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.

I'm just about bouncing up and down in anticipation of the arrival of my Big Ass Cone of Bamboo Yarn from Halcyon. 1050 yards of DK bamboo for about $36 with the shipping! Unbelievable! I can't wait to get started on the skirt. I think I'm going to go with the bamboo needles for this, partly because I think they'll help me from knitting too loosely and getting a saggy skirt.

I'm also obsessed with finding another sweater to knit. A pullover this time. I'm considering Bombshell from Big Girl Knits (probably with 3/4 sleeves) and also Stephanie Japel's Simple Knitted Bodice. I know I want a low-ish neckline, some waist shaping, and a reasonably easy place to put short rows (i.e., no wacky stitch patterns or colorwork at the bust that I'd have to worry about). Those two fit the bill nicely. Looking at Ravelry, it's amazing how some people turn them out looking perfect, and others make them look awful. The garments themselves often look equally good, but it's the FIT that makes the difference. I will not be lazy with fitting. I will NOT. I will be very careful and do my math. I will try on as I go. I'll be a good knitting doobie. :)

Project!

So. On Saturday, I placed an order for a one-pound cone of this gorgeous stuff, in color #12, "Lipstick". That will be used to make this!

See, shortly after making that last poll, I had a brilliant idea. I will start Intolerable Cruelty. If all that stockinette gets intolerably boring, I will take a break and start working on a Dalek. Then I'll go back to the skirt. I think this says about me that I am neither entirely a project knitter nor entirely a process knitter. Generally, I do pick things to knit that I simply want to have as an FO. This is "project knitter" style. But I also like a bit of a challenge in the work, and if I'm working on something very simple for a long time, I get bored and want to do something different. This is "process knitter" style.

I took my measurements today. 39-28-37. Huh. Not too bad considering I've been feeling bigger than usual lately. I'd like that middle number to drop a little, but I think that might have to wait until after the holidays. Anyway, this means that the small size IC will probably be just right for me. That's not a typical thing for me, with knitting patterns (either the "small" part OR the "just right" part). It also means I really do need to get a book that will teach me sweater alteration and design tricks. Or, you know, maybe more than one. Why limit myself to one? I'm thinking Big Girl Knits and some other book. Or maybe BGK and a whole bunch of web-based articles. We'll see.

Ooh. I also need a 24" size 4 circular, since that's one size that is NOT in my Denise Interchangeables. What works best with a smooth bamboo yarn? Are metal needles too slippery, and would bamboo be better? Or are they good and fast? I'm thinking of actually buying a pair of Addi Turbos. Zut alors! :)