Happy Monday.

I was able to get a back seat in my class last week, and thus knit for two days on Arwens back, with only my neighbors knowing what I was up to. I also was able to pay enough attention to win a prize for answering questions. Hurrah Me.

I settled down on Sunday to finish the back, and work all the seams. All that is left is the hood. The instructions have you make the hoods as extensions of the left and right side, then seam the back neck. I don't see why I can't just use the back neck live stitches, and knit both pieces together. So that's what I'm doing.

I also finished another mohair brioche scarf. Navy on one side, varigated blue on the other. Fluffy!

Somebody has been sleeping in my knitting basket, and I don't like it. Yes, he is pretty cute. Yes, I wash my projects when they are finished, but the idea of them smelling like dog butt is not appealing. I plan to fix this by piling my books and magazines on the top from now on.

The front and sleeve sections for Arwen are complete. Yummy.

All Arwen, all the time.

I was hoping to knit to the shoulder last night, but was way too tired. Almost there. I guess a leg work out and a double Manhattan would do that to an old lady.

I'm leaving Sunday night for a short business training session. Arwen's back is waiting for that. Nothing like a big chunk of plain stockinette for a training session.

My daughter and a work friend have admired, and attempted to claim that green scarf. Thus, I have been dipping into that mohair again. Dangerous.

A mohair folly.


I was so inspired about reducing stash, that I went on a bit of an inspection. The yarn swap I attended was one of those yearly things, and occur ed on Superbowl Sunday. Well, that's coming up, and maybe I could be prepared. So, what did I really not love. I decided I was no longer in love with the giant bag of mohair.

But, how to get another to love it? Well, I could demonstrate how nice the yarn is by making a fuzzy fluffy scarf. Two colors; maybe brioche. That's light when done on big needles, should work up fast, and would be attractive on both sides.

By the end of the weekend I was six feet in, and finished it Wednesday. It is light and fluffy; seven feet long and less than three ounces. See how one side is light with dark ribs and the other is dark with light ribs? A mirror image; very clever.

A problem. You see I have mohair in purple and teal and navy and grey and yellow, and a few other colors Wouldn't the purple work up nicely with either of these greens? Navy and grey, Navy and yellow, you get the picture? How can I get rid of all that mohair with the potential for light fluffy scarfs? Great gifts, I'm sure. My daughter has already tried to claim this one.

Closeup of one side. The knit side up on the dark green was hard to see, both in real life, and in the photograph. What shows is the herringbone feathers of the lighter purl side color. But here is a close up of the light green "right" side.

Oh, and I joined another Knit Along - the Dale North America group. Cast on is Jan 20th. I swatched some Lambs Pride sport for Hardangervidda. I"m glad I did too. I figured on doing main color green, contrast1 orange, contrast 2 yellow. However, I wasn't pleased with how the orange read against the green. Thus, I will use yellow as contrast 1 and orange as contrast 2. Spot on gauge with #2 needles

Let's talk about Arwen

Her left front is finished.

The arm as specified is way to narrow at the body join. Now it measures 18 inches instead of the 13 1/2 inches specified. No way was was that going to fit over a T Shirt using the original pattern. I notice on the KAL boards that people are already making this adjustment.

I plan to do the hood in one piece at the end. I'll just leave the hood stiches on their holder until all is together, then pick up along the back neck, and take it from there. The shoulder stiches will also stay on a holder for a three needle bind off. Another minor planning for the finish choice was to use a provisional cast on for the arm, so I had stiches waiting for the grafting, and of course, the three needle bind off for the sleeve.

I actually finished the left front before the New Year, but was so unhappy with the sleeve depth that I ripped it to the sleeve cast on, and doubled the yarn over increases. ( starting a t 9 st from the sleeve/body join, and working every 5 stitches instead of every 10 ) Now, I could have considered ripping another three inches of body so as to keep the cropped profile. Didn't occur to me. Duh. Instead, I have a sweater that will be three inches longer than the model, which is fine too.

Another motivation for the big sleeve rip was that I totally dorked the grafting of the sleeve detail. This weekend, I found a grafting article, and read it about eleven times, and tried again. Turned out way better. So proud I took a picture. You can also see I somehow ended my graft a half stitch off and also see ( and count ) the matched YO increases up the sleeve.

I have found that the cables can look right on one side and wrong on the other side. Don't tell anyone, but there is an incorrect cable cross at the graft line on the inside of the sleeve. Shhhhh...

Now lets' have a cleansing chat about buying yarn off of eBay.

The yarn came from a vintage yarn lot sale during my bad eBay yarn habit. This habit caused my guest room to fill with yarn until it was close to exploding. No pictures; this continues to be truly embarrassing. But I will share my eBay bargain secrets.

My favorite searches were:
wool yarn vintage

wool yarn lot

I found a lot of 50's to 70's era worsted that way. I particularly like the Bear Brand and Bernat "Wool and Shetland Wool" line. This one was a different brand, and I scanned the label because it was so retro. Notice all the different gauge choices, and that there is no yardage anywhere.

After a bit of price comparing, I decided to bid no more than 50 cents per ounce; with shipping that made most purchases about 80cents to a dollar an ounce. I figured that is about half price of comparable worsted. Then Elann launched the Highland Wool line, and that works out to almost the same price. So, if I can get the colors I want, and new to boot. Oh, and it isn't in my closet. I figured, what's the point of used e-bay stuff unless you pay even less than my 50 cents. To my luck, I find I now rarely win bids even at my personal limits. So, no more eBay Yarn habit. Thanks Elann, and thanks you people who bid or price too high.

Happy New Year

Swatchy is back, and has been knitting a lot on a holiday road trip.

I notice that Stash Reduction is a big theme for 2007. This has been a Swatchy theme for a few years now. I noticed two years ago that I had about a walk in closet full of yarn. A bit of a calculation around usage rates and life span caused alarm. I believe that I own more yarn than I can knit over my lifespan. You may notice that most of the 2006 knitting was from stash. I think my only yarn purchase in 2006 was Cashmerino for my daughters requested bolero cardigan.

I like so much of my stash, and have oh so many plans. I enjoy taking it out, throwing it around the bedroom, and putting it back.

I did participate in a local yarn sale/swap year before last, and got rid of more than I acquired. It was arranged on Super Bowl day by our LYS. I took home some $$'ss too!!. I'll try to take advantage of that sort of opportunity presents itself again.

So, now for the goal setting; 2006 was not a huge year for knitting productivity.

So, the Swatchy 2007 Stash Busting Challenge - 6 ADULT Sweaters from stash.

This will encourage the use of my vintage worsted weight will, which is bulkier, and takes up more space than all the rest. I may keep track of ounces used, and traded away as well.

So, on to the pictures

Many of you may recognize this a "A Cardigan for Arwen" from the recent Interweave Knits. This appears to be a very very popular design, evidenced by not one, but two knit alongs in process.

I started it on Christmas, and I am using vintage worsted wool in a pistachio green color. It is Fair Lady brand. It was a purchase my eBay yarn purchase addiction. I believe I have recovered from it, but I still find myself browsing the auctions. There are a lot of closets out there stuffed with yarn, mine included.

These are sleeves for "Elegant Diagonals" from Interweave Knits Summer 2000. I'm using Lana Grossa Klimatika, which is a very nice cotton/woool blend. This was purchased during my Elann.com addiction phase. You know I had a hot link to their site, and checked it every day after reading Wendy. The body is on the needles, but not feeling photogenic today.

Well, what's this?

It's a "Trellis" from Knitty. It's going to work this week, for a boy who should have been delivered last month. I don't work with that group anymore, so, I don't see the announcements. However, while in the office in the summer, I saw the bump.

I like the JHB Beatrix Potter buttons. Apparently so much that this sweater ended up with a mix of Jemima Puddleduck, and my favorite, Benjamin Bunny.

Swatchy seems to have lost some interest in blogging.

But not all interest.

Here, is a finished Swallowtail Shawl from a recent issue if Interweave. I used the Elann Baby Alpaca Silk. It is nice and soft.

It was made mostly during road trips. Houston to Austin. A business trip Houston to Atlanta and back. Finished during a Red Cross Wilderness First Aid class. The class was amusing. A boy scout Venture Crew set up a series of "accidents" for the students to deal with. This involved lots of fake blood, and quite a lot of fake body parts.

I got the question about the difference in treatment between objects lodged in the eye and objects embedded in the eye wrong, but I really do know the difference in treatment, if not the language. ( if you can wash it out, do so; if it is really stuck in there, stabalize, and bandage in place for the pros to deal with )

Back again
Miss Me?

This is a clever pattern. One way, it is a long jacket with a shawl collar. The other way, it is a bolero with a hoodie.

Still slogging through summer heat and a general organization maliase. Still working on soothing stockenette. Finally reasonably pleased with the project choice for this awful yarn.

Third try is the charm, I suppose. It is, if you are interested, the Bulky Gauge Pinwheel Sweater for Children, free from Elann.com. Apparently, my gauge is not quite bulky enough, as this sweater will measure about 16" around when done and folded instead of 22". Nice for a newborn, but I need a sweater for a 1YO at this point. No worries. I will fold it away, for a future newborn, and try again, this time making adjustments.

Well another blogging gap.
We will call it summer vacation.
More like summer knitting blues.

I had the Fasset working, and ran into a glitch that I didn't feel the strength to address.
I had the big Russian Prime that I tried to fix with duplicate stitch, and ended up cutting the offending part off, to reknit.

I found that the only knitting I could tolerate was stockenette stitch.

I made a nice baby sweater with a hood but didn't photograph it before giving it away.

I made this bolero for my daughter from the Debbie Bliss "Simply Soft" book. The CashMerino was delicious. Very very soft, and very red. The pattern was nice; I had to adjust it because I could not make the gauge. Usually, I have to go to a way smaller needle because I knit too loose. This time, I could not get loose enough. So, I picked a needle size, and made adjustments. It worked out well, as you can see. I was miffed that there were not diagrams or measurements in the book. Why would you not include such basic information. I doubt I will buy a Debbie Bliss book again without checking to see if there are diagrams.

Well, it's been a while. Seems that blogger is having issues today, so the update is taking longer than I expected.

Last entry I had a graphic disaster with the big B&L Regal sweater. I've worked on the duplicate stitch solution a little bit, and it looks ok from the front. It's nasty on the back. I'm not sure that matters, and I think with some concentration, and a sharp needle, I can make that better as well.

Here is a picture; notice that the left hand column of pattern is correct, and the center and right hand ones are wrong. Don't see it? Squint a little, and you will sense a curve rather than strong straight lines.

I also realized this weekend that I'm going on a business trip in two weeks. One of my team members just delivered a baby girl. Another team member works with a friend who also just delivered a baby girl. I have one baby sweater with no buttons. What to do? Yank some yarn and get busy. This is a relief because I chose a novelty yarn and a very simple pattern. Something to forget my big project "issues". Garter stich all the way. The arms are done, and the body is on it's way. More later.

On the personal front, daughter went to camp Sunday, and husband to Europe on business. So, I'm in the company of Shiloh and GingGong. There is the very real possibility that I will spend too much time working, and never leave the house for the whole week. I can be that way.

Knitting has stopped for a week.

I chained up the steeks for Regal, cut them, did the three needle bind off. Very pretty. Put on the collar. It seemed a little tight so I put it on to check that it would go over my head. While looking in the mirror, my eyes played games with me. Those strong diagonals weren't quite straight. What was going on?

OH NO - about mid way up the top section, there are mistakes!!! I offset the pattern a row, and the pattern lines are off. If you look really hard at last weeks picture, you can see.

I kicked myself for noticing this AFTER I cut the sweater.

I thought about throwing the whole thing out.
I thought about duplicate stitching the mistakes.
I thought about finishing it as is, and giving it to a shelter, because all I would ever see would be the mistake.
I let Shiloh sleep on it for four days, and thought about making it into a dog bed.
I thought more about duplicate stitching the mistakes.

urg.

Like many, I've been really disappointed by the knitting magazines recently. I'm planning on letting all of my subscriptions lapse. I certainly have plenty of books and magazines already. Maybe my past excesses are leading the to feeling that what has been published recently has already been done before.

Today, I shout out to the editors of Vogue Knit.1 - you guys have nailed your target market.

On Saturday, my daughter and I went to the park to see some dancing demonstrations, and to score free ballet tickets. I wanted some double points, so I took her out to the LYS after. I try to use these trips, once or twice a year to interest her in knitting, and to get insight on what she may like me to make for her. We found some fun hats, and picked up a pattern and some yarn, Then she picked up a Vogue Knitting 1.0. Imagine my surprise to find her excited by the magazine. She loved the format, the articles, and thought that many of the projects were really cool. She sat down in the store and just bubbled to the knitting ladies who happened to be there just how great it was to find a book with projects and formats targetedfor her age group. ((instead of for fat old ladies like us ??)) Apparently the magazine is not my demographic, since I can barely stand it. We came home with two issues.

Later, Saturday night, waiting for the ballet to start, you would have seen us both knitting. She was working on an ear flap hat in chartreuse and black. I was working on my big Regal sweater. She is now 4 1/2 inches from cast on, and ready for the decrease rounds. I'm done with the body, and doing the fiddly work to prepare steeks for cutting.

Giselle was lovely by the way.

I've been enjoying how quickly this Regal/Candide project is working up. Shilo appears to enjoy when I set it down. This annoys me, because he's shedding, and the sweater ends up full of dog hair. I'm 2/3 of the way up the armhole section, quickly approaching the neck opening.

I started up on the second sleeve for the Fasset circle square. Not much there yet; I've made a few increases, and stopped because I need to go pull yarns for the next row of colors. As noted before there are three places where half the colors change, and one place, every 24 rows where they all change. Getting set up for that big one seems to stall me out.

Speaking of stalled, I'm not sure that the Kaffe Fasset knit along I tried to join is active. I'd really like to see some support around my project in particular and the multicolor style that Fasset represents in general. So, I thought about hosting one of those group blogs. I thought about it so hard, I even named it, and roughed it out on blogger. It's open for review, but pretty lame without members. Check it out, and see what you think. Fans of Kaffe Fasset Knitting, or http://fokafak.blogspot.com/

I'll mention this a few times, and leave it up for a few months. If it catches on, great. If not, my husband will still have his sweater by the time it cools down in Houston.

How could I forget again?

Blog birthday came and went last week. Happy Happy.

Worked some on the Regal project; didn't work on the Fasset. No pictures because I'm feeling cranky.

Did I mention that I decided what to do with the Briggs and Little that I had the desire to "use up"?

I looked up Briggs and Little, and I think the color that I have and don't really care for is called copper. I also inspected the green skeins a bit better, and found that some was B&L and some was labeled Candide. Reynolds Candide, I guess; it's a bit bulkier, but not so much that it can't peacefully fair isle together with the B&L Regal.

The green Candide and green Regal must have been same mill, same dye lot because, I have switched between the two types, and can't for the life of me find any lines, even in bright daylight. They also have the same feel; the wool feels a bit rough, and has bits in it. I know from my swatch that it softens up nicely after a bath. There is also a bit of an oily feel, that makes me think there is a bit of lanolin still in there. In any event, both types of green feel the same way.

The chevrons are running down the side, and will extend down the sleeve. This will be one of those Meg Swanson constructs, where I will pick up the sleeves in pattern and extend it down, and the chevrons will follow. I didn't realize how they appear to "float" when you get away from the pattern. Nice.

I'm about an inch from the armhole steek, and I'm freaking out. I'm still on the first skein of the copper color. Not only do I have PLENTY of this color, I think I may have over a skein left over.

Well, we have a sleeve. I'm pleased with the entire look, and the measurements seemed to come out about right. I'll probably start the second one this week. A shot of the back side for those who need to see such things. Probably the most aggressive bit of intarsia I've ever done.



The wrist edge is curly, because I've not yet decided on the edge treatment. Probably some sort of striped ribbing, but for now, its sitting on an crocheted provisional cast on.

Cheers

I thought I had a solution to the B&L Regal. I did some ribbing, and started up a slip stitch pattern. It felt like I was copping out. I decided I didn't like it. No, not that I didn't like it, but that it wasn't special or worthy. It was just ok. I couldn't see myself as proud to give it away as a gift. I took a picture, but still haven't ripped it out. I'm not sure.

Then I started thinking about my need to "use up" or "get rid of" certain parts of my stash. I have boxes of beautiful colors, merino, alpaca, shetland. What am I saving it for? Why spend time on a project that is just so so, when I have so many choices of wonderful?

So, into the closet I went, and this is why the Circle Square sleeve did not get finished this weekend. I flipped through my books and magazines again, and pulled out sport weight. Lovely lovely sport weight, wool from e-bay, alpaca from Peru, some Nature Spun Sport, some merino from Elann. It worked up this. 6.5 stitches per inch, using Donnegal from Starmore's Celtic Collection as a pattern and color guide.

Now, I'm still thinking about my BIL, as I show the swatch to Husband. He announces that it is really nice, and that he would be unhappy if the sweater was not for him. What's a girl to do, but recalculate, and cast on?

Well, no updates for the past week, due to a hard drive crash. I'm still playing software scavenger hunt, and getting little tweaks installed. Stupid stuff, like the noise that is made when the IM goes off, and cleaning up the Java errors for various business applications. Yuck.

In the mean time, the knitting is done on the Ingeborg hat. I've cleaned up the ends, and just need to sew the hem down. It's a little big. I'm not going to add the trim, as I think it looks a bit humptey-dumptey.

Now, for someone we've not seen for a while. Isn't he pretty? Well, except for the spaghetti monster look that happens with intarsia. Most of the ends are already woven in, and just need to be clipped. I'm doing a fully fashioned sleeve cap, and just started the decreases. I expect to have this sleeve done by the end of the weekend.