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Holiday Crafting Rundown

I've always been one to make Christmas presents, but my family seems to have an adequate supply of hand knits at the moment. So, for the first time in a while, I'm busting out the sewing machine for some of my gifts this year.

One of my brothers is getting a pair of boxer shorts made from a dollar-bill print. The pattern I'm using is Simplicity 9958. I've used it before and it's fairly easy and straightforward.






My best girlfriend is getting a pair of pajama shorts like the ones I made before, usually a fantastically girly cotton print. Did you play the game Pretty Pretty Princess when you were little? This print reminds me of that game.




My mom is getting pajama pants in green ginkgo leaf print. I need to snitch one of her sewing patterns next time I visit home, though, since the patterns I have at my apartment are already cut to my size.





My grandma is getting the coolest gift of all, I think. She likes padded dress hangers, and the gifts issue of Sew Stylish has directions to make them. I picked bright red silk duppioni, her favorite color. I'm really looking forward to making these, since they're something I haven't done before.

Two Weeks

Progress has slowed. I knit through one skein of yarn this past week. That's not as much as I would have liked, but when I consider that I actually had classes to go to and things to do, it's pretty good. I'd like to be mostly done by the end of the term in six weeks, so I'll need to pick up the pace just a little.


It looks the same as last week, just longer. I've knit 12 of the 18 inches for the body (not including the hem), so I'm 2/3 of the way there.

Will I have a finished sweater body by the end of Week 3? Stay tuned...

One Week In

This is what D's sweater looks like one week and two skeins of yarn in:


Classes were canceled all of last week because of the all the ash and smoke in the air from the wildfires, so I got a lot done. Unfortunately, though, it's turning out roughly 2.5 more inches around that it is supposed to be. I don't usually have a difference between my flat gauge and my circular gauge, but it looks like I should have knit a circular swatch.

I didn't measure the unblocked gauge on my swatch, so I'm hoping that I will be able to block it to the size it is suppose to be. Foolish? Just a little bit.

The other thing I did a lot of last week was cooking. It's been a pleasant change from eating mostly dining hall food and freezer meals. I made pineapple fried rice, quiche, from-scratch pasta, rice pudding, and a pear pie. Delicious, and I still have a refrigerator full of leftovers.

I hope everyone has a happy Halloween!

The Beginning of Something Great

I haven't actually finished a sweater since March of 2005. That was when I knit a version of Candy from Knitty using Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in a lovely teal color (the colorway is called "Rue"). I ended up giving it to my cousin because I wore it so rarely.

Iin June of 2005, I knit a ribby cardi. It's completely knitted and seamed, but I never got a zipper for it. Plus, it's kind of itchy and a little bit snug.

It's a downwards spiral from there. Since then, there have been any number of sweaters that I've started and abandoned partway through. But this time will be different.

How can I be so sure of that? I'm actually using a pattern this time. Fine, maybe it's more of a formula than a pattern, but it's got directions for the part where I always get stuck--attaching the sleeves to the body. And it's not for me, so there's some extra motivation not to shove it to the back of the closet in a fit of stitch count-induced rage.

The gauge is on my side, too. I'm getting 4.5 stitches per inch on U.S. size 9 needles instead of a more typical 7 stitches per inch on U.S. size 3 needles. This means that, even though D is quite a bit bigger than I am, this sweater is fewer stitches around than some of the sweaters I've tried to knit for myself.

Two months and three days left. It is so on.

Swatches and Another Broken Camera

Sometime between Tuesday and Friday of last week, I managed to break my camera again. This time it was just the screen, so I can still take pictures, but I can't change the settings and I'm pretty sure it's not set on the standard settings. And I can't preview pictures, either, which stinks.

But, even though most of the pictures I tried to take of my recent knitting came out horribly (including my F.O. shots of the Waving Lace socks for my mom), I still got a picture of my swatches!

One swatch on U.S. size 8 needles, one on U.S. size 9.

I ordered Knitting Without Tears a few days ago; it should get here tomorrow or Friday. Then, after D decides which swatch he likes better, and whether he would prefer hems or ribbing on his sweater, I'll be able to start.

I'm leaning towards the swatch on the larger needles. The stitch gauges are virtually identical on the two swatches, but the row gauge is 7 rows/inch with the larger needles and 6 rows/inch with the smaller needles. I wouldn't have thought that would make that big of a difference, but the swatch with the smaller needles is a lot stiffer. I would use that if I was knitting a jacket and wanted the stability to sew a zipper in, but I think that some drape would be better for a pullover.

Plus, with the size 9's, I'll have to knit 15% fewer rows!

Fall 2007: The List

I never manage to knit everything on the lists I make. Lots of times I change my mind about even liking a project before I get around to starting it. That never stops me from making the lists, though. This particular list has been in existence in one form or another for nearly a month, getting pruned down to something I think I just might be able to handle.

• Socks for my mom using Fleece Artist Nova Socks, colorway "Blackberry" to knit the Waving Lace Socks from Favorite Socks from Interweave. I started these earlier this week.
  


• Hat for my dad using Dale of Norway Hauk and Jaeger Matchmaker Merino 4-ply. The hat I made him for Christmas two years ago went through the dryer and no longer fits, so he's getting a replacement this year.


• Sweater for my boyfriend. Tempting fate, perhaps, but this is what he wants for Christmas/Hanukkah. I'm not sure why someone who is always so warm he has a history of skiing in shorts before wants a sweater, but he promises he will wear it. I'm going to be knitting Elizabeth Zimmerman's Seamless Hybrid, using Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton in the "graphite" colorway.


• Korknisse. Lots of them, for Christmas ornaments a la Elliphantom.

Because spending the next three months devoted to birthday and Christmas knitting would be less fun, I'm going to knit at least one of the following for myself:

• Shedir from Knitty. I've got very curly hair that poofs out unflatteringly any time I put something on my head, and beanies are the worst offenders. But this hat is so beautiful that I'm choosing to ignore that fact and knit it anyway.


• Socktoberfest Socks. I've got Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Soilds in Turquoise and some Trekking XXL, but I don't know yet which I would use or what pattern I would knit.
  
  
• Something else that might strike my fancy.
  

And these are what I would really, really like to knit, but know I just won't have the time for. What a shame.

• Linden from Rowan Classic Alpaca. I would most likely use a cream color similar to the picture in the book, but using merino wool (soft!) instead of alpaca (itchy!).
  
  
• A scarf version of Clapotis using the Rowanspun 4ply I've got stashed. The combination of thin yarn and small needles would make it a lot narrower, so I could follow the pattern almost as written and add to the number of rows in the middle section.