Look! I can finish projects and blog about them, too!

Long time, no blog. I'm going to have to do an Amy-style list to catch up.

My new knitting rule is that for each project I want to start, I have to finish a WIP. My hope is that this will combat Startitis; if I have to slow down and make myself finish something before casting something else on, this should (ha ha) prevent me from starting projects on a whim.

So, SOCKS! Here's what I've learned:

• Socks are so much fun to do, with the magical turning of the heel.
• There's pretty much no finishing whatsover, which means that I can complete them and not have them stuffed in the bottom of my knitting bag for over a year like certain projects we will not mention.
• One can purchase all the sock yarn one wants because sock yarn doesn't count in a yarn diet*.
• Socks should be knitted on needles much smaller than you think because loose socks will wear out.

* In a fit of madness, I joined Blue Moon Fibers Socks that Rock 2008 and the Chewy Spaghetti Blue Plate Special Club. So that's $300+ worth of yarn that "doesn't count." Hmm.

ANOUK!
I still think this pattern is the cutest thing going in knitting. But I have to say, I am disappointed with the yarn and have my doubts about how well this sizes up. I'd knit it again for a newborn, with something with a little bounce in it like Cotton-Ease, in a heartbeat.

Many thanks to Lisa for doing some of the finishing work for me, and anyone who wants to join our Finishing Club, in which we trade projects we're tired of looking at, is welcome!

Anouk musings

So I've been having a heck of a time getting gauge on Anouk. The recommended size 6 needle gives me 5.5 stitches per inch. Going up a size gives me 5.25 stitches per inch. The gauge on the original pattern is 4.5 stitches per inch. On Ravelry, my BFF Kate Gilbert told me she thinks Cascade must have reformulated the Pima Tencel since she originally designed and knit the pattern.

Oh well. So I plowed ahead and knit the front of the largest size with size 7 needles. It looks HUGE. The drape is nice, but the fabric is a tad bit see-through, and I wonder how on earth it's going to hang on a big baby or toddler, and I'm starting to wonder if my BFF Kate Gilbert actually tried a size other than the smallest one on a real baby. Plus, I don't know if it's me or the pattern (I suspect it's me), but the directions as written for the shoulders are backwards. Still, it's a super-cute design. I'll finish it and see how it works; if it doesn't, I'll rip it out and start over again on smaller needles. With any luck, I'll have it finished in time for Melissa to take with her when they visit Sophia, and by then, I hope the Guatamalan government can get its act together and let the adoptions in limbo go forward before the deadline.


In other news, my sister tried on her Tempting! We still need to get a nice ribbon, but I'm pleased with how it turned out.

I joined a KAL

I've never done this before! I joined the Tilted Duster KAL, thinking I could use all the help I could get on this one. I feel like I'm making my first grown-up sweater, which is odd considering how long I've been knitting.

I allowed myself to cast on last night because I'd finished almost all the projects I started last summer in my Fit of Startitis. Tempting is now completed except for threading the ribbon through! I'm not 100% happy with it and I've decided that I just don't have the finishing skills to deal with those underarm seams. But to a non-knitter, it probably looks fine, and I'll post a picture when my sister tries it on.

I also swatched for Anouk, and I can't quite get gauge without it looking too open and airy. I'm terrible at this gauge thing, but if I'm getting 5 stitches per inch instead of 4.5, would that really be so bad for a baby garment? It would just be slightly smaller than it's supposed to be, right? Or maybe I should just try again with bamboo needles instead of my Denises. I know I sound like a complete idiot, but since I stopped working at a LYS, all common sense I had about gauge seems to have left my brain. Sigh.