
Afterwards
There are lots of sheep in Iceland. During the summer, they roam freely, eating whatever. In the fall, they get rounded up, sorted out, and driven back to their owners' farms. Along the highways, in some cases--here are some we passed on the way to the hotel where we got married.
Sheep Road Block
Conveniently, the Lopi outlet store (formerly the factory, although I think the factory has now moved to another town) was also on the way to the hotel where we got married. It's possible that I went twice. Here's the official Lopi vehicle.
Alafoss Car
The shawl is the Azalea design from the First Book of Modern Lace Knitting, and I used about 3 ounces of Zephyr wool-silk. I knit it in about 3 weeks (we decided to get married, planned the wedding, and got married in 3 weeks... BUT we'd been together for nearly 6 years, so it wasn't as sudden as that sounds!). We drive to Ohio and back during that time, so I got in a lot of good knitting then, but I couldn't knit in front of very many people because the wedding was a secret and it's so clearly a wedding shawl that it would have given everything away.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
piCardigan!
I've just noticed that I haven't posted finished photos of the picot cardigan (called piCardigan for short) over here, only in Ravelry. So here it is:
Standing still...
and walking.
Details:
Sizes: 37.5 (39.5, 41, 43, 45) finished chest measurement (when closed--the size I'm wearing is about 2 inches larger than I am at the bust)
Length: 20(21, 22, 23, 24) inches from back of neck to hem
Yarn: 9 (10, 11, 12, 13) skeins of Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere, 103 yds/90 m per 50 g skein.
gauge: 17 sts = 4 inches/10 cm (I used a US size 7 needle.)
Pattern: 4-page pdf, with schematic. You'll receive an email with download info when you pay (through Paypal).
Cost: $5.00
Note: I was within a few yards of starting a 10th skein for the smallest size, so if you're going to lengthen anything you might want to buy more yarn. According to my calculations, there will be more leeway in the other sizes.
[ETA on 11/26/07: this sweater is now available for sale on The Garter Belt--there's more information about it there too!]
Standing still...
and walking.
Details:
Sizes: 37.5 (39.5, 41, 43, 45) finished chest measurement (when closed--the size I'm wearing is about 2 inches larger than I am at the bust)
Length: 20(21, 22, 23, 24) inches from back of neck to hem
Yarn: 9 (10, 11, 12, 13) skeins of Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere, 103 yds/90 m per 50 g skein.
gauge: 17 sts = 4 inches/10 cm (I used a US size 7 needle.)
Pattern: 4-page pdf, with schematic. You'll receive an email with download info when you pay (through Paypal).
Cost: $5.00
Note: I was within a few yards of starting a 10th skein for the smallest size, so if you're going to lengthen anything you might want to buy more yarn. According to my calculations, there will be more leeway in the other sizes.
[ETA on 11/26/07: this sweater is now available for sale on The Garter Belt--there's more information about it there too!]
In Which Knitting is Not Quite as Popular as I Think
I realized that I don't have any stray hats floating around to bring to the Yarn Harlot's talk, so I started this one Tuesday night and finished it several hours after this picture was taken (yesterday).
Wouldn't you like some yarn?
It's a simple roll brim hat with symmetrical decreases around the top. I usually make these hats on 72 sts, which seemed fine, but this one turned out either too tall or too wide, so I may try felting it a bit (or, figure someone is bound to have a big head and they'll be glad to have a hat that fits them perfectly?). I'm making a second one, slightly smaller. The yarn is from the Farmhouse Yarn bins-on-the-driveway sale... I think the one this spring, rather than the one last fall... and didn't have any labels.
Anyway, the thing is that I dreamed that I went to the Yarn Harlot's talk with some SnBers and got ice cream. I apparently have the most un-inventive subconscious ever, since a bunch of us are going together in real life, and there's every chance that we'll get ice cream. But in my dream, Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton came too (they were nice enough, but didn't get any ice cream). It's possible that I'm overestimating the spread of knitting, huh?
Wouldn't you like some yarn?
It's a simple roll brim hat with symmetrical decreases around the top. I usually make these hats on 72 sts, which seemed fine, but this one turned out either too tall or too wide, so I may try felting it a bit (or, figure someone is bound to have a big head and they'll be glad to have a hat that fits them perfectly?). I'm making a second one, slightly smaller. The yarn is from the Farmhouse Yarn bins-on-the-driveway sale... I think the one this spring, rather than the one last fall... and didn't have any labels.
Anyway, the thing is that I dreamed that I went to the Yarn Harlot's talk with some SnBers and got ice cream. I apparently have the most un-inventive subconscious ever, since a bunch of us are going together in real life, and there's every chance that we'll get ice cream. But in my dream, Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton came too (they were nice enough, but didn't get any ice cream). It's possible that I'm overestimating the spread of knitting, huh?
That's My Last Lifeline...
As I've told everyone who will listen (including some people--Kevin--who barely care) over the past couple of days, I put in the designer-recommended lifeline on row 287 of the Mystery Stole, and I'm never going to put in another lifeline!
MS lifeline
For those of you who aren't knitting the stole (and why not? All the cool kids are doing it!), the designer sent out an announcement a couple of weeks ago that said we should all put in a lifeline (that's where you run a smooth thread/yarn/piece of dental floss through every stitch in a row you know is right, so you won't lose any stitches if you need to rip back to that point) in row 287. Even if that would interrupt the pattern of where we'd been placing lifelines. Even if we'd never used a lifeline before (that would be me). Just do it, and we'll thank her later.
So I did, and it was kind of a pain in the neck to knit the next row, and for the first time in my life I nearly knit stitches together with each other accidentally, and I'm not doing it again (unless, I suppose, the next clue tells me to just do it and I'll thank her later...).
The good news is that it gives me a better answer (it's a pain, and makes me make mistakes!) when people see I don't have any lifelines in my lace and ask why. (People, as though I'm constantly running into strangers who want to discuss lace with me, but never mind.) My old answer (knock on wood, but I don't usually make mistakes that are big enough that I can't correct them without significant ripping) was just asking for trouble. Falling back on laziness and refusal to carry around extra supplies is much safer.
MS lifeline
For those of you who aren't knitting the stole (and why not? All the cool kids are doing it!), the designer sent out an announcement a couple of weeks ago that said we should all put in a lifeline (that's where you run a smooth thread/yarn/piece of dental floss through every stitch in a row you know is right, so you won't lose any stitches if you need to rip back to that point) in row 287. Even if that would interrupt the pattern of where we'd been placing lifelines. Even if we'd never used a lifeline before (that would be me). Just do it, and we'll thank her later.
So I did, and it was kind of a pain in the neck to knit the next row, and for the first time in my life I nearly knit stitches together with each other accidentally, and I'm not doing it again (unless, I suppose, the next clue tells me to just do it and I'll thank her later...).
The good news is that it gives me a better answer (it's a pain, and makes me make mistakes!) when people see I don't have any lifelines in my lace and ask why. (People, as though I'm constantly running into strangers who want to discuss lace with me, but never mind.) My old answer (knock on wood, but I don't usually make mistakes that are big enough that I can't correct them without significant ripping) was just asking for trouble. Falling back on laziness and refusal to carry around extra supplies is much safer.
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