March 2004 Archives

After coming down from the Rogue high this weekend, I felt a knitting void. The weather's warming up, I'm starting a new job in a few weeks, and I want to knit up something a little girly and frilly. Just a little.

I stopped by Rosie's on Sunday. I had a 20% off coupon that I've been itching to use since January.

I looked at a bunch of different yarns - Tahki Cotton Classic, Rowan Summer Tweed, Jo Sharp Soho Summer. All very pretty. But I finally decided on Rowan Calmer in 3 shades of pink:

I just love this yarn!

It's so yummy...a bit of drape, wonderful hand. But I still wasn't sure about a pattern. I've been wanting to try a top down raglan. I like the idea of being able to try it on as I go. But I still wanted a bit of girly to the sweater. So, I added in some eyelets along the raglans. After about 6 different swatches I finally decided on a simple double eyelet every other row.

ignore the cat paw

I may do an eyelet edging along the sleeves or bodice bottom. I chose a V neck because I like that neckline on me better. I'm planning to do the bright pink at the top of the sweater, the red at the bottom, with a couple of stripes somewhere in the middle.

Yay! My first blog FO! I'm really happy with the way this one came out. Here are some pics:

The Full Front View

The color isn't right in this pic but it's still too early to get good outdoor pics.

Throat

Sleeve

Hood

Like many Roguers out there, the hood definitely needed some massaging in the area of the double decreases. I think I'll steam it a bit more but it's much better than before blocking and steaming.

What I Love

• The way the pocket shaping is hidden. The way it stays flat


• The way the hood falls along my shoulders when it's down


• The fact that I don't have to roll up the sleeves! I shortened them by 2 inches


• The feminine shaping built in with the cables

What I Might Do Differently Next Time

• Hide the sleeve increases in the purl ditch similar to the neck and pocket


• Play around with the hood to try to eliminate the double decreases


• Do a plain stockingnette hem. I did that on the sleeve and I like it better. It's not as stiff but it's also not as bulky.

That's it! This is such a well designed, fine-tuned pattern. It's obvious that Jenna puts alot of effort into her patterns.

Now off to shower so I can wear it - all day! It's supposed to be in the 40s for the next couple of days. I finished it just in time!

I got my secret pal gift in the mail on Thursday! Yesterday was my last day at the old job so I didn't get a chance to post about it until now. I was able to take a few pics though:

The little diary is perfect for keeping in my knitting bag. The little bags are great for notions - I usually just drop them in my knitting bag so they'll keep me a bit more organized. And I don't know how she figured this one. I just lost my gauge ruler - so it was perfect! Thank you, secret pal. If I only knew WHO you were I could thank you properly ;)

Rogue

I'm done with the knitting! I finished the hood last night and did sleeve 2 today! It's happily blocking and I'm hoping I'll be able to sew the sleeves in tomorrow. I really wanna wear it on Monday!

I've been looking diligently for a new job for the past month. I couldn't really talk about it on my blog though because I didn't want anyone from work to see. Well, it's not a secret any more. I resigned last week!

I was pretty unhappy about work and I'm so excited to be joining this new company. They really seem like the type of company I'd like to work for. Small, motivated, high morale. What a change from the current place! I start on April 5th and I'm really looking forward to it.

I have some time off between jobs and I'll be getting busy making the house presentable. Finishing up projects. Touching up paint. Primping the garden. And a few other projects that I'm not looking forward to. Of course, knitting is a wonderful procrastination method so I'm sure I'll be getting tons done!

Speaking of, I'm making progress on that Rogue hood. I'm at row 55 - less than 30 to go! I know I can bang out that last sleeve in a day so all I need to do is get thru 30 rows by the end of the week to be in good shape to finish this weekend. Christy and I are both hoping to be done soon. Send us good wishes so we can wear this thing before spring hits for good!

OK, so I didn't make my self-imposed deadline of this weekend for Rogue. BUT - I did make good progress. I'm half way through the hood. I gotta tell ya - that hood is S-L-O-W. I'm not sure if it's the wider cable or just the fact that the fun factor on this project is fading. Probably a bit of both.

Oh, and while I was at Barnes and Noble I couldn't miss perusing the knitting book aisle. I bought 1000 Sweaters. I just love all the options they give ya. Just look at some of the samples:

And the book is split so you can pick a body on the top portion of the book, and then pick sleeves and a neckline from the bottom:

Pretty nice, huh?

It would be nice if they gave more gauge options (similar to Designs by Judith patterns). The only gauge the book uses is 22 sts/4 inches. I can still see changing it to suit another yarn, it just means breaking out the calculator and doing a little math. But still, I think this book is a great addition to my growing collection of knitting books.

I did some surfing and researching last night and here's what I've come up with so far as options:

• Lion Brand Cottage Socks - OK, these things look butt-ugly in the picture but I think with the right color choices, some striping, or a different colored heel/toe and they'd look fine. They're quite heavy - 9 sts over 4 inches, done on 9.0 mm/US #13!!! - so they'd definitely be warm. Big thanks to Crystal for pointing this one out. Right now it's my fav.
• Knitting Now's Bulky Sock Pattern - Not as heavy (4.5 spi) but still looks like a heavy-weight sock. And they even show the sock with a contrasting heel and toe.
• Fireside Sock - Stella did this as her first sock in Plymouth Encore Worsted and it looks nice and heavy and warm too.

Alternative to Kitchner for Top Down Socks

One cool thing I thought I'd share. I'm sure alot of you already thought of this, but I hadn't until I read the Lion Brand instructions. One of the reasons I've been avoiding top-down socks is because I HATE HATE HATE finishing and toe ups have no finishing other than weaving in the ends. Well, I don't know why it never dawned on me to do a 3 needle bind off at the toes before. That's what the Lion pattern instructs and it makes sense to me. I don't think it will be very bulky and you don't have to graft that way! So I think I'll try top-down this time.

Three Needle Bind Off

Oh, for those of you looking for good 3 needle bind off instructions (with pics!)- I found this one yesterday while visiting Becky over at fluffa

Knitty Stuff on Sale!

While visiting Stella today I came across her post about $4 off any order of $40 or more. I've been delaying my Yarn Ho t-shirt purchase but I may just have to do it now. Visit Stella for details.

There are alot of posts out there talking about finishing up winter projects to make way for summer ones. Even a couple knitalongs.

I decided not to do a knitalong. I just don't want to hear everyone starting on their first tank while I'm knee deep in wool! But it did inspire me to get serious about Rogue this weekend.

I finished the body:

and most of sleeve 1:

I probably would have finished the sleeve last night but I ran out of yarn and didn't feel like winding another ball at 10 o'clock. Yes, I know, REALLY need to get that winder and swift.

So, in honor of spring cleaning, my sorta unofficial Rogue deadline is this weekend. It's doable if I don't let myself stray.

Monogamous knitting is so difficult.

I was catching up on my Rogue Along email this morning when I came across this article. It's from Knitter's Review, and it's a review of Marr Haven yarn.

Two things struck me about this review. For one, the yarn sounds wonderful and yummy. I can already envision it in some comfy weekend sweater. Maybe like the one in the Comforts of Home book? You know, a cushy, comfy, "blankie" kind of sweater.

So, I've bookmarked this yarn's site so I can get to ordering some later in the year when I'm back to thinking about wool again.

The next thing that struck me about this article was how detailed the reviewer was in telling us why the yarn did what it did. I'm always interested in the "how does it work" kind of question, so this was like entertainment for me.

She explains why this yarn comes with a bit of vegetable matter - it's because Marr Haven doesn't use an acid bath to burn it away. No acid bath = softer yarn. OK, I can live with a little hay in my yarn for that.

She further tells us that the yarn is more susceptible to pilling. Why? It's mule spun - a practice that closely resembles hand spinning. The yarn is not as tightly spun and therefore is more apt to pill. But, what's so special about mule spun yarn is that it's highly elastic. She even goes so far as to say we should make sure to use smaller needles when doing ribbing with this yarn because it is so stretchy.

And finally, the before and after photo. This yarn bloomed beautifully when washed! It practically sold me on the spot. Look how soft and cuddly - almost chenille like - the after photo is.

This yarn has me almost - just almost - wishing spring was a little further away.

Tricot is the first time I've really tried knitting with cotton. Before that it's always been some wool variety or blend. This cotton thing has led to some learning for me:

1. Cotton yarn knits at a tighter gauge for me. Typically I can hit the gauge listed on the label with the suggested needles. But this time I had to go up from a 5mm to a 6mm to get gauge.
2. Cotton shows dec/inc more. It's not as forgiving and so the decreases I worked last night show a little. I don't mean that there's a hole or a pucker. Just that you can definitely tell that something's going on with the yarn there. Moreso than with wool.
3. I knit slower with cotton. I'm sure it's also a combo of that with intarsia. I only have 3 balls of yarn going at once, but stopping to detangle and swap them every row must be slowing me down as well.
4. My purls are tighter than my knits! Go figure. I know it's usually the other way around. But I'm knitting this Combined. I think it's because the cotton is so "grabby" - it's stopping the purl stitch from pulling thru as much as it normally would.

Don't get me wrong though - I'm loving this sweater! I think the bright colors are going to be great for spring and even work well on a cool summer night.

One question for those of you out there who have used Lion Brand Cotton Ease before. How much shrinkage did you experience? From what I know about cotton I believe it shrinks more in the length than the width. I may knit up a test laundry swatch tonight. If that's the case I may add some length to it so I can comfortably use the dryer for it. I mean, I have NO interest in air drying a cotton sweater!

BTW, if any of you are knitting up Tricot as well, Alison (the pattern's designer) emailed me last night and gave me a link to the schematic.

Well, it has been about a week since I've posted about progress on any of my projects. I spent alot of last week going thru knitting withdrawal while working on the bedroom and knitting room. I didn't get done as much as I had hoped, but the electrical is 95% done and some of the insulation. Old houses come with so many surprises. My guess is it will be a few more months before it's totally done.

Rogue

I finished the back and just started the armhole shaping on the front:

I did make a mistake though. Can you see that I started the cabling at the neckline? Well, I didn't have any stitch markers when I started it and the V goes out at an angle - the right side goes out more than the left. So I need to rip out that center portion and work it up again.

Cabled & Ribbed Sweater

I also have made some good progress on this one as well:

I've just started the special cable that goes center front just below the neckback. It sets up the cables to split out nicely into 2x2 ribbing. I think I'm about 5 inches shy of finishing the front.

And finally, would it be a Monday here without a new project?

Tricot

I was so inspired by the new issue of MagKnits that I cast on for Tricot. I've been looking for something transitional to get me to the warm weather and this felt like the right choice. It's done up in Lion Brand Cotton-Ease so it was cheap too. 35 bucks and I think I have an extra skein or 2 as well. I'm doing a totally different colorway though:

I'm thinking about doing a white chain or 2 down each arm or maybe where the 2 colors meet on the body (kinda like piping). I'm also considering putting a number on the back of it. But I'll wait until it's done and do it as an applique or duplicate stitch if I decide I want to try it.

With all these projects I may need to get another knitting bag. Kerstin's blog yesterday inspired me to do a Target run tonight.

Oh yeah....and since it's Monday I'll see some of you at Perkfection!