Color naming contest!

http://lostcityknits.blogspot.com is having a contest to name two gorgeous shades of hand-dyed yarn. Go on and get creative, and you might win one of them! :)

(Ooooh, shiny!)

Done thrumming!

I just finished my thrummed mittens! My verdict:

1. Thrums are a pain in the ass.

2. OMG, these are going to be SO WARM.

I also just picked up the Addi lace needle I bought to knit the Aeolian shawl, which means I can start that tomorrow. HOORAY! I'm so excited about this. :)

GRRRR!

I wasn't able to get an Addi Lace needle at Mind's Eye directly. I had to place an order for it. *sigh*

Looks like I'll be waiting a while to start that damn shawl.

I did finish the body of one of those stupid thrummed mittens. Yes, stupid. Stupid because one more repeat would have been too long, whereas the number I did is barely long enough. I need to do the thumb now, and the instructions are weird. Meh. I have to remember: they will be SO. WARM. And I will be glad.

I also wish I could look into the future and find out if I'm really getting sick, and if so, when is it going to feel like I'm getting sick? I have a very slight--VERY slight--cough, but I think that's it. But my boyfriend has the flu, which started with a cough. Am I getting the flu? If so, why have I not gotten any worse in 24 hours? If not, why won't the cough go away? GAH.

My god...it's full of yarn!

So I posted to my personal journal about this, but not here. I went to Stitches East on Saturday! This was my first time at a knitting con. (Is "con" the right word? I speak geek.) My dear friend the Knitting Kumquat and I went as a day trip, with the sole purpose of Shopping in mind. We didn't even sign up for any classes or workshops or anything. We got there around 11:30, and shopped until the place closed at 6, stopping only to eat, pee, and care for Kumquat's baby.

I have never seen that much yarn in one place before. I'm not sure I realized that much yarn EXISTED. WOW. Seriously, after we left, I kept seeing yarn and knitted stuff in my mind every time I closed my eyes. It was a surfeit of knitterly delights. The colors...the patterns...the textures...it was blissfully overwhelming to the senses. I can't believe I managed to keep my spending as low as I did. My saving grace was my extreme reluctance to purchase yarn for which I didn't have a project in mind already. My haul was modest, but made me very happy.

* 1 big ol' bunch of a very lightweight (light fingering/sock? maybe even lace? It's only 2-ply) superwash merino in a blend of various greens with a little brown mixed in. No name. 1600 yards for $25. HELLS to the yes. I want it to be a big leafy lacy shawl, but I might have a good bit leftover afterwards!

* 2 skeins of Dream In Color Stardust. It's a sock-weight superwash merino with a few subtle sparkly bits. The two colorways I got are both dark. One is called "dark woods" and the other is "twilight falls." One will be a lacy shawl. It may even be this: (the shoulderette version, like the purple one). Yeah, you know what? The con made me feel ambitious! I'm a little scared of the shawl, but...ooooooooh. The other skein may end up as some fingerless mitts.

* This tee-shirt. ADORABLE!

* A button with a skull and crossed needles like a Jolly Roger.

Now, as to my WIP: I'm close to done with the first thrummed mitten. It's a difficult project to travel with because of the thrums, because it's a bit of a pain to thrum on the subway. Also, I had to unravel back to the top of the cuff because I forgot to increase 8 stitches after the cuff. Oops. As a result, it's taking me a while. But the mitten is coming out quite nicely, and I'm pleased with it. It's going to be soooo warm!

I have stopped being so gung-ho about my sweater that I want to design. I think I am getting a little discouraged about yarn. I want a really prettily variegated superwash merino in a worsted weight that's not too expensive. This seems to be difficult to find. Meh. Also, I'm afraid of being afraid. I'm afraid of letting my fears about complicating the design prevent me from making it interesting, is what I mean. We'll see. Maybe I'll make that shawl and be so full of myself that I'll feel I can fly through anything. :)

WIP it!

I haven't really knit anything REAL since I finished my Intolerable Cruelty skirt. I've done a bit of playing around with stitch patterns, but not even much of that. I've been reading design books and stuff instead. Now, though, I've decided that with the cold weather starting to set in (jeez, it's not even 40 yet here in Cambridge!), it's time for me to knit those thrummed mittens that I've been talking about. I'm using the Yarn Forward pattern. I have some pretty merino-silk top in purple, aqua, green, and orange that a friend gave me. Unfortunately, it's only one ounce. I need two. So, I'm also going to use an ounce of the red merino top she gave me. I wanted to use that whole thing for spinning, but frankly, I can't imagine that I'll be good enough at spinning any time soon to really do justice to it. So. These things will be for the thrums. For the mittens themselves, I got some lovely black Ultra Alpaca from Berocco. The blend of alpaca and wool should be beautifully warm. It was also quite reasonably priced at $10 per skein. That was less than I thought it would be, and the same price as the Cascade 220 tweed I'd been looking at before I picked it up. I only got one skein. They say 100 grams is enough (seriously, what kind of pattern doesn't give yardage?), so...we'll see. If it's not, I'll get another skein.

I'm so excited about these mittens! I have bad circulation in my hands, and I tend to walk a lot and stand at bus stops and stuff. On cold days in the winter, my hands get cold enough to hurt terribly. Last winter was so incredibly cold that this was a frequent occurrence. I'm hoping that the thrummed mittens will really keep my hands warm. They're going to be super cute, too, with alternating rows of red and rainbow thrums showing through the black! It'll be like a Lite-Brite. Remember those? I loved them. I cast on last night, and I've done the cuff and three repeats of the thrum pattern so far (two rows of red and one of rainbow). Here's a shot of the progress.

By design

It's going to happen slowly, yes, but it's going to happen.

I am going to design a sweater.

I have never done this before. I've only knit one sweater—a cardigan with minimal body shaping—and I've never designed anything more complicated than a small pouch. I am nervous about it, but excited, too.

The sweater will hopefully have these characteristics:

1. Top-down knit
2. Raglan style
3. Fitted with decreases at the waist and horizontal and vertical darts at the bust
4. V-neck, but not super-low
5. Probably a bit of non-colorwork design at hem and cuffs (lace? Cables? Knit-and-purl patterns?)
6. Worked with minimal seaming, possibly none at all
7. Knit in worsted-weight yarn (not so chunky as to be unflattering, not so thin as to be a slow knit)
8. Cuffs that bell out slightly, maybe, or at least don't get tighter than the sleeve, and a hem that doesn't pull in.
9. IT WILL BLOODY WELL FIT ME, AND IT WILL FIT ME BLOODY WELL.

I just bought a copy of Barbara Walker's Knitting From the Top. I'm also planning on buying a copy of EZ's Knitting Without Tears. I have seen the "Incredible Custom-Fit Raglan" not-quite-pattern online. I am going to buy a couple issues of Yarn Forward in electronic format so I can acquire the bust dart tutorial written by Honeybee33 on Ravelry. I think that these tools, and possibly the help of a friend in taking my measurements, will help me to get a great fit.

I am willing to spend on some pricey yarn for it. I'm considering Dream In Color Classy. It's a gorgeous handpaint, and it's washable merino: soft and easy to care for. Soooooo pretty!

Sick Day

I'm home sick from work today, sneezing and coughing all over the place, but not feeling quite as half-dead as I have for most of the weekend. I want to start a small from-stash knitting project soon, since I've finished Intolerable Cruelty, so I decided to take my extra-free-time opportunity to go through my stash, take inventory, and organize everything. I have now neatly packaged all my needles and updated the list on Ravelry. I've also chucked things I no longer want (a few little yarn remnants, old printed-off-the-internet patterns I've finished, etc.). It turns out that I have approximately a metric buttload of worsted-weight acrylic yarn in a variety of colors, thanks mostly to the Three Little Cardis project. I also have a rather decent amount of organic cotton (certainly enough for a baby sweater), and a bunch of other stuff. What I do NOT have, apparently, is a working brain that can make decisions or come up with ideas. I blame my cold. My favorites and queue on Ravelry are no help: most of the things I have there, I need to buy yarn for them. I might just do the "EXFOLIATE!" Dalek washcloth. Yeah, that might be best. I'm a little leery of it because a strong mercerized cotton would probably be best for a washcloth, but the idea of making bobbles with cotton makes me cringe. No stretch, you know? Meh. Maybe I'll just use some of that acrylic and use it as a decoration instead of a functional washcloth.

DONE!!!!

I just finished Intolerable Cruelty! I've been sick this weekend, so working on it is pretty much all I've done today. It's GORGEOUS! I will wear this happily, not just because I made it, but because it's adorable, and it fits and flatters me beautifully! When my boyfriend gets home on Monday night, I'll see if I can get him to snap some pictures of it so I can put them up on Ravelry.

YAY!!!

Well, I haven't quite finished Intolerable Cruelty, but I have only an inch of knitting to go! Then it's time to add the crocheted loops for the ribbon and sew in the elastic I got. Does anyone sell 5'8" waistband elastic? I saw NONE at Windsor Button. Got 3/4" instead. Hopefully, it won't be too wide.

I did get the sexy black pumps, too! Hooray for gift cards at DSW!

I'm really excited about wearing this skirt! I will have to wait for it to cool down a bit, first. OK, bamboo's not as warm as wool, for example, but still...on a day like today, when it's over 90 out...no. I hope I can manage to sew in the waistband neatly. I'm a bit concerned about that. But we'll see how it goes. Hmm. I should check to see if I have thread in an appropriate color. If not, I'll need to make another trip to WB.

She's baaaack!

Hi folks!

I don't have a whole lot to say, except that I'm done with the Top Sekrit Projects. These three baby sweaters, identical in pattern but different in color, were given to three dear friends as shower gifts for their new babies. All three babies are now in the world, happy and healthy with their awesome parents. YAY!

After I finished the last of those, I went on a knitting hiatus for a while. I have at this point started up again, working on my Intolerable Cruelty skirt. Progress is progressing! I am about halfway through the decrease section, and it's looking gorgeous. It's heavy, carrying around the WIP and the attached CONE OF YARN (it is huge and needs all caps), but it's super-easy work for when I'm on the bus. Miles of stockinette in the round, with the occasional decrease round coming up after 18 rounds of stockinette. Yep, easy. I think this will come out looking very nice and expertly done, if I can manage not to f*** up on sewing in the elastic for the waistband or making the crochet loops for the ribbon!

When it is done, I shall celebrate by buying myself a pair of sexy little black pumps, because it will look DYNAMITE with them. Yeah!

Oy, I've been such a bad knitter.

I haven't been working on ANYTHING lately. I finally, finally started up again on Secret Project #2. It's coming along nicely now.

I also just started another Knithulhu. Yes, it's my third. I just met--ok, RE-met, since we were friends in high school--someone who loves Cthulhu, and whose eyes lit up when I told him I knit one. OK, he needs a cuddly little Knithulhu of his own. :) Besides, that little elder god knits up quickly from yarn I already have in my stash, so...no sweat. I finished the head and the rectangle for the body. Still to come: stuffing and seaming the head and body, knitting and attaching the wings, crocheting and attaching the tentacles, and sewing on the eyes. I need buttons for that and another project. I also need stuffing! Wish I still worked in a place where it's easy to get to Windsor Button on lunch break, but it takes me 10-20 minutes just to get to the red line now from this location. Meh. Maybe Friday evening? Or maybe one of the craft stores in Central will have what I need. Worth a look! I can do that this afternoon! Now I have a Plan.

Grr!

Damn, that's frustrating. I got a gift card to Woolcott & Co. from my manager, as a holiday gift. Unfortunately, I missed their inventory sale where all the yarn was 20% off! I was planning on going there tonight to get some yarn for three, count 'em, THREE baby sweaters. No, I am NOT having triplets. Gods, no. I have four pregnant friends, three of whom are particularly good friends, and I am going to make sweaters in the same style but different colors for their babies. I figure for the not-quite-as-close friend, I'll make her a hat or some booties or something with some yarn I have in my stash. I also have two online friends who are pregnant. Sheesh. Why is everyone having babies NOW?

I think I'll hit Windsor Button where they have more inexpensive yarns available, and which is also right on the orange line so getting home will be easier. I'll save the Woolcott card for another day.