Emilee Knits

Change your bookmarks

2007-03-04T20:41:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone.

After 9 months and more than 17,000 hits, I am packing up and leaving Blogger.

The decision wasn't an easy one, but after a couple of weeks I am thrilled with my new home at Wordpress. Sorry I haven't had a ton of content lately, I have been busy setting it up.

I have really enjoyed my blogging life so far, and I am excited to continue it in a system that better suits my needs.

Please come visit me here: http://emileeknits.wordpress.com/

Openwork Leaf Pattern

2007-02-27T01:02:00.000-05:00

Look everyone!

I just posted my first swatch to the Walker Treasury Project.

I picked one of my favorites, the Openwork Leaf Pattern.

I am really excited about the project. It is such a great idea to provide color photos of the patterns in this classic series, and I am thrilled to chip in.

THANK YOU SP!

2007-02-22T20:25:00.000-05:00

I got the most delightful package from my Knittyboard secret pal yesterday!

She sent me crocheted washcloths,

Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Spring Frost,

Beautiful grayish teal wool/mohair handspun,

a book of sock patterns,

and chocolate almond candy.

I love it! Thank you so much!

February Socktopia Socks - Heart Lace

2007-02-20T22:13:00.000-05:00

Here are my February Socktopia socks!

Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock, Red and Magenta Mill End from EbayNeedles: KnitPicks Circs, Size 0
Pattern: Generic top-down stockinette sock, embellished with my own heart lace panel.

I staggered the hearts, placing three in each tier on the leg and one or two in each tier on the foot.

I used an eye-of-partridge heel flap, and I think I picked up the gusset stitches neatly, if I may say so myself.

I am very happy with them!

This was my first time using size 0 needles, and I really like the dense fabric that it produced. I'll do all of my Cherry Tree Hill socks on 0s in the future.

Raglan Revisited

2007-02-17T17:41:00.000-05:00

Grumperina declared her most recent sweater to be the “most wearable” one she’s ever knit. Which got me thinking. What is the most wearable sweater that I’ve ever knit?

The award goes to a simple bottom-up raglan that I knit in 2004. I wore it today, as I often do on the weekend. It was based loosely on Rosedale, minus the intarsia. I used Valley Yarns Charisma in a green – teal – blue – purple blend. It doesn’t seem like Webs has it anymore, which is too bad, it was nice yarn.

There is some really neat pooling and flashing, especially on the sleeves.

I could have prevented it, I guess, but I like it this way. I knit this before I really knew about the online knitting community, and before I knew the words "pooling" and "flashing." So, readers, what is your most wearable sweater?

Wicked Fast

2007-02-09T00:59:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I got a chance to start Wicked, in oh-so-soft Andean Silk in Lettuce.

It was wicked cold out, so James and I stayed in and watched Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (surprisingly bad) and The Lakehouse (surprisingly not bad). Here is my progress after the first movie:

And after the second:

I did fiddle around and frog a few times in the beginning, though. I thought that the little cables didn’t look crisp enough on the 7s, so I did them on 6s instead. I’m a little concerned that I won’t get the full off-the-shoulder look because I also cast on four fewer stitches than called for on the neck band. I hope that this sweater will be work-appropriate though, so I guess it’s better to err on the side of a less revealing neckline.

Those four stitches bring me to a… comment that I have about this pattern. The pattern is so widely beloved that I won’t call it a gripe, but I have a couple of comments.

For those of you not familiar with the pattern, I call your attention to the mini-cables below.

See how they are staggered, with A cables crossing on rows 4, 8, 12 and B cables crossing on 2, 6, 10? I would consider this to be an 8-stitch pattern repeat. My size, however, called for a cast-on that was not divisible by 8. There were supposed to be 17 cable As, and only 16 cable Bs. I was originally taken aback because that means that there would be two cable As next to each other in the back of the sweater. On second thought, though, that part wouldn’t be a big deal. In the back, the cables are offset strangely anyway, because of the end of the round. See how below, the cables across the arrow from one another are only offset by one row? That is because they are on opposite sides of the beginning of the round.

Anyway, my second “comment” still stands: There is no good, clean, even-looking way to divide 33 cables onto a front, a back, and two sleeves. Now I know, technically that the neckband is in one piece, so the cables aren’t on the sleeves per se, but still. It looks cleaner when they all line up the same way. It wasn’t that hard to cast on 4 fewer stitches and have 32 cables to work with. 32 divides cleanly and evenly in all sorts of different ways.

Five Secrets

2007-02-05T23:27:00.000-05:00

MLE tagged me with the "Five Secrets About Me" meme, so here are my five secrets. I guess "secret" is a bit of a strong word, but I can't recall mentioning any of these before.

1. My husband and I met in 6th grade social studies. Seriously. We were learning about Canada, and we had to do group projects on the various provinces. We were both assigned to the group that did Manitoba. We didn’t become friends until high school, and we didn’t start dating until right around graduation.

2. My parents still live in the same house that they lived in when I was born. My bedroom is exactly how I left it when I went off to college.

3. Not only is my mother a biology teacher, she taught in my district, and I had her in eighth grade! I wasn’t supposed to, but my original teacher got sick and they had to move some stuff around. It actually worked out fine, my sister and I are good students and my mom is really mellow.

4. I’m a packrat. It’s terrible. My stash is only one small example of how I hoard things that are or might be useful.

5. When I’m not knitting, my job is using excel to figure out how much it will cost to clean up old factories. I was an economics major and an environmental science minor, so it is all working out really well. I’m applying to law school so I can continue on this basic career track.

I hope that was at least somewhat interesting! I tag the last five people (other than MLE) who have dropped by:
prairie girl
batty
rahime
knitseashore
robin

I can't wait to here about your "secrets"

Does this look like a heart?

2007-02-03T01:41:00.000-05:00

Awhile back I purchased a Cherry Tree Hill Supersock mill end from the ebay vendor emtnestr. It is a beautiful range of pink to red to magenta, perfect for Valentine's Day socks.

Since one of the Socktopia themes is "Forever in my Heart" I decided to do socks with lace hearts. I spent some time yesterday swatching, and I think I've figured out a cute little pattern. Does this look like a heart to you?

I probably un-vented it, but I figured it out myself, which is gratifying. I'm pretty sure that I'll be finished in time to wear them on the 14th.

Now, to be fair, I think that Valentine's Day is rather silly as a holiday, and James and I don't typically do much to celebrate. We both have winter birthdays, and it frankly seems like holiday overkill. That's ok, though, I'll take any excuse to knit and wear cute socks.

January Socks - Snowflake Lace

2007-01-30T23:52:00.000-05:00

Just in time, my January Socktopia socks.

I achieved a (somewhat subjective) thematic trifecta with these socks:
- They are based on the Snowflake lace socks from MagKnits. I switched it around a little by using magic loop instead of DPNs, and doing more pattern repeats on smaller needles.
- I started them on my birthday (Woo, celebrate!)
- I finished them on Monday, January 29.

I used KnitPicks Essential in Dusk. I really can't say that I'm impressed with this yarn. It was extremely splitty, and not very soft. After wearing them around the house for a few days I can tell that they'll pill like crazy. Oh well, you get what you pay for.

This is only the second pair of socks I've ever completed. Note that I did not say second ever started.

I did my first short-row heel, and I found it easier to do than a heel flap heel.

The "cup" seems a bit shallow though, so I'm not sure how these socks will wear.

The lace pattern is very pretty and easy to memorize.

It is the same lace pattern used in Glasgow Lace, which is one of the reasons that I chose this pattern. I was happy to have the lace pattern down pat so I could focus on the sock construction.

I am happy enough with these socks, and looking forward to even better ones for February!

GAH!

2007-01-30T01:06:00.000-05:00

I am so fricken frustrated.

I want to switch to the new blogger, but I can't. I tried, and it locked up my account for seven hours. When it was done, it told me that I could not switch, and pointed me to a totally worthless help article.

I looked around, and I heard that heavily customized templates were having trouble, so I switched to something really plain and tried again. No dice. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to save my latest template, so I lost the edits that I made the other day. (I had switched the background color to a lighter blue, and the text to gray and purple.)

I set up a test blog in the new system with the colors I want. It was so much easier to change the colors. (Do you like them, by the way?) I'm frustrated that I am cut off from my KALs, because they all switched. Gah. Any advice?

Doomed from the beginning

2007-01-27T01:25:00.000-05:00

Attentive and long-term readers may remember this fiasco.

After some soul-searching, blog-searching, and discussions with my guy, I have decided that Blackberry was doomed from the beginning.

This is not to say that it's a bad pattern. The pattern picture is really cute. Jen, aka Knitting Spaz, made one and it looks great. I took poor, forgotton Blackberry out of the closet, and tried to plan my next attempt. Then DH asked me why I would make "a sweater with big cabled sleeves and a little body" if I do not currently own such a sweater. How did I know that it would fit and that I would like it?

"Huh," I thought, "I don't."

Then it occured to me. The people who look cute in this sweater are somewhat petite. Now, I'm not getting all down on myself, I'm just trying to be realistic. I am 5ft 8in tall. In a bulky sweater I look rather.... bulky. I searched blogland for pictures of people with my body type wearing it, and it just doesn't seem like it would do me any favors.

The yarn I chose is a really pretty teal color with flecks of blue and green, and it doesn't deserve to be a shapeless blob that I would never wear.

So now it is waiting patiently for plan B.

I do have a plan though.

I had done a different cable up the arms, and I still really like it. I am thinking a vest in reverse stockinette, with this cable running up the center. What do you think?

Snow!

2007-01-22T21:08:00.000-05:00

It is finally snowing!

This is the first time all year that I have been outside in measurable snowfall. I am a life-long New Englander, and this is BY FAR the latest "first snow" I've ever experienced.

That's ok though. Winter is finally here!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2007-01-19T00:30:00.000-05:00

It was my birthday earlier this week. Hubby gave me roses.

Awwww. I love hubby.

Wait, does it say "Classy" on the wrapper? That's hilarious. And oh so classy.

I've been working on Clapotis here and there. The yarn is such a dream to work with that I don't want to rush it.

I've done three drop stitch ladders so far.

Pretty.

I enjoy having Clapotis going in the background, because it is giving me a way to unwind after working on more challenging items. I haven't done much with Red Light Special lately, but I have been working on my January Socktopia socks.

Now with matching pillow!

Anyway, I'm doing a modified version of the Snowflake Socks from the September issue of MagKnits. I'd better keep cranking on them to make it before the end of the month!

Once upon a time...

2007-01-12T23:16:00.000-05:00

I enjoyed, and I was decent at, stranded colorwork.

Lopi Sweater, completed circa December 2004.
I am frustrated with Red Light Special, but I will get my mojo back.

Calorimetry

2007-01-12T00:06:00.000-05:00

I made Calorimetry for

my mom

and my sister. What a fun, easy, quick knit! Each was about half a skien of Malabrigo. I am especially proud of the one for my sister because of the adorable elephant button I found.

Caroline loves elephants.

As for "banging out" Red Light Special, I'm afraid it didn't work out.

At least, it didn't in time for Mom's birthday. That's fine, I had another gift for her. It is humbling though. I would ordinarily be able to whip up a hat in no time, but colorwork is HARD! I haven't done any in... gosh, I don't know how long. I feel bad giving my mom something uneven, but I'm hoping that a good blocking will fix it.

Six Weird Things

2007-01-10T01:06:00.000-05:00

I saw this on MLE's blog and decided to join in. Be gentle with me, this is my first meme.

Six weird things about me:

1. I am (basically) named after a man. My mother’s middle name is Emilee, and it was given to her because her grandfather was named Emile. Emile was born in Quebec in 1886, and I think that it is neat that my name was inspired by his. It is a little thread of connection between two members of the same family with VERY different lives. I took French in high school to honor our French-Canadian heritage.

2. I have never had Chicken Pox. When I was in 3rd grade an outbreak went though my class, but I didn’t get sick. I have no idea how many times I was exposed to infected kids, but it should have stuck. When I was a teenager they invented the vaccine, so I got it. I hope I don’t get Chicken Pox now!

3. The only even moderately serious disease I’ve had (knock wood) is Lyme Disease. I got it in 1986 or thereabouts, less than 20 miles from the town for which it is named. I was a little kid at the time, and the illness was not yet well-known AT ALL, so I am really lucky that it was caught and treated early. My mother has a master’s degree in Public Health, so she had a sense of what was going on and got me the right care.

4. Since I was very young when I had Lyme Disease, I couldn’t take pills for it. They gave me absolutely vile purple medicine instead. It was so horrible that to this day I have a very strong aversion to artificial grape flavoring in skittles, grape soda, etc. I still like grapes and wine, because those are natural. I like the color purple, and I wear the color purple, but I do not eat the color purple. Ever! After that I swallowed candies and frozen peas whole to prove that I could handle pills if I needed more medicine.

5. The most famous person to grow up in my home town is Noah Webster, the person who wrote the first American English dictionary. Some of my paternal grandmother’s cousins are really interested in genealogy, and we are apparently descended directly from one of his sibling. That means that over the course of 200+ years, my ancestors left Connecticut and worked thier way west to Chicago, only to have my dad leave Chicago and randomly settle in the same town again.

6. I have a knack for trivia, but specifically geography. I won my school’s Geography Bee in 5th, 7th, and 8th grade.

Speaking of weird...

This picture was taken at approximately 3:15 pm on January 7, 2007 in Cambridge, MA, 42°22’ North Latitude. It is absolutely not supposed to be in the 60s in January. This is sort of scary, and I am relieved that it is getting chilly again.

We bought a condo!

2007-01-06T22:55:00.000-05:00

My husband and I closed on a condo last week, and I finally took some good pictures of it.

It is in Hartford, Connecticut, and is in a building that was built in the 1870s. The fireplace is original to the house, and I think it is absolutely gorgeous. I am from the area originally, and it makes me sad that Hartford is... the way it is now. I'm excited to be a taxpaying resident of the city, so now I can get involved in community groups and hopefully make a difference. The 1870s were some of the most prosperous and hopeful that Hartford has ever seen, and I think its really neat that we have a little slice of that history ourselves.

The woman who sold it to us had more... lively... taste than we do, so we're going to repaint a couple of rooms (and probably freshen up the paint in some others)

One room is currently orange, and I think we'll paint it the medium blue. You can't really tell, but those are navy blue velvety curtains that the seller left behind.

The bedroom is currently red, but we like the light green instead.

I am so excited to own my own place and decorate it how I please. Yay!

Hyacinth

2007-01-06T00:12:00.000-05:00

This is my belated Eye Candy Friday post.

A potted hyacinth that I bought at the Star Market in Porter Square.

Finally

2007-01-04T16:43:00.000-05:00

Way back in August I got myself some Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb in Tahoe. I set it aside to be used as a Clapotis, as a birthday present to myself. Much to my surprise, I WAS able to keep my hands off of it, and on Monday I cast on.

I am so excited, and so in love with this colorway. Blue is my absolute favorite color, but I have been working a lot with red, pink and purple in the last 6 or so months. I am so excited to be doing something blue, for me! The yarn so dreamy and soft, this will be a really fun knit. My birthday is in a couple of weeks, and now that the holiday/birthday rush is almost over, I can work on something for myself.

Speaking of red and birthdays, Saturday is my mother's birthday, and I finally decided what to make for her.

I'll do Brooklyntweed's Red Light Special in the colors you see there. Do you think I can bang it out in time?

2006 Wrap-up

2007-01-01T13:06:00.000-05:00

2006 was an intense year. I got married, experienced the first scary health crisis in a parent, and the first passing of a grandparent. A few days ago, my husband and I joined the ranks of homeowners. I’m looking forward to another exciting year in 2007, which includes actually moving into to the new home, in my hometown, and (hopefully) beginning law school.

2006 has been a good year for knitting. I had a lot of WIPs build up during the wedding-planning process. I started to get bored with knitting, because all of my projects were the same: in the round, size 8 needles. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I felt like I wasn't challenging myself.

Glasgow Lace was my favorite FO of 2006. I added waist shaping in a lace garment for the first time, and it presented just enough of a challenge to be really interesting, but not enough to be frustrating.

I'm also proud of the Chevron Bag. Granted, the pattern got rejected from an online knitting magazine that shall remain nameless, but it was the first pattern that I ever wrote up. It got picked up by a few free pattern sites, and now generates the majority of hits to my blog.

In 2007, I want to do more designing. I have a couple of projects in the works, and I am excited about them. I love the way I have to think about knitting to do this. I recently scrapped a project that I had originally thought of as a spring garment, but now I am seeing it as a fall garment and I know that it will be better than the original version I had in mind.

In 2007, I want to do more socks, because I have a pretty spectacular sock-yarn stash built up. I want to relax about gift-giving deadlines, and start things earlier. I want to work through my stash before I move. I want to keep knitting, and to stay involved with the wonderful group of people that I have found in knitty-land.

Clapotis for Judy

2006-12-31T20:29:00.000-05:00

I made a Clapotis for my mother-in-law. It was supposed to be a birthday present, but I ended up giving it to her for Christmas.

I like it. I'm glad that I paid attention to the striping, because the way the light and dark sections fall, there is definitely a macro-level stripe sequence that I'm glad is intact.

It took about 8 balls of Noro Silk Garden #224, and roughly a month to complete (not monogamous - I'm never monogamous with knitting!) The stitch ladders were a pain to work down, but I guess it wasn't that big a deal.

I have some Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb in Tahoe that has been sitting around for MONTHS, at it is destined to be a clapotis for me. I can't wait to get started on it!

Nautie

2006-12-26T01:45:00.000-05:00

Both of my bosses have adorable little girls, one is a baby and one is a toddler. They have an awesome octopus Halloween costume that the younger one wore this year and the older one wore last year. It is pink with purple spots, so pink and purple Nauties are the perfect Christmas gift.

Look at that adorable baby-safe face!

I used Knitpicks Shine Worsted in Blush for the face and Crocus and Snapdragon for the shell. My mom loved the one I made for my sister so much that she asked for one too. This is such a fun pattern!

Merry Christmas

2006-12-25T01:35:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

I haven't had much time to knit or photograph knitting in the last couple of weeks, but I'll be able to post a run-down of the gifts I made in the next couple of days.

Goodbye Grandpa

2006-12-25T01:19:00.000-05:00

You'll be missed

Happy Birthday Caroline

2006-12-12T00:44:00.000-05:00

Nerman the Nautilus says...

Happy birthday and good luck with finals!

Sweater sighting!

2006-12-10T01:13:00.000-05:00

My husband overheats really easily, so he hardly ever wears the ultra-warm Lopi sweater I made for him.

He did today though. Yay! Even if he doesn't wear it often, I like that sweater. It was the first big colorwork project that I ever did, and it came out nicely. Besides, he married me anyway, even though we were just dating when I gave it to him.

In other exciting news, Sockpr0n gave me some Koigu in exchange for A Gathering of Lace, which I hadn't been using.

It looks just like Tutti Fruitti jelly beans, very exciting. After I'm done with all my gifts I need to use some of this sock stash I've been amassing.

After my incredibly positive experience with Cozy I bought Andean Silk in Bluebell and Lettuce, nine skeins each.

I had planned to make another Cozy for myself in the green, but it turned out to be too close in color to my coat so I decided to make something else with it. Any suggestions? How does Andean Silk work up into a sweater? I had considered getting more in the slightly darker green and using it for Tubey. Does it hold ribbing or cables very well?

Persnickety

2006-12-04T22:04:00.000-05:00

I'm about halfway through the Clapotis for Judy, my MIL.

This is a good opportunity to show you how fussy I get about matching up stripes in Noro.

I buy a bunch of these

and re-wind them so I can find any knots that disrupt the color sequence. If there is a knot I start a new ball.

I bought six skiens, but I ended up with eight balls of varying sizes.

I figure our which color each ball starts and ends with, and plan an order so the color sequence is continuous.

When I have to join a new ball, I make sure to start it with exactly the same color that I'm finishing with. And after all that, Noro betrayed me.

Ok, fine, it isn't that big a deal. Here, I'll show you what I mean.

On the left, pink is followed by olive-brown, and then by purple. The next time pink came up it was followed directly by purple, skipping the olive-brown! I didn't join it wrong, the ball skipped that color. It just goes to show that knitting is governed by mysterious forces beyond our control!

Happy Birthday to Everyone

2006-12-02T00:38:00.000-05:00

I decided to stop making Christmas gifts. I married in April, doubling the size of my family, so I decided that I had too many loved ones to knit for all at once. I would do birthdays instead. It seems more fitting to make a unique, special gift for the "holiday" that is unique to them. This is great in theory, but my mother, sister, and mother-in-law all have birthdays between December 4th and January 6th. I got a late start on the present for a friend whose birthday was way back in September, and I just finished it so I'm crunched anyway. Bah!

My mother-in-law has the first birthday, so I started her present. After much internal debate over what to make (Lade E? Cozy?) I decided on Clapotis. Here it is, in Noro Silk Garden #224, right about to begin the straight section.

I'm pleased with the way that it's turning out. I've been pestering poor Hubby about whether or not she'll like it, but I am assured that she will. I probably won't make it in time for the actual birthday, but again, he assures me that she'll forgive me.

I'm also stuck on what to do for my own mother. I have some gorgeous red yarn that I was planning on making into a modified Rosedale for my mom. The only thing is, she's going through menopause and has been having hot flashes pretty bad lately, and hasn't really been wearing wool. She's not really a cotton sweater kind of gal, though. I wonder what I should do.

Cozy

2006-11-28T23:56:00.000-05:00

I finished Cozy!

Pattern: Cozy, Knitty, Fall 2004
October 27, 2006 to November 27, 2006
Yarn: Knit Picks Andean Silk, "Sangria" 8 balls
Needles: Knit Picks Options, #8
Modifications: I knit until I ran out of yarn. It is "long enough" but I didn't measure the length.
Comments: This isn't for me, so I felt a little strange modeling it. No harm done, the goofy saloon doors do the job quite nicely.

This is for a close friend of mine, who recently suffered dashed travel plans, a cross-country move, and the end of one of the most significant relationships of her life.

She was feeling pretty low for awhile, and feeling like no one cared about her. I knit every stitch thinking about her, and I hope it brings her comfort.

I used 8 balls of Knit Picks Andean Silk in "Sangria," because she likes sangria. This yarn is amazingly soft, and was a pleasure to work with. It has a beautiful but hard to capture color. I think that this picture comes the closest.

Everyone should knit this as a quick and easy project, or as an introduction to lace. I'll probably end up making a couple more.

Bittersweet

2006-11-26T21:49:00.000-05:00

My Thanksgiving was intense. It was basically a long farewell for my grandfather, who is dying of lung cancer and congestive heart failure. He was still lucid and cheerful, and we can be very thankful for the time that we got to spend with him.

When I got home I didn't much feel like knitting. I felt like frogging.

I had five balls of Kureyon tied up in a wrap that just wasn't working out, because it wasn't drapey enough. The colorway screams my sister's name, so I will still make something for her. This time it will be a sweater. Of my own design.

I am very excited about this sweater, and I have high hopes that I can share it with you someday, in a somewhat public way. That means that I can't show it to you until well after it is done, which is annoying but worth it. The progress bar "sweater for Caroline" will indicate my progress so you know I'm not slacking. All I can say is that it involves Kureyon and my sister, and I really, really, really hope that you will all get to see it.

Happy Thanksgiving

2006-11-22T18:50:00.000-05:00

I have a nice life, and I am very thankful for it. I hope that everyone has a lovely Thanksgiving.

I love fall - Part 2

2006-11-12T12:57:00.000-05:00

Seriously, I love fall...

While it has been quite warm recently, it obviously won't last. I haven' t made much progress on Lady Elenor, but I am very pleased with how nice it looks with my green coat.

I'm also working on a matching, Lady E inspired hat, and I'm very curious about how it'll turn out.

I'm about 3/4 of the way through Cozy, and I can't find the blasted yarn to finish it. Grrr. Hopefully I can get that all sorted out soon and begin the one for my mother-in-law.

Looks can be deceiving

2006-11-07T00:07:00.000-05:00

Some of the tastiest food is actually sort of hideous.

I didn't feel like making myself a "real dinner" tonight, so I scrambled three eggs with some spinach and feta. It was absolutely delicious. It's one of my favorite comfort-food items. But it ain't pretty.

I've been making some progress on Cozy. I just attached the fifth ball of yarn, which means I'm halfway through what I have. I think it'll be long enough. I'd love to have it done in a week so I can send it to the recipient less than two months after her birthday.

Here is another shot of the lace pattern. At first the pattern reminded me of leaves, but I'm loving the subtle hexagons and diamonds that form.

I have at least two more of these on deck, one for me and one for my MIL. The Knitpicks Andean Silk, while very soft, does not seem to be the warmest yarn out there. The recipient of this one lives in Kentucky, so that's fine. I live up North though, and I'd like something warmer. Has anyone used Cascade 220 or Lamb's Pride Worsted? Does the Andean Silk end up being really warm after all?

Wrap Progress

2006-10-29T12:49:00.000-05:00

I've been making decent progress on Lady Elenor. I love watching the color change from square to square.

Kureyon is fairly scratchy and started to bother my hands, so I began Cozy in buttery-soft Knitpicks Andean Silk. It is a late birthday present for my college roommate, who has been going through a rough patch recently.

I am totally in love with the yarn and the pattern. I started at like 10pm on Friday, and I'm already this far along.

That's pretty good progress. I really like the lace pattern. It is easy to memorize, but it looks really cool.

The actual color of the yarn is somewhere between the two pictures. It is sooooo soft though, I can't get over it. I think I'll have to make one for myself, and probably for my mother-in-law.

I love fall

2006-10-20T10:52:00.000-04:00

Fall is probably my favorite season. The weather is perfect for me, and the colors are gorgeous. I'm not normally a huge fan of red and orange, but in the fall I can't get enough.

I've been wandering around Boston and Cambridge taking pictures of everything. I think people think I'm a bit... off. That's fine. Maybe I am.

I started the Lady Elenor Stole from Scarf Style right after I finished Glasgow Lace. I'm using the same yarn I used for my Chevron Bag because I fell so deeply in love with the colorway. This is my first foray into entrelac, and my first experience knitting backwards. It is really easy to keep track of your progress because you can count the little squares, which is great for me right now. I had a really busy week at work, but I managed to go from this

to this.

The green matches my winter coat, and I think it'll look pretty darn sharp when its done.

And my celebrity look-alike is...

2006-10-15T13:23:00.000-04:00

Ricki Lake. That's fair.

I heard about this through the Knittyboard. You should try it, its a hoot!

Glasgow Lace

2006-10-14T19:29:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Glasgow Lace by Sharon Shoji, Fall 2006 Interweave Knits.

Yarn: Jo Sharp DK wool, color 912, “Brocade,” 9 skeins

Dates: August 5, 2006 to October 11, 2006 (on and off - actual knitting took a month, but it took another month to bring myself to finish the seaming)

Size: 43” bust

Modifications: Added 1x1 ribbing to bottom hem and cuffs, made neckband go all the way around, added waist shaping.

New skills: All-over lace, tubular cast-on, sewn bind-off.

Notes: I really enjoyed this pattern. The lace is easy to memorize, and I think it looks nice. Here is a detail shot.

When this pattern came out there were a lot of nay-sayers. It doesn’t look all that flattering in the magazine, because it makes the model look thicker around the waist than she actually is. If I can say so myself, my version looks a lot better on me than the original would have. They key is waist shaping and ribbing along the bottom, which gives the whole torso more definition.

I did a tubular cast-on, and worked 1x1 ribbing for one inch. Then I began working in pattern, but every 6th row I decreased a stitch on each side, until I had lost one full pattern repeat (12 stitches) each side. I worked even for 6 rows, then began increasing every 6th row until I was back to the original number. The color in this picture is a bit off, but it gives you an idea of how the shaping works with the pattern.

This picture of the front and back blocking should give you an idea of how far the waist comes in.

I though that the neckband sounded weird, so I did it all the way around. The pattern just says to bind off, but I think that a sewn bind-off/Kitchener bind-off gives it a nice professional look.

I would definitely recommend this pattern, with one caveat. If you have a waist and you want to show it, please add waist shaping!

Chevron Bag - Free Pattern

2006-10-08T12:24:00.000-04:00

Hi guys,
I am pretty pleased with the simple little felted bag pattern that I worked out. It took like 4 evenings to make, and I think it would be a fun quick gift, or an instant-gratification project for yourself. It isn't quite Knitty caliber, obviously, but I hope you enjoy it. If you have any comments or suggestions I would love to hear them, please send them to emilee114@gmail.com

CHEVRON BAG

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Before Felting:
Width: 11 inches
Height: 12 inches (measured from center of chevron)
Strap: 24 inches long

After Felting:
Width: 10 inches
Height: 10.5 inches (measured from center of chevron)
Strap: 23 inches long

MATERIALS
Noro Kureyon [100% wool; 109yd/100m per 50g skein]; Color: #188; 3 skeins
1 24-inch US #10/6mm circular needle
Stitch markers (preferably in different colors)
Tapestry needle

GAUGE
17 sts /25 rows = 4" in stockinette stitch

PATTERN NOTES
You will use stitch markers to denote the beginning and midpoint of the round, as well as two increase “seams” at one quarter and three quarters of the way around. They are labeled A for the beginning, B for the first set of increases, C for the midpoint of the round, and D for the second set of increases. The pattern will be easier to follow if you use markers that you can easily tell apart.

Chevron Pattern:
Round 1: K 2, SSK. K to 1 stitch before marker B, M1, K2, M1. K to 4 stitches before marker C, K2tog, K4, SSK. K to 1 stitch before marker D, M1, K2, M1. K to 4 stitches before marker A, K2tog K2.

Round 2: Knit even

PATTERN
Bag Body
Cast on 128 stitches. Join to work in the round, ensuring that the stitches are not twisted around the needle.

Place marker A for the beginning of round, K 32 stitches and place marker B for the first increase “seam,” K 32 stitches and place marker C for the midpoint of the round, K 32 stitches and place marker D for the other increase “seam” and K to end.

Purl one round.

K 2, SSK. K to 1 stitch before marker B, M1, K2, M1. K to 4 stitches before marker C, K2tog, K4, SSK. K to 1 stitch before marker D, M1, K2, M1. K to 4 stitches before marker A, K2tog K2.

Purl one round.

K 2, SSK. K to 1 stitch before marker B, M1, K2, M1. K to 4 stitches before marker C, K2tog, K4, SSK. K to 1 stitch before marker D, M1, K2, M1. K to 4 stitches before marker A, K2tog K2.

Knit one round.

Repeat these two rounds for the chevron pattern until piece measures 8 inches from cast-on edge. Be sure to measure along one of the increase or decrease seams so that you are not measuring diagonally across columns of stitches. End on a knit even round.

To shape bottom
K2, SSK. Do not make increases at marker B, K to 4 stitches before marker C, K2tog, K4, SSK. Do not make increases at marker D, K to 4 stitches before marker A, K2tog, K2.

Knit even one round

Work these two rounds five more times (104 st)

K2, SSK. K to 4 stitches before marker C, K2tog, K4, SSK. K to 4 stitches before marker A, K2tog, K2.

Work this round 5 more times (80 st).

Final round: SSK, SSK, K to 4 stitches before marker C, k2tog, k2tog, SSK, SSK, K to 4 stitches before marker A, k2tog, k2tog.

Turn work inside-out, and close the bottom with a three-needle bind off.

Strap
CO 90 stitches and knit 12 rows. Bind off.

FINISHING
Sew strap ends to the inside of the bag, at the points where markers A and C had been. Be sure to allow at least an inch of overlap for a secure bond.

Felt and go! Here it is in action.

I hope you enjoy it!

Sorry

2006-09-30T13:02:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry that I've disappeared for awhile. I've been working on secret projects that I can't really post about.

I'll get back to knitting stuff I can show you and actually posting about it shortly.

Yarn Pr0n

2006-09-17T13:17:00.000-04:00

There was some great advice on the knittyboard about how to be a good yarrnographer, and I have been having a TON of fun with the macro function on my trusty little powershot.

I like this last one, because I think its cool how just a little bit of it is in sharp focus. I never knew cascade 220 could look so good!

So close... and yet so far

2006-09-15T23:32:00.000-04:00

I have finished all of the various pieces of Glasgow Lace. Here are the body pieces blocking.

I’m seaming it now. I hate seaming, and I sort of stink at it, so its slow going. And besides, I’m working on a secret project right now. I really, really hope that you guys get a chance to see it someday.

In other news, I am trying to improve my photography skills so I can join the yarn Pr0n ring without embarassing myself. Here I am trying to capture the texture of the sweater I'm doing for my mom.

I'll get there, someday.

Comically Horrible

2006-09-05T20:19:00.000-04:00

This is my husband, in a sweater I knit for myself.

Given our size discrepancy, this is not a good sign.

Last winter I knit a modified Blackberry out of some lovely tweedy dark blue-green yarn (by Rowan, I think).

It was a total disaster. I realized that the sleeves were coming out too big, so I started those over, but the body is gigantic.

Note the attractive bulge at the side.

I took this sweater out because I’d like to fix it up so I can wear it this fall. I got my husband to take some “before” pictures so I could do a post about how I fixed it up. I was complaining about the fit, and he was like “dude, that’s so gigantic, it would probably fit me.” And wouldn’t you know, it did. I may be able to salvage the sleeves, but the body is definitely on the lily pad.

Montreal

2006-08-30T22:53:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted in awhile because my husband and I were on vacation in Montreal.

We had a fabulous time.

My favorite attractions were the botanical garden and Parc du Mont-Royal. I'm always much more excited about outdoorsy things than museums anyway.

In the car on the way there and back, I was able to do some knitting.

I am about 1/3 of the way through each of the body pieces for Glasgow Lace. I have added some shaping, and it is going well.

It looks exaggerated in the photo because blocking makes the lace grow quite a bit in length. I might be able to meet my mid-September goal after all.

Good News and Bad News

2006-08-24T00:43:00.000-04:00

The Good News:

Last night I had my first adventure in blocking lace. I used the 40% off Joanne coupon to buy a blocking board, and it arrived just in time to do the sleeves of Glasgow Lace. Here is a shot taken halfway through pinning the second sleeve.

It had an egg-crate texture before blocking, but now I am thrilled with the way the lace looks.

The Bad News:

The sleeves are freaking huge. HUGE! At first I thought “whatever, sleeves knit flat always look gigantic before they’re sown up, they’re twice as wide as a normal sleeve, duh.” Then I actually used my brain and said “hold on, these sleeves will be 8 inches wide when sown up. Are any of your other sleeves 8 inches wide?” No, no they’re not, and with good reason.

I made two critical errors, one in knitting and one in thinking. First, when I brought the lace pattern all the way to the edge, I didn’t think of how the gauge would differ between lace and stockinette. As it turns out, the lace is significantly wider. Second, I made the wrong size. I don’t remember why I thought that making the 46.5 inch size was a good idea, but clearly I did at some point. No offense to those ladies who do make that size, but it simply is not the size for me. I have a 42 inch bust, and this is not a sweater that calls for a ton of ease. I should make the 43 inch size. If I wasn’t so down on my body all the time I might realize that I can handle a sweater made in my size, but I won’t bore you with that rant right now.

Good News Again:

I cast on for the body immediately after pinning the sleeves, and I will not repeat the same mistakes!

I can’t bear to rip the sleeves out just yet, and they will come in handy. I'll be playing around with the shaping for the body, but I haven't decided exactly how yet. Now I can play around with larger pieces of the finished fabric, and plan the shaping a bit better.

Here, you can see the sleeves laid on top of a finished sweater that I like. If I decrease every 6^th row six times, then increase every 6^th row again, I’ll get the same slope I had on the ill-fated sleeves. I think it’ll work.

Red Sleeves

2006-08-20T21:58:00.000-04:00

I am taking my first stab at corrugated ribbing with this modified Rosedale for my mom.

I LOVE the way it looks, blending the main color into the contrast-color sleeves.

Unfortunately, it is NOWHERE near as stretchy as normal ribbing. So much so that I am considering ripping back and doing plain contrast-color cuffs. The floats are plenty loose, so I don't think my tension is too far off. Do I just have to resign myself to tight sleeves, or is there something I can do about it?

In other news, I have made some progress on my Glasgow Lace sleeves. I should move on to the body the middle of this week.

This weekend I started Broadripple socks, also for my mom.

They are a back-to-school present for her, and I love the color scheme. She is a biology teacher at the high school I went to, and our colors are red and grey. Go team!

My first pair of socks

2006-08-14T22:42:00.000-04:00

This is my first-ever completed pair of socks. (Note that I didn't say first-ever started pair of socks.)

Straight-Laced from knitty (of course!) in Knitpicks Memories Rocky Mountain Dusk. I started them about a month ago, but I have certainly not been monogamous.

As I've said before, I had a blast with these. I felt totally free to explore new techniques, and maybe mess up, because hey, they're just socks! I have knit a ton of sweaters, and I didn't "get" socks, but now I can see the fun. I got frustrated with juggling the two circulars, so I did them both on one needle with Magic Loop. Magic Loop is great! There is pretty significant pooling, and the one on the left above is quite a bit darker, but I don't really care. I love wacky socks, and these are MY wacky socks.

Also, I absolutely DO NOT believe that Straight-laced is extraspicy. It just wasn't that hard at all, and I can't imagine that it is harder than, say, Hedera.

I know that there are many more socks in my future, so I have a question for my sock-knitting friends. I have big feet (US 10-10.5) and I feel like the heel on this sock isn't really wide enough for my foot. The "seam" where I knit stitches together while turning the heel is on the bottom of my heel, and I am afraid that it might get annoying to step on it. Next time, should I knit across more stitches before turning so the "seam" ends up more at the side? Or should I just try a short-row heel?

Swoon!

2006-08-10T00:09:00.000-04:00

Do I need to tell you what this is? This gorgeous yarn is Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb, in Tahoe. I enjoyed making the gift Clapotis so much that I decided to make one for myself. Initially, it was going to be my birthday present to myself. My birthday is in January, and it will be nice to make something luxurious for myself after all of the holiday knitting is done. Except that I don't think I can hold off that long!

I'm not even into the holiday knitting yet, I'm doing Glasgow Lace. The sleeves seem to be coming along nicely.

The pattern says to increase every 3rd right side row, but to only keep the original 45 (or whatever) stitches in pattern. I've been bringing the lace pattern all the way to the edge, using the pointers in Eunny's tutorial.

It is working out just fine, and I'm glad that I'm doing it because I think plan stockinette would look really weird over that much of the sleeve. I'm also excited because it has emboldened me to shape the body the way that I need to.

Totally Tubular

2006-08-06T22:42:00.000-04:00

I am officially in love with tubular cast ons. I started Glasgow Lace, and I decided that I wanted k1p1 ribbing at the cuffs and bottom hem to match the neck line. I figured that this was a good time to try doing a tubular cast on, because the cast on had been too tight on my swatch.

I love the way it turned out. Here is a wide shot to see the progress on the sleeves.

Meanwhile, I began the cuffs on the sweater that I am making my mom for Christmas. It is a modified Rosedale, out of Manos del Uruguay. Using these two yarns...

I am doing a corrugated-rib cuff.

The sleeves will then continue with the brighter red. I'm not totally sure that I have enough of the red to do the whole sweater, so I'll do whatever I need to do in the multi. For now, the bottom hem and collar will definitely be multi too.

I'm really excited about the projects I have going right now. I have some socks, which are portable. I have Glasgow Lace, which I'm modifying and which I have to pay some attention to. Then I have Red Rosedale, that will be very simple and that I can zone out on. After finishing up my WIPs in July I feel kind of silly starting a bunch of new stuff immediately, but I think that it'll be good to move between three projects.

Swatchtastic

2006-08-01T22:43:00.000-04:00

I don't normally swatch. I know, I know, I'm a bad girl. I figured that since I am deviating so far from the plan with Glasgow Lace, I should at least try it out, so I did. I even blocked it!

I think it looks pretty good, frankly. I would totally wear a sweater made out of this. My goal is to be done by the middle of September, as this sweater will be most useful in this neck of the woods from mid-September to mid-November. Although, the deep red color would make it fit in well around the holiday season. Oh heck, I'd wear it whenever.

I am also making good progress on Straight-Laced, and should be done with these in a week or so. It will be my first completed pair of socks, and it has been a blast. Socks are so... low-risk. I think I'll like making them.

And, to be fair, I have advanced my Law School Applications progress bar. Not that I did anything today, mind you, but it occurs to me that I have already taken the LSAT and secured one recommendation, and that ought to count for something.

Clapotis, c'est fini!

2006-07-30T22:00:00.000-04:00

I have finished Clapotis!

Oooohhh….

This is for Elizabeth, my best friend from college. Her birthday is in September, so I finished it well before the deadline. We actually became friends because of knitting. She moved into my house at the beginning of sophomore year, and I knew that she knit. I had learned as a child, but forgot how, so I asked her for a tutorial and we hit it off. I am very pleased with the way this turned out. The earthy, rustic nature of the yarn is perfect for her, and she definitely wears these colors.

This is my husband/photographer, making fun of my FO pose.

I have another FO to show you, a sweater made out of Lopi that I started in the winter of 2005. I was working on my senior thesis, so I wanted to do something easy. Unfortunately, easy sweaters in Lopi make me look like the Michelin Man. So much so that there will be no FO picture. Lesson learned.

I got my Fall 2006 Interweave Knits yesterday, and I am SUPER excited. Coral Crossing is definitely on my list, but it will probably be magenta instead.

I'm also going to try to totally revamp Glasgow Lace so that it isn't incredibly expensive and unflattering. I have lovely dark red, heathery Jo Sharp DK wool that I have been meaning to use. I like the idea of a transitional weather piece in dark red lace. It'll be very... autumnal. I'll keep you posted.

Oooh, mysterious!

2006-07-27T23:15:00.000-04:00

I have joined the mystery sock KAL. My pattern is here.

If any of you other folks are interested in still more mysterious sock patterns, this is a good resource.

N is for New Leaf

2006-07-24T21:38:00.000-04:00

This is my favorite house plant. It is a Christmas Cactus that I bought at Target three and a half years ago. It was about a week after Christmas, and Target had stopped watering the "Christmas" plants that hadn't sold. It broke my heart to see all of those poor little plants being neglected, so I bought one that looked like it had some hope for survival. It was the size of one of my spread hands, and because of its poor condition, it cost $1.50. As it turns out, it blooms around Valentine's Day and puts out new leaves every summer. I love watching this plant thrive, because it reminds me that you can turn around a bad situation and recover.

The bad news today is that I have an awful cold and didn't go to work. The good news is that I made a ton of progress on Clapotis, Straight-laced, and Zora. I'll take photos when I have the energy!

WEBS!!

2006-07-23T21:45:00.000-04:00

This weekend I went to Webs with my mom, and indulged in some serious stash enhancement. I bought two bags of Debbie Bliss Merino DK in a yummy aubergine color. The Interweave Knits fall preview has some really interesting patterns, and I have a hunch that this would make a lovely Coral Crossing. The color is dark, but the yarn is glossy enough that I think a subtle cable pattern would be very nice, and it would be something that I can actually wear to the office. I can't wait to get my hands on that magazine!

I also got a bunch of sock yarn.

I am making back-to-school socks for my mom in the red and grey, and for my sister in the pink and orange. Mine will be in blues. My mom is a high school teacher, and the end of the summer is always disappointing, so maybe this will cheer her up.
When I was at my parents’ house I organized the stash I had there and brought back some awesome stuff. I won't need to by yarn for a really long time. (I probably will, though)

I have 2 bags of Debbie Bliss Merino Chunky in teal. This was originally purchased for Simply Marilyn. After all the negative feedback I wasn't sure, but I've seen some really nice ones in Blogland

I have no idea what to do with this Filatura DiCrosa 501. I have a TON of it, two bags of magenta and one bag of rose. I had been thinking Tubey, but I’m not sure. I would like to do something a bit more challenging.

I also have some Jo Sharp DK wool, which I was thinking of making into Tempting 2 for the Sexy Knitters KAL. I chose weird yarn for my current version of Tempting 2, and red wool would be nice for a sweater to wear to holiday parties.

In other news, I’m making some progress on my WIPs. This had been standing in the way of any progress on Zora:

But tonight I wove in all the ends, and now I just need to do button bands. I am about to turn the heels on Straight-Laced, and I am almost to my fifth dropped stitch in Clapotis.

Straight-Laced

2006-07-18T21:42:00.000-04:00

It had been hot here. Incredibly, ludicrously hot. I simply cannot work on any of my thick wool WIPs under these conditions. And besides, I have a new love in my life right now.

These are Straight-Laced from Knitty, in Knitpicks Sock Memories, Rocky Mountain Dusk. Despite their extraspicy rating, I cast on for them last night, never having completed a pair of socks in my life. It is so... freeing to begin a project ready and willing to learn, and to make mistakes in the process. The yarn cost under $10, and they're SOCKS fer crying out loud! They can have mistakes in them, no one will look closely. In fact, there is already a pretty major mistake in there, but I don't care. ONWARD!

I've been fighting a bit with the yarnovers on either side of the two knit stitches in the lace pattern. As you can see, the loops on the right are smaller than the loops on the left.

I'm pretty sure it's because the instructions are to knit two together on both the left and the right side. In the picture below, don't the stitches to the right of the smaller hole look twisted? I think the K2Ts on the right are constricting the yarnovers. I'll try doing SSK for a few rounds to see if that helps at all.

Leftovers is done!

2006-07-16T20:26:00.000-04:00

I cast on for Leftovers as soon as I saw the pattern, a year and a half ago. I had several barely touched balls of Lite Lopi, and I had been meaning to do something with them, because they came from a project that has a special place in my heart. In the fall of 2003, I made a sweater from that season's issue of Interweave Knits. It was a bohus-inspired pullover designed by Norah Gaughan, and it is the first knitted garment that I ever felt truly proud of. I was a junior in college at the time, and my friends saw me knitting this sweater for the better part of the fall semester. When I put it on for the first time in November, my friend Lida exclaimed "That's the sweater that you made! It looks like a real sweater!" So, here is Leftovers next to the sweater that yeilded the extra yarn.

The good thing about Leftovers is that it uses up your odds and ends. The bad thing about Leftovers is that it used every... last... inch. To the extent that I ran out of green and there was some drama finding more. But that's all in the past! Leftovers is finished!

What kind of knitting needles are you?

2006-07-14T17:37:00.000-04:00

I took that "What kind of yarn are you?" quiz that everyone takes, and I seem to be halfway between Shetland Wool and Mohair. I can't say that bamboo is my favorite, bur the result speaks to me. I've been meaning to break out of my raglan, size 8 circular rut for awhile now. It is warm and cozy, but there is more to life that stockinette! There is lace, there are cables! I need to explore!

What kind of knitting needles are you?

You are bamboo.Warm, cozy, and thoughtful, you take your time and enjoy how things feel, smell, and taste. You love the craft and beauty of traditional things, and you value the comfort and experience of knitting as much as the results. But while you are reveling in your warm cozies, don't get stuck. Warm is wonderful, but so is the whole wide world!
Take this quiz!

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Rosedale U is done!

2006-07-13T23:41:00.000-04:00

Yaay! Rosedale U is done! Only 11 months in the making!

A detail shot for color...

OK, so it's a "bumming around the house" sweater. I live in a cold climate. I need them.

This post was brought to you by the letter M.

M stands for Moss.

And for Mountain Laurel.

I took these pictures while home in Connecticut. I miss being able to go out in the woods and see moss and mountain laurel. Mountain laurel is the state flower of Connecticut, you know. I really like the look of their twisty stems, but above all they remind me of home.

More UFOs

2006-07-10T23:36:00.000-04:00

I went home to Connecticut this weekend, where I uncovered still more UFOs.

This is my first and only sock, knit from the pattern that came with the yarn. I knit it while studying abroad in Australia. I brought sock yarn because I wanted something portable, but it was an environmental science program, so we were always camping. When it was light out there were other things to do, and I was normally too dirty to want to knit anyway. I abandoned this project thinking "umm... why knit socks?" But, as nelltje of the knittyboard pointed out, they're a really good way to experiment without investing a ton of yarn and time into a sweater. I'll finish these to recover my sock needles, and then try jaywalkers, with this.

I also found the Zora sweater from the Best of Lopi. I was literally inches from completion when I realized that spring (2005) was coming, and I wouldn't have a chance to wear it before it was too warm. It shouldn't take too long to finish.

This is Tempting 2. This is an incredibly boring knit. I started it right before my wedding because I needed something mindless, but I'm not sure if I can ever subject myself to that much k1, p1.

In the meantime, I've made progress on Rosedale U,

and Clapotis.

As I was slogging through Clapotis, I realized that I have so many UFOs because the patterns I pick are so boring. I mean, really, I've been knitting seriously for four years. My skills are just not progressing. I need to challenge myself, I need to experiment. I brought back my Lopi odds and ends so I can play around a little bit.

As soon as July is over, I turn over a new leaf. Each new project practices a new technique!

In which I get past a minor setback, and finally finish Rosedale U sleeves

2006-07-06T23:09:00.000-04:00

I'm making some progress on my WIPs. I added a few more rows to Clapotis, but then put it aside so I have an easy, portable project to take to Connecticut this weekend. As soon as I picked up Rosedale U I remembered why I put it down in the first place. I've been really fussy about the color placement on the sleeves, and I monitored their progress to be sure that all of the stripes were lining up. Back in January, when I was three quarters of the way through the second sleeve, I discovered that their was a break in the yarn, tied with a simple square knot. And at the other side of the knot it was the wrong color! GAH!

At the time I was working on a huge case at work, and I didn't have time to work out my (minor) knitting setback. But, yesterday, I was able to finagle the stripes and come up with matching sleeves. Yay! On the inside of the second sleeve there are some ends to weave in.

But from the outside you'd never know.

My knitpicks interchangeable needles came today! I love them. I was able to make some progress on the yoke, and it was SO much faster than the bamboo I was using. I highly recommend them. I'm excited that one of the first yoke stripes was the turquoise, to highlight the smaller stripes.

I think I should be done in a week. Then what should I pick up next?

Mesilla

2006-07-05T00:35:00.000-04:00

Mesilla is done!

Please excuse the shiny face, it was very humid today. As you can see, I removed the stripes from the bottom section because I don't want to draw any more attention to my midsection.

Here is a detail shot:

It wasn’t really fair of me to include Mesilla on my list for the WIP roundup, because I never lost momentum on it. I got married in April, so wedding planning encroached on my knitting time, which I think is why I lost so much momentum on my other projects. Now that I’ve moved on from Mesilla I can attack some of the true UFOs!

Before I move on though, I need to jump on another blogging bandwagon.

L is for Lily

I usually don't like the color orange. I have only one orange top, none of my household items are orange. I only like the color orange when it is found in nature, ideally in a pumpkin, and autumn leaf, or a day lily. The fact that this one was right against a concrete wall made it all the more becautiful to me.

2006-07-01T01:02:00.000-04:00

I was also inspired to spruce my blog up a little bit. I've had four comments! People have actually seen this! I need to send a huge thank you to our friend at Knitticisms, her tutorial here was incredibly helpful.

2006-06-30T22:37:00.000-04:00

I was inspired to free the fug the other day.

The yarn is so much happier now...

The beautiful yarn that was in a stupid vest is free... FREE! I even decided what I'll do with it. One of my favorite FOs is a Rosedale that I made in Charisma from Valley yarns. The simple pattern shows off handpainted yarn beautifully, because it gets to take center stage. I decided that another Manos yarn in a complementary colorway would do nicely for the corrugated rib. (I also decided that I'm only about 90% sure I have enough of the red for a whole Rosedale. If I run out, I'll just make parts of the sweater not red.) So, here is what I'll go with.

I really like it. Now, I just need to finish the other Rosedale I'm working on, so I can recover my supply of size 8 needles.

Unfortunately, I was a bad girl at the yarn store (Woolcott in Harvard Square). See, they were having a sale on Artful Yarns. 40% off. And this yummy Circus called my name and begged to be made into Cathode someday. And maybe I cast on, but I swear, it was just to test it. I promise, I will not really get started until at least August, because July is for finishing stuff up!

I also made some progress on Mesilla, and I'm almost ready to begin the stripes at the bottom.

2006-06-24T16:29:00.000-04:00

So, I've started a blog. This is not an ambitious blog. I just want to be able to chat about knitting, and post pictures of my project. My inaugural post highlights my UFOs, in honor of the Knitty Coffeeshop's July WIP along. They are listed in the order that I hope to finish them. Sadly, this is not the complete collection, as some UFOs still reside at my parents' house in Connecticut.

#1: Mesilla, Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece
This yarn was originally a skirt in a Feather and Fan pattern from an issue of Interweave knits. The skirt wasn't doing it for me, so I frogged it right around the time that Spring Knitty came out. I think that this yarn will be much happer as Mesilla, and I want to finish it soon so I'll be able to wear it before it gets too cold for short sleeves again.

#2: Clapotis, Noro Silver Thaw
This is going to be a birthday present for my friend Elizabeth. Her birthday isn't until September, so I have time, but I should get going. As you can see, I get distracted...

#3. Rosedale U, Noro Kureyon
I started this sweater about a year ago. I lost momentum at some point because I wasn't thrilled about the color scheme. I'm diggin' it now though, as a fall, wear with jeans kind of sweater. I hope to finish it by October.

#4. Leftovers, Light Lopi
I started this project AGES ago, using leftovers from my favorite FO. Sadly, right towards the end I ran out of green, and there was drama finding more. I have finally found some, and I’m ready to get back into this project. The bulk of the work will be weaving in all those ends, which I HATE to do.

#5. Modified Bloom Wrap, Noro Kureyon
This was supposed to be a birthday present for my sister. Her birthday is in December. Oops. Maybe this year…

#6. Something for Mom, Manos del Uruguay
This colorway screams my mom’s name, and the fugly vest I made doesn’t do it justsice. Must be frogged and reborn.

So, apparently I like Noro and LOVE Knitty. I hadn’t thought about all that my projects have in common. I also apparently have a fear of commitment, at least in terms of project. In real life, not so much, as I am 23 and married.