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.

The first transport is away!

So, on Wednesday, I sent off the "She's Partial to the Periwinkle Blue" stole to M's mom (and of course a gift for his dad, too). I included a note with instructions to handwash in cool water with mild detergent and lay flat and shape to dry.

The blocking of this stole worked out PERFECTLY. I gently washed it in the sink, then I rolled it in a towel to press out excess water. I put a couple more towels on the futon in the guest room, then laid out the stole and pinned it down using T-pins. I left it for a few days, and when I unpinned it, it stayed right in place. Sweet!

I haven't touched Intolerable Cruelty in a few days. I've been busy. But on Tuesday, I did move it from the needles to a piece of scrap yarn so I could try it on. Wow! It seems to be a perfect fit! Excellent. I'm so happy. :)

Continuing cruelty

Progress is occurring! Yay! I've got a few inches done on the Intolerable Cruelty skirt now. I had finished the first batch of increase rounds, but then decided that I didn't like the increases I'd been using at all. They made me cringe. I decided to frog down to the end of the waistband again. I did that on Friday night, at a small stitch 'n' bitch I hosted at my place. Since then, I've gotten back to where I had been and then did about another 25 rounds or so. I'm pleased with myself for the all this work. Plus, the increases look SO much better! They're pretty much invisible now, and neatly paired on each side of the side seam markers. Whew.

So cruel!

Hooray! I cast on for Intolerable Cruelty on Thanksgiving night! Let me tell you right now: I think I'm falling in love with this yarn. It is smooth and comfortable to knit with, and not at all splitty. The fabric it's making is sleek and softly shiny. Gorgeous! I've gotten the waistband done, and the setup round, and am working on the increase round. I'm quite pleased with the bamboo needles. The yarn is so smooth that even with bamboo needles, it slips along very quickly.

In other news, I ended up giving my mom one of the two mini Christmas stocking ornaments I made: she picked the red, white, and green acrylic one. I've kept the red and white cotton one for my own tree.