Really Annoyed

So I must have been really out of it when I was working on the final piece to the mystery project; a length that was meant to measure 7" somehow is only 6" after blocking. Whoops. I must have measured on a curve or something. Unfortunately this means I have to rip out everything I finished on Tuesday at Stitch n Pitch - nearly three hours of knitting! It also brings back my worries about having enough yarn, but I think I have a solution for that one :)

Bummer, dude. I was just getting excited about another project!

Stitch n Pitch; Mystery Project; Mom's Socks

I went to Stitch n Pitch night at Safeco Field last night with my knitting group. We watched the Mariners get CREAMED by the Blue Jays. It was really rather sad!

I really enjoyed myself. I carpooled with two other women from my knitting group. The drive over was reasonably pleasant. We parked near the field and went in to find our seats. We were in the very very top row, behind home plate. Great seats! Good view of the whole field, and we had the sun at our backs (until it went down, of course). It was nice because the sun felt warm and toasty on my back but it was not in my eyes and wasn't too hot. Thank heavens things cooled down yesterday or it could have been miserable! Anyway, I was very impressed by my seat. Yes, it was a long way up (I didn't count the flights of stairs but it was a fair few!) but it was a good view.

The game itself was pretty good besides the fact that we lost. By about 10 runs. Ouch.

I must say, however, I was astounded at the lack of *baseball*. It's been a few years since I've been to a game - and I'll admit that I was sitting in the "stitchers" area, so it was full of (mostly) women who may or may not really enjoy watching baseball - but I felt like for many people, the emphasis was on the food and the non-baseball entertainment. It seemed like the video screen was always showing something TOTALLY unrelated to the game. There were prize drawings, quiz games, hide-a-ball-under-a-hat-and-move-them-around, a simulated car race, etc. When the teams were switching places and doing a quick warm-up, BAM, something else would come up on the screen. I really wonder if anyone was actually watching THE GAME.


I did, however, get a lot of knitting done. I made good progress on the mystery project - I've finished the last piece! I'm going to set it to block shortly and hopefully be able to assemble it soon. Then I need to add another bit to it, and it will be finished. Yay! My yarn fears were unfounded; apparently I'm a horrible judge of how much yarn is left. Yay!
 
I also worked on a sock for my mother. It's the second of a pair that I started over a year ago, if I recall correctly, and it has been calling my name recently just begging to be finished. I used Knitpick's Sock Garden in Morning Glory and it is luscious. It's 100% Merino Wool so I'm sure it will pill and felt and possibly wear out sooner rather than later but it is so soft!
 
I'm using two circs for these socks, I have no idea what size - 2, perhaps - and Kathryn Tewson's Universal Sock Pattern. For the top of the foot and the leg, it's 3x1 rib and the cuff is 2x2 if I am remembering correctly. I hope Mom likes them! 

Mystery Project Update

I'm making reasonable progress on the final piece of my mystery project, considering the temperature has not dropped below 80 in what feels like AGES (really only about four days). I'm starting to worry about having enough yarn, of course, which is terrifying. I've been frantically measuring as I go along, and am exactly on gauge in terms of the dimensions so far, so I'm hoping I'm just a really bad judge of (a) how much yarn is left in the skein and (b) how much I'll need for finishing. As long as I can finish this piece with this skein, I can always suck it up and buy another one for the finishing, even if it is a different dyelot. When purchasing yarn, I normally loko at recommended amounts - if one size larger than the size I plan to make calls for the same number of balls of yarn, I don't order an extra one; if the size I'm making is the last size that calls for that number of balls, I do. I'm not sure if that makes sense to anyone else.

Anyway, this plan has worked wonderfully for me so far but this time I have been foiled. See, I decided after purchasing the yarn that I was actually going to make a medium instead of a small - having purchased the yarn recommended for small, since medium called for the same number of balls - but now that I am making the medium, using my logic I should have bought another ball.

Ah, well. We shall see!

Mystery Project: 2/3 finished

 

The mystery project is 2/3 finished. The part I have just finished seems to me as if it would be the most tedious but I am sure when I am halfway through the next (last) piece then I will feel that it is the most tedious. Of course then comes the blocking and finishing - let's hope it doesn't take me too long! I'm beginning to worry about fit. 

Test Longies

 
My beautiful cat, hiding behind the curtain.
 
These started out as a test of a pattern I'll be using; I was planning on making shorts but when I got to the point of thinking about length (I decided on 4.5"), I realised I probably had enough yarn left for longies. I did! I still have more than enough left for a waist tie, too.
 
I tried to get an accurate picture of the color and failed, but this shows how the yarn is actually four different colored strands twisted together. It's really pretty IRL, kind of heathered looking.

I hear that Cascade 220 is not great for soakers because it is over-processed, but perhaps with enough lanolizing it will work. It will help me sort out more accurate measurements for the next pair I am making - out of a beautiful custom-dyed yarn from Irish Baby Knits (this yarn, but the orange is more orange and less rust in person). It also convinced me that 270 yards should be plenty for a pair of longies for Leif for the winter since I got this pair out of less than 220 yards. Yay! I can't wait to get started, this yarn is luscious! 

To-Do List

I'm dying to order some of Knitpick's new needles, but I'd like to order some yarn at the same time (even though I've got $40.50 or something worth of needles - it saves me either paying shipping or ordering $40 of yarn in the future for a few random skeins). However, I should not be buying more yarn until I have used up some of what I have.

To this end, I would like to pledge to finish the following projects before starting anything new (or buying more yarn!):

0) Leif's longies - 0% finished; PRIORITY once I check out the fit on the test pair I've just finished.

1) Mystery Project - I'm 50% finished; still enthusiastic just lacking in time.

2) Purple/yellow socks - I'm perhaps 75% finished? I honestly don't recall. I think I'm past the heel on the 2nd sock.

3) W tank - needs a bottom border. Undecided on what to do for said border - leaning toward seed stitch, but may compete with garter-stitch body. Perhaps openwork?

4) Dark socks - I have about four rows of these toe-up, two-at-once socks finished. Looking for a pattern of some sort but don't want it to fight with the variegation.

5) New hat for me out of my OneSkein June yarn. Must rip and re-start, creating much sadness.

I've got a fair amount of yarn that I purchased for projects that no longer appeal to me. I may arrange a swap or sale of some sort in the near future. We shall see.

New Soaker

 
After ripping out the previous funny-shaped soaker, I started this one. I am using the WonderShorts pattern from Wooly Wonder, with the Curly Purly pleated waistband. I worked the initial 1x1 rib for an inch, then 1 inch of the next step in the waistband, then another inch of the last step. Then I added two short rows at 3 1/2 and 4 1/2 inches and worked even until 5 1/2 inches where I worked the crotch gusset thing. Now I'm working on the legs. I am too cheap to buy a long Addi, and my Denise needles don't work for Magic Loop (too stiff- I'm lusting after the Knitpicks Needles to the point of thinking about selling my Denises to fund a Knitpicks purchase....), so I'm two-needle-ing it with the Addi and a Denise. I have no idea what size Addi it is; it's the 16" circ I use for hats out of C220 and since this is a soaker out of 220, I decided it would work. Seems to have done so, I'm getting gauge dead on. Now I just have to work the legs until they are as long as I want them. I'm thinking 3 inches total - the baby's got a 7" inseam, so that should be knee-length? The pattern calls for four rows of garter at the end but I'm thinking four rows of seed stitch instead.

I skipped my knitting group tonight so I can go scrapbooking on Friday (there's just too much to do to do it all! I picked the wrong career to have multiple hobbies..), and I am missing the comraderie. I'll probably miss next week too because I have an exam on Thursday morning. Ah, well. 

Pool of Sadness

 

Does anyone know how to convince Picasa I would like more than one photo per blog entry? It is much easier to post photos from Picasa than via Blogger but I can't figure out how to post multiple pictures at once. This is the beginning of my hat with my luscious One Skein swap yarn, which is doomed to be ripped because I don't like the swirl pattern. I will combat this by alternating rows (or perhaps every other row) from a different end of the ball. This is made easier by the fact that there were two knots in the skein, which means I have two medium and one small ball already split for my convenience :) 

Rip-it, Rip-it

 
It's official. This soaker is no more. RIP, too-tall (and too small for intended recipient) but otherwise wonderful soaker. We will see you again in another life! 

Mystery Project

 

Here's a photo of the mystery project. It's coming along nicely - halfway finished, I should think, and the half that remains is the easier half! 

Secret Project; Soaker and Longies; Hat; Tank

Sorry for the lack of photos - I haven't uploaded them from my camera yet. I'll have photos of two things coming up soon: my new secret project (coming along nicely!) and the soaker I am about to rip out. It's the wrong size. My gauge is dead on but there's a quirk in the pattern that I missed on the first time through. I'm going to rip and re-knit it in a different size, and practice a few things for the longies I'm making for a friend. I'd like to include elastic along the waistband, and use the pleated waistline from CurlyPurly (I keep typing "curlypurply" by mistake, and it makes me giggle). I'm not sure if I'll do this by carrying along the elastic, or by threading it through post-waistband-construction so those are some things I'll experiment with.

I've set aside my hat project from my one-skein yarn; I'm getting pooling I'm not happy with at the moment, so I'm investigating other options. After considering some striping and a slip-stitch/mosaic pattern, I think I'm just going to knit the hat and alternate yarn from opposite ends of the ball. Once again, a-ripping I must go. I've got a few pictures of the hat on my camera waiting to be uploaded, too, so I'll post those soon as well.

Oh, and the lux tank? Still awaiting blocking..

New Project

I started work on a new project on Wednesday at knitting group. It's going to be a secret for now, so I won't share details, but I'm making good progress. I have two big complaints, however.

I purchased the yarn for this from Knitpicks. I selected two of their sock yarns (one solid, one patterned). The yarns are from different lines, but their gauges and fiber content matched. However, THEY'RE DIFFERENT. They feel different, they behave differently, and one is slightly thicker than the other. It's driving me crazy. Also, the colors don't match as well when knitted up as they did in the balls. Oh well.

I'm pleased with the project so far - I'm hitting gauge dead on, which always makes me happy. I'm also moving pretty quickly which again, makes me happy.

I'll take some pictures this evening.

Leif's Measurements

I'm making a pair of longies for the cutest.baby.ever. I measured him today, and I know I'll lose the paper I wrote the measurements on, so I'm recording them here where they won't get lost.

(note to self: measurements OVER a trifold diaper laid in a snap-closed cover)

waist: 16"
hips: 18"
rise: 14"
inseam: 7"
thigh: 9.5"

I don't know if any of these measurements make sense, but they're what I got. Leif was kind of squirmy but not too bad. I think the thighs will be the toughest bit to fit. We'll see.

Tank Top

I am so close to finishing my tank top it is not even funny. Here are some photos of the tank in progress.

I am pretty pleased with the evenness of my tension on this one. The stitches are fairly even and really don't even look like they need much blocking. I hoped to finish knitting by tonight so I can block it overnight and seam it tomorrow. We have casual days all week at the office because we met our target of $50m in sales, and I'm hoping this would be suitable enough to wear. I'm not 100% sure what I think about wearing sleeveless tops in the office, even for casual days, but I figure I can run it by my boss on Monday.

Tomás had to explore the tank as soon as I started to lay it out for pictures. He is really quite a silly cat. For some reason, the unmoving needle interested him more than the loose yarn ends! He is usually quite interested in the knitting while it is not moving, but not as interested in it when I am working on something - thankfully! He is occasionally quite interested in the yarn as it comes off the ball, though.

I'm not as happy with my edges. For the most part, the seam will cover them up, but I think I'm going to have to investigate smooth edging. Perhaps it's a combination of different stitches or possibly different tension, I'm not sure. For this, I slipped the first stitch every row up until the point when I don't seam, and from there I just worked it in pattern and tried to be carefully even. After I finished, I read something saying to have an even edge you should knit every row but I don't really know how much that helps.

One Skein swap

I have been participating in the One Skein swap. I wish I had thought to take a photo of the skein I sent my pal, but alas, I didn't.

On Friday I received my skein from my pal. It's beautiful. I love it. It is a lovely wool yarn that looks handpainted. I don't know if it is or not, but it's really pretty - blues and greens, just my favourite colours! I might look through the One Skein book again to see if I am inspired to make anything special, but it may become a basic hat for me, using the Needle Beetle pattern that I love. At 165 yards, it is probably a little shy (I usually use Cascade 220 and have a small amount left), so I'll have to hunt up a matching solid for a stripe or two.

Here are some photos: