Making up for the frog

I was doing so very well on Aeolian. I was on the first row of the final chart! I was so excited! I finished the main edge chart and got to the middle, and went to check the chart for that bit to see if it had changed from what I'd been doing in the middle before. Then, I realized that yes, it had. TEN ROWS BACK.

Buggerbuggerbuggerbuggerbugger.

There was no easy way of fixing this, since I was supposed to have started increasing two stitches every other row back then, as well as adding in a YO-bead-YO in the middle. Had those YOs been balanced out by corresponding decreases, I would have just started it at that point and made the column of beads much shorter, but since that section was supposed to be getting wider all along, I had to go back.

I ripped back to my most recent lifeline (I'd put them in every seven rows of the previous 28-row chart), and then proceeded to tink back another three rows. This was unsuccessful. It's very hard not to drop stitches when you're undoing beads and double decreases and the like. Bleah. I ended up just taking out everything back to the previous lifeline, which meant I'd undone a total of 14.5 rows.

But here's the good bit: the good bit is, I was spending the weekend relaxing at my parents' house! I had no obligations as to how to spend my time, so I could spend a WHOLE LOT of it knitting. I managed to get back to where I'd been when I had to rip back (this time doing it right), and then did a couple more rows on top of that. Including a row with nupps and the purl row where I purled all the loops of the nupps together. Now I want to throw a lifeline in before starting another row so I don't have to worry about re-doing nupps. I almost didn't do the first nupp, because the way I've been folding the pattern put a tiny pin-sized hole in the paper where the symbol for the nupp was. But then I saw the one that mirrored the first one, at the end of the pattern repeat, and thought, "Hey, shouldn't there be one on this end, too?" I checked the pattern online, and sure enough, there it was.

So. I am on the final edge chart. Row 32 was the last one I did. I have 14 rows to go. Here's hoping that I don't have to take any more steps backward! I WILL finish this, block it, and be able to wear it to Stitches East! (And my shawl pin from Designs By Romi came in! It's cute!)

Oh boy, it's been a while.

So I have this really bad habit. I knit. I screw something up that means a lot of ripping back and re-doing. I get intensely frustrated for one reason or another. I put away my knitting in disgust and don't touch it for months.

Now, though, my boyfriend has been deployed. This means that a lot of my evenings are spent by myself at home. So, what do I do to keep myself from moping? Knit! I picked up one of my hibernating projects: the Aeolian shawlette. I'm making considerable progress on it now, finally. I'm on the edge set-up chart, more than 3/4 of the way through that. I think I have...23 more rows to go on the whole shawl? Something like that.

I'm actually starting to think about FINISHING this. Finishing, of course, includes blocking. Hmm. How to block this? I see no reason why it wouldn't fit on the futon in the guest room, so that's a good thing. But should I get wires? Should I use pins? Should I use dental floss or waste yarn?

Oh, wait!

I went back to the pattern site to see the shape of the shawl, trying to figure out if it's a straight line before it curves so that a combination of wires and pins might work. Then I saw...yep, you guessed it...directions for blocking. Ah. OK, that solves some problems!

Anyway, I'm also ogling shawl pins online. I'm considering getting one of the really pretty silver ones from Designs By Romi. I intend to have this shawl finished by the time Stitches East rolls around (if it kills me) so I can wear it there. I might even be able to swing an outfit that includes the shawl AND my Intolerable Cruelty skirt, if I can find a top that goes with the skirt but contrasts with the shawl.

Another break when something broke

This time, it was about six weeks. Yeah. I know. I haven't gone that long without knitting in...I can't remember when. I was facing the prospect (or so I thought) of having to rip back two lifelines on my Aeolian shawl, because there was a big muck-up and then the most recent previous lifeline somehow missed going through a whole bunch of stitches in the middle of the shawl. GAH! Finally, I started just really missing knitting, so on this past Saturday, I ripped back to that first lifeline. I managed to salvage all those stitches that were missing, and got everything neatly back on the needle! I've only had time for four rows since then (hey, it's beaded lace, and I've been busy), but it feels good to actually be making progress again.

I'd stopped reading Ravelry too, but now I'm back. Look out, y'all!

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.