Oi.

Found a miscrossed cable 7 rows back. Trying to decide 1. how much it bothers me and 2. if it will prevent me from wearing the sweater if I don't go back and fix it.

Thoughts?

NaKniSweMo!

The time has come once again for me to participate in that ever-exciting group knit-along, NaKniSweMo. Participants commit to knitting a whole sweater in the month of November, starting on the first of the month. Since I know I always get bogged down on the sleeves, I've decided to knit them first this year. We'll see how that pans out.

My pattern is Ash, by Amy Christoffers, from the Brooklyn Tweed Wool People collection, Vol. 2, Winter 2012. I'm using a very, very bright purple shade of Peace Fleece, and it is lovely and sheepy-smelling with the occasional vegetable matter. I'm excited to learn how to set in a zipper on a handknit, and if I'm still feeling up to the challenge after I finish the sleeves, I plan to steek pockets into the cardigan as well.

Hopefully this means you'll be hearing from me much more frequently, this month at least!

Slower pace.

It's officially autumn, which means I would like nothing more than to find a hole in the ground and hibernate until April. My motivation to do much of anything is certainly hibernating, and that even extends to my knitting.

I haven't been carrying my knitting with me, and my evenings are mostly spent cruising Pinterest for tasty recipes and cute outfits.

I'm trying to be kind to myself, and remembering that projects will get done eventually, and everyone needs a break sometimes, so for now I'm putting the needles aside when I just don't feel up to focusing. (I actually watched TWO football games this weekend, and didn't pull out my knitting until the 4th quarter of the second game, so clearly there is something wrong with me.)

I plan to post pictures when there is progress, so you may see photos with not much difference from one day to the next, but I think having something to post will help me stay motivated.

Somewhat prolific.

I've been sort productive in the month of September.

Unfortunately, I've produced a series of single socks (and one legwarmer), so there haven't been any actual finished objects. I didn't realize quite what I had done until I stacked them up like this. I think you'll agree I have a raging case of second sock syndrome.

We'll start at the bottom and work our way up.

First, the second pair of socks for Wichita, who did in fact choose that yarn. It's Nerd Girl Yarns Heart You in Blue Box Exploding, a reference to an episode of Doctor Who. I used the tried-and-true Gentleman's Fancy sock pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks. I used some leftover Cascade Heritage Sock in navy for the heel and cuff because even though the skein is a generous size (almost 500 yards!) his size US men's 14 feet make me nervous about running out of yarn. I have yet to cast on this sock's mate.

Next, a pair of socks for my mom in Knitpicks Felici sportweight. I have to admit, I was impressed with how soft this yarn is. I used a US 1.5 (2.5 mm) for this and the first sock knitted up in less than a week. They're a plain 2x2 rib because I didn't want the yarn to distract from any patterning or vice versa. The mate for this sock needs to be started as well.

Third, a legwarmer in Malabrigo Finito, a lovely soft yarn that I just couldn't say no at my LYS' 25th anniversary sale. I got some kickass riding boots for my birthday, so I wanted to knit adorable legwarmers to peek out the tops when I wear a skirt. I was going to actually use a pattern for this, but I threw caution to the wind and just cast on 64 sts on a US 4 (3.5 mm) and started knitting. I knit almost until I ran out of yarn, so the first one is about 18 inches long. I have started the second legwarmer, but haven't made much progress so far, even though it's my on-the-go knitting project.

The next sock is also for my mama, a brioche rib pattern that I kind of made up. I'm using Knitpicks Imagination sock yarn, a blend of 50% merino wool, 25% alpaca and 25% nylon. This is a really nice yarn. The alpaca gives it a halo and makes the socks incredibly soft. I think I'm using a US 0 (2 mm) for these, because the fabric is really dense, hopefully giving my mom a bit more wear out of them until she walks through the bottoms. The second sock is on the needles and is being worked in fits and starts. I'm probably about halfway to the gusset.

Last (but not least) a pair of socks for ME! I'm using the Stepping Stones pattern from The Knitter's Book of Socks, which is supposed to be knitted in a worsted weight yarn, but I'm using smaller needles (US 1.5 again) and Malabrigo Arroyo to get a sock that can be worn in shoes. This yarn is also decadently soft and I can't wait to wear these when it gets to be chilly outside.

In other news, I have a dreadful case of startitis, which is probably evident from all the single socks you see above. I want to cast on for ALL THE SWEATERS, because something deep in my brain knows that winter is on the way -- after near-80° temperatures for the next couple days, the projected high for the end of this week is in the 50° range. So it's finally time to start breaking out the knitwear!

Ready for autumn.

Here are the final two projects I entered in the Ravellenic Games.

First, my Koolhaas hat in Brooklyn Tweed Shelter, color button jar. This yarn is great. It is soft even before washing, and it blooms quite nicely after a bath. The mitts are Camping Out fingerless mitts, also in Shelter. This yarn was a gift from my friend Tim. Thank you, Tim! I have been wearing the mitts in my office (which is kept at sub-zero temperatures) and am ready for a trip to the corn maze at night so I can wear my new hat.

It's September first!

I am so glad August 2012 is over. You have no idea. I took a four-day weekend (Happy Labor Day, America!) and I honestly thought it was Sunday today. That's how relaxing my day yesterday was.

In other news, my Hogwarts letter didn't come. Again. I'm going to go knit while I pout and read Harry Potter.

Which book is your favorite?

Random story.

I'm blogging from my phone, so this will be brief, but I HAD to share.

Three years ago (four years ago? I can't remember, it's been so long) there was a yarn store in a little town south of the metro area that closed. In their closeout sale, I snagged four skeins of Jaimesons Shetland dk, in a lovely shade called green mist. I had 700 yards and frequently lamented that there wasn't *quite* enough to do something with. I tried making a Honeycomb vest, leg warmers and a few various other things, but nothing ever felt right so I tucked it away into the stash, thinking maybe I'd use it for baby something someday.

Fast-forward to today.

I'm knitting a cardigan (which is almost at a point interesting enough to show pictures!) and I had the day off work so I decided to go button shopping. I took my swatch for color-matching purposes and hit Joanns, Hancock Fabric, and finally a little place called Fabric Recycles, which is a consignment craft store of sorts, where you can resell fabric, buttons, yarn, notions, patterns -- you name it, they've got it, for very reasonable prices (shout out to my friend Clare who told me the name of it so I could Google for their hours.) I found some buttons that were potentially suitable and took them to the counter. I chatted with the clerk a bit, asked what she thought of the color choice I made, and while she was ringing up my purchase, I turned to look at the yarn display, which was behind me.

Right on top, directly in my line of sight, was a skein of light green yarn. It looked familiar, so I picked it up. Sure enough, it was the Jaimesons dk, in a color very like the four skeins that have been sitting in my stash all this time. It was a reasonable $6 so I bought it, thinking even if it wasn't the same, I could do stripes or something.

I brought it home and rooted around in the stash for a bit, and finally uncovered the four skeins. They were in a space bag with a bunch of other yarns, so I massaged and maneuvered the bag and the yarn inside until I could see the tag.

YOU GUYS. It was not only the same yarn, in the same colorway, but the SAME DYE LOT.

I have looked on Rav, through stashes and yarn for sale, trying to find another skein so I could actually DO SOMETHING with it.

I'm taking it as a sign that I am supposed to knit a vest.

Ravellenic Finish line!

Tonight I crossed not one, but TWO finish lines for the Ravelympics Ravellenic Games! My first entry was Strago, from The Knitter's Book of Socks.

I used two colors of Knitpicks Chroma Worsted, cream for the solid and gossip for the lovely pinks and purples. Since the yarn was worsted weight, I used US 5 and US 7 DPNs to knit these socks, and they are warm and cozy and they will keep my feet warm in winter. Of course I made them toe-up, so I just flipped the chart, although I don't think it would have mattered if the pattern went the opposite direction. The chart was easy to follow and I eventually memorized it.

Since I know knitters are a nosy bunch, here's the wrong side of the knitting:

This is one of my first colorwork projects, and I'm quite pleased with the tension of my floats. I turned the socks inside out to show Wichita and he was not nearly as impressed with my knitting skills as I was. Hmph.

The other finished project was a WIP that has been languishing on my needles for more than a year. My dear friend Tim brought me two skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in the color button jar that I used to knit (what else?) a Koolhaas hat, which is part of a huge inside joke I won't detail here, but suffice to say, I love the yarn, I love the color, I love the pattern. I'd post a picture, but I was so excited the toss it into the sink with some Kookaburra (which I also love unconditionally) that it's just a wet heap on the drying rack at this point so I'll spare you and take a picture when it's dry.

Mostly I find it entertaining that I am knitting winter accessories when it's been hitting 100° F (37° C, give or take a few tenths of a degree) on a regular basis this summer. Next up: fingerless mitts to match the hat.

Ravellenic Games!

Are you participating in the Ravellenic Games this year? I'm a team captain for the Selfish Knitters and Crocheters group. I've been busily knitting, but not always on my chosen projects for the events I entered.

Mainly, I've been working on Strago (Rav link) and I'm really enjoying the simple colorwork. We've had 18 days of 100° F or higher, and what am I doing? Knitting two-color socks in worsted weight wool. They're more like slipper socks instead of socks that you would actually put in a shoe. They are warm and I love them.

I started the second sock tonight -- please excuse the crappy cell phone picture of the first. I'm also entering a couple of WIPs and if there's time, a pair of mitts to match the Koolhaas I'm making for myself.

I've also intermittently been working on more socks for Wichita, socks for my mom, a pair of socks for me, and a cardigan that I had desperately hoped would be complete for family pictures, but alas, no such luck. Hopefully pictures of something finished soon.

Sheepish.

OK, OK -- so my "Wednesdays are for blogging" plan didn't work out so well. I get distracted. There have been a couple days in the past week that I haven't knitted at all, but I'm so full of ideas for projects I often find myself wishing I could quit my job and knit full-time. Sadly, I like eating and having a roof over my head, so that will have to wait.

In the meantime, I'm co-captaining a team for the Ravellenic Games (formerly known as the Ravelympics) and want to enter ALL THE EVENTS. I am paralyzed with indecision. I'd like to make a sweater, but a pile of wool in my lap in August sounds like a terrible idea -- today, June 27, KC hit triple digits, and we're in a heat advisory until Saturday. Socks are always a good option, but somehow don't seem challenging enough. I had the idea of maybe knitting Christmas stockings for myself and Wichita (yes, he's still around and finally living in KC!) but then thought that might be a bit too much like Overly Attached Girlfriend for my personal taste. Colourwork mittens might end up being my default project, just because I can't decide on anything else.

Has everyone seen the new Wool People collection from Brooklyn Tweed? There are at least three sweaters I'd like to knit and a few accessories. Any pattern collection that encourages me to get some stash yarn out gets a thumbs-up from me. My current favorite is Reine, which I think would look lovely in some Rowan Tweed 4-ply that I've had marinating in the stash for ages, and might actually make it onto the needles. How reasonable is it to think that I could knit at least 77 yards a day for 17 days?

Wednesdays are for blogging.

I feel dreadful that I have been so neglectful of this blog as of late. It's not because I'm not knitting, but more because I seem to be tearing everything out after I knit it.

So. New leaf. I hereby declare that I will make an effort to blog at least once a week, on Wednesdays. I have the cast-on itch, as is usual for me in the summertime, so I have lots of pretty things to share.

First up is my newest splurge, a set of hand-forged bronze DPNs. They came from the Celtic Swan Forge and they are absolutely lovely. They knit like a dream, with beautifully pointy tips and a bit of texture on the barrel so the needles don't slide out of the knitting. They are quite heavy as well, but the fabric is coming together nicely so I don't mind at all. If you like DPNs and want to treat yourself, but not *quite* up to the cost of a set of Signature needles, these are a lovely compromise.

That yarn on the needles there is Madtosh sock, my first time knitting it and it's simply beautiful yarn. The base is great, the colors are fantastic and I may have a couple more skeins lurking in the stash.

April recap

Apologies for the long silence, friends. April was not a month for knitting Chez Jo, and I have the WIPs to prove it. But I do have at least one finished something to share, and they have been a long time in the works.

Wichita's socks are finally, finally complete. It is a testament to how much I like him that they are actually finished, 6 months later. I am the sock model in these photos, which is why the socks look laughably oversized.

They are so large it is almost silly. No one should have feet that size. Admittedly, my feet are rather smaller than average, but his feet are actually a foot long. A solid 12 inches. But because I like him quite a lot, and I understand that it must be frustrating to be unable to buy socks that fit properly, I have finished these AND cast on a new pair.

The wool for the new pair is from Nerd Girl Yarns, who was an incredibly popular vendor at this year's Knitting in the Heartland, a biennial knitting convention hosted by the Sunflower Knitters' Guild. This year's featured instructor was the very charming Franklin Habit, who gave a thoroughly entertaining and educational keynote address on the history of knitting patterns and publishing, as well as teaching four classes in two days. The other breakout vendor of KITH was Hermione Jean Creations, who had a wide array of Harry Potter-inspired yarn, which we all know I am a sucker for. Of course I found other treasures, but those will make an appearance in due time.

Our other big news? Wichita found a job in Kansas City and will be moving here at the end of June! After more than 2.5 years of back and forth, he will finally be here for good. I will be glad because there will be no more nights like tonight, when he drove the hour home in the middle of a thunderstorm warning. It was quite an exciting evening, with the tornado sirens and the flash flooding, so I was relieved that he made it home safely.

For Miss Liddy.

At the request of my sister-in-law, I am making a "more girly" pair of leg warmers for Liddy Joy. I think this yarn will suit her wardrobe quite well. I think ruffles will probably be involved. And maybe a folded cuff so Liddy has room for growing, which she appears to be doing at an alarmingly rapid rate.

In other news, I moved again and am now roomie-free once more. It's good to have my own space again, but I was kind of appalled at how much the stash has grown in the past two years. I might actually have a destash. I know, I know, but you don't have to check if pigs are flying or hell is freezing over or what-have-you. The stash has reached the point of being almost overwhelming. It might be time to clear away things I won't use, don't like or don't have a project for.

Oh God. When did I become a responsible adult?!

Knits: Where are they now?

Long years ago (OK, two years ago) I knitted a little pair of legwarmies for my darling nephew when he was just a wee babe.

Those little legwarmies are still in rotation!

Miss Liddy is rockin' the brown and green striped legwarmies!

Her mom has requested a more girly pair, even though California will soon be warming up and she won't be able to wear them much before summer. I think if I do a little rib pattern, they will be stretchy and work nicely for fall when she is walking.

Enthralling.

I am trying really, really hard not to cast on something new. I am knitting a cardigan for Easter, a birthday gift for my mom, and Wichita's second sock.

But as it always happens, I have been thoroughly distracted by one particular pattern in the latest Knitty.

I am completely and totally transfixed by these socks. It is taking every ounce of my (negligible) willpower to keep from immediately casting on using this yarn:

I will not cast on. I will not cast on. I will not cast on.

(Let's be real. Of course I'm going to cast on. It's just a matter of when.)

Update.

I've completed 12 repeats on my Different Lines shawl. As I was working on it this evening, I noticed something strange.

The yarn is turning my hands PURPLE.

Happy Valentine's Day to me!

I got my Valentine's present yesterday, only a little bit late.

The Principles of Knitting, second edition, by June Hemmons Hiatt. People, this book is IT. This is essentially a knitting textbook. More than 700 pages about knitting. It weighs more than 7 lb. I LOVE IT. About 100,000 words have been added to the revised edition and the index is very thorough. It's a bit overwhelming, though -- I don't quite know where to begin!

I am thankful every day to have a boyfriend who is supportive of me and my hobbies, to the point of buying tools and resource materials and sometimes even yarn, even if he doesn't "get it" all the time. (He is also very good about putting up with all the yarn. And the possibility of potential injury from all the knitting lying around the apartment.)

Cast on ALL THE THINGS!

Lately I have had a terrible itch to cast on everything in my Ravelry queue.

As I'm sure you can imagine, that would be no small undertaking, as my queue is 11 pages long.

So over my long weekend I have cast on a sock which has since been torn out, finished the first Boyfriend sock but did not cast on for the second, a hat that has been temporarily abandoned while I fret over the possibility of running out of yarn, and finally, a Different Lines shawl in very, very, VERY old stash yarn. (Acquired in 2007, and when you consider I have been knitting just more than 8 years and this yarn has accompanied me to 4 different apartments, it's time to get it out of the stash.)

The yarn is Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock, in rose quartz and Lenore. I'm quite enjoying the knitting, even though it's just garter stitch, thanks to copious amounts of short-rowing in every pattern repeat. It's just the right mixture of mindless and entertaining, perfect for watching TV. I had the day off from work today thanks to Presidents Washington and Lincoln, so have spent quite a bit of time knitting, which I think they would both find to be an industrious use of a day off from work.

NaKniSweMo finished, and a question.

So I decided to forego any surgery on my NaKniSweMo 2011 sweater, mostly because I am lazy and couldn't bear the thought of ripping back the sleeves and reknitting. So I gave the sleeves a dip in the sink and blocked them as wide as they would go.

I'm calling this a success, because technically it was knitted in less than 30 days, I just didn't finish blocking it until January.

Rocky Coast Cardigan by Hannah Fettig in Coastal Knits. I used US 9 and US 10.5 needles and less than five skeins of Berroco Ultra Alpaca in cardinal. The pattern calls for up to 4 inches of ease, so I knitted the 40-inch size (small, per the pattern). If I were going to knit this again, I might even go up another size, because I like sweaters that close in the front. I think I made a note of this before, but I don't think the armholes are the right size for a cardigan if you intend to wear long sleeves under it. I added 4 stitches under the arm when I started the sleeves and I think I could have added more. I blocked the hell out of it though, so it's a pretty comfy sweater.

Detail shot:

Super detail shot:

Apologies for the terrible pictures in my beige and grey office. We are moving to a new building in the spring and in the meantime we are in a drab, lifeless building that sucks the joy out of life.

Now, for the question. I know that for the last couple years I have said I was going to knit something for the fair and never followed through. This year, I'm thinking about it in January and by God, I'm bound and determined that this is MY YEAR. I'm challenging myself as a knitter and I will have all these cool projects lying around by August, right? I'm trying to decide what I should plan to enter. I'm waffling between lace and colorwork/steeking. I know that largely, the winning entry turns out to be whatever the judge thinks is difficult, so I'm conflicted. I have the yarn and pattern for Rock Island, which was my original plan. Then I also have the yarn for two steeked sweaters. One is a vest, Huxley, and one is a pullover -- the pullover is much more complex.

What say ye, knitters? Do we have any county fair contestants in the audience? If you planned to knit all three of these projects in 2012 and had until the end of July to do it, what would you choose to enter?

It must be love.

Hmm, so it's been a solid 3 weeks since I last blogged -- sorry about that. I was felled by a nasty cold (caught from Wichita, wasn't it nice of him to share?) and I spent part of last week away at a conference for work. In the meantime, I have had terrible startitis, which is actually awful this time because I have a Very Important Project in the works and I'd like to get it done for Valentine's Day.

Even though he gave me a terrible cold, I am knitting socks for Wichita. They were supposed to be his Christmas present, but I had a couple false starts -- first they ended up being HUGE, then I didn't have the striping pattern right. I am finally at the point where I feel they will be mildly interesting to blog about. Wichita is special in the fact that he tends to have trouble finding store-bought socks that fit him. This is not that surprising, considering that he wears a men's US size 14 shoe and we have found that most socks at department stores top out at a men's 12 1/2. He has socks that fit him, but they are mostly plain, grey and black, with zero potential for fun socks. 

So this is where I come in.

He chose navy and green stripes for his socks, and I am concerned that I might run out yarn because his feet? His feet are A FOOT LONG. 12 INCHES. (I wish there were a way to capitalize numbers.) He was a bit disappointed that the stripe ratio on the foot is not quite what he had in mind, but I told him that if he intended for the entire sock to be 2 navy stripes to 1 green stripe, he should have mentioned that when I bought the yarn. In any case, the foot part will be in his shoe and no one will see, so I told him to get over it.

The only issue I have with these socks is that they're rather boring. Now that I'm past the heel turn, I think it will pick up and go more quickly, with the added benefit of knowing how many stripes it will take to get to the gusset and so on for the second sock. Next time we're going to do a patterned sock -- something with cables, or alternating knits and purls, and I can just get 800-odd yards of one color and have enough leftover for a pair of socks for me.

Yes. I said 'next time.' Clearly I am a sucker for this guy. But I don't mind so much. I'm actually quite fond of him.

Decisions, decisions.

I cast on a swatch for Zephyr. I'm using some stash yarn, Crystal Palace Merino 5 in snow white, a nice cream color. I tried both a US 8 and a US 9, swished it around in the sink for a minute and laid it out to dry. When I went to measure, I came to the point where I have to make a decision.

On a US 9, I got a perfect 4 sts/in. On a US 8, I got juuuust more than 4 sts/in -- it turned out to be 16.5 sts to 4 in. So we're talking 1/8 st/in over on gauge. With creative blocking, I can get the US 8 swatch to 4 sts/in, and I vastly prefer the hand of the fabric of of the US 8 over the US 9.

What should I do? I have the absolute exact amount of yardage for my size -- 1100 yards, so fudging the gauge and knitting the sweater isn't really an option. I have some other yarn I could try making a swatch with, but I really like the look and feel of the fabric.

Help!