Current projects?

So what have I been working on since I got back from Spring Break?

School, mostly. Sorry, but I would like to graduate eventually, and with three papers due at the end of the semester, I need to start now. And, as often happens, knitting suffers.

That's not to say that I haven't been knitting at all. I usually get a couple of hours in the morning, when I make my blog rounds. The wedding veil is still a work in progress. Unfortunately, it doesn't photograph well, being all bunch up on the needle, so there may not be any more pictures until the center portion is done.

Aside from that, I have been working on a nice little summer tank.


Soleil from Knitty. Knit with Lionbrand Microspun in French Vanilla on size 6 needles.

Everything was going along swimmingly. I had cast on, finished the lace portion and started the stockinette when I made a fatal mistake. I checked my gauge. I know I've said this before: I don't swatch. So far, everything's worked out for me. This time, my tape measure said I was off. Rather significantly. After some quick calculations, I was worried about the fit of this tank. So I tried it on. And it seemed to fit. And so, the intrepid knitter forges ahead.

What I Knit Over Spring Break

I needed a small project to go on the plane with me. Something small enough to fit wherever I chose to stuff it, but big enough to last the entire trip. At first I was going to bring a pair of socks, but when I started on the Red Herring socks from Knitty, they came out too big and I ripped them. Instead, I knit this:

Doesn't look like much, huh? That's just because it hasn't undergone the wonders of blocking!

Much better.

The stats:

Swallowtail Shawl from Fall '06 Interweave Knits, designed by Evelyn Clark. Knit with Knitpicks Shadow in Jewel on size 5 needles. Finished, blocked measurements: 23 along center back and 55 across the top.

I started this last Tuesday, knit the first chart, then set it aside until Thursday, when we were on the plane. We got back from Spring Break on Friday, and I finished on Saturday and blocked the shawl on Sunday.

Why I Love My Parents

Well, one of many reasons. I went home for spring break this week (part of the reason there has been such a lack of posting here), and this was waiting for me when I got there:

That is two 2-oz balls of JaggerSpun Zephyr Silk/Wool in Garnet, two 2 oz balls of JaggerSpun Zephyr Silk/Wool in Juniper, two balls of Regia sock yarn in color 5180 (the label is in a foreign language, so that's as much information as I can glean), and two balls of Fortissima sock yarn in 9099. Plus, a set of bamboo size 2 dpns.

Sock yarn is always great (and the Regia is destined to grace my dad's feet), and the lace weight is the same brand as my wedding veil is made out of, just different colors. Total coincidence.

Apparently, my parents were in a yarn store and my dad, always an enabler, selected some yarn he thought I would like, ignoring my mom's protests that I had enough yarn. Silly woman.

As if that weren't enough, my mom and I took a trip to the local Hancock Fabrics, which was going out of business. This means, of course, that everything was on sale.

It's all Lionbrand, but it all has a purpose. There are six balls of Microspun in French Vanilla, three balls of Lion Wool in Rose, one balls of Fun Fur in Soft Pink, and a ball of Magic Stripes in Jellybean. In addition, there are stitch holders, cabone rings to use as stitch markers, and my very own Chibi. Blue.

Come back tomorrow to find out what Rhiannon knit on her spring break. I think it's terribly impressive.

Sweater Design for the Lazy

There are a lot of good guides to designing sweaters out there. Books, blogs, websites, etc. Most of them say something similar: Knit a swatch, using gauge determine how many stitches to cast on. Design entire pattern out before knitting anything.

That's too much like work. I'm not saying that you shouldn't design a sweater that way; you probably should. It's just that I don't want to design a sweater that way. So without further ado, I give you

Sweater Design for the Lazy

1. Decide what weight yarn you want to use. I chose DK weight, Merino Style from Knitpicks.

2. Find other sweater patterns that use yarn of that weight. Sesame from MagKnits.

3. Using the already-established patterns, get a rough idea of how many stitches to cast on.

4. Decide that knitting the sweater in pieces is unnecessary, and wouldn't it be cool if there was no finishing to be done afterwards? Ignore the voice in your head that says set-in sleeves can't really be done without seams.

5. Fiddle with the number of stitches to accommodate your pattern, shaping, etc. Make sure to always go up in the number of stitches, so you can be sure it fits.

6. Discover that the size 6 needles you had intended to knit the sweater on actually measure (according to your needle gauge) as a size seven. Decide that you'd rather knit it on size 5 anyway.

7. Despite going down a needle size, make no adjustment to the cast on number. Justify this with such statements as, "I want it to be snug anyway." or "I'm using more stitches than the original pattern, it'll fit."

8. Cast on your stitches. 182.

9. Knit for about twenty rows before trying the sweater on (as much as you can). Decide it doesn't really fit. Rip it all out.

10. Knitting it in pieces does kind of make sense. Add more stitches to your ultimate stitch count and start again, on the front.

11. Knit, past the bottom ribbing and begin the pattern.

12. Decide that the original pattern doesn't work. You like the idea, but it needs some tweaking.

13. Rip back down to the ribbing.

14. Spend a couple of hours on Paint, redesigning your pattern.

15. Start knitting again, this time really liking your design.

16. Ignore the little voice in your head that informs you that you still don't know how to do the sleeve shaping or the neckline.

When all sixteen steps are completed, you should have something that looks like this:

One sweater front, just about ready to start armseye.

Of course, most of the above mentioned steps could be skipped if you just knit a damn gauge swatch in the first place.

Makin' my Megan a hat...

The title is supposed to be sung. The complete song (also useful for my boyfriend, or any person with a two-syllable name) is:
Makin' my Megan a hat.
Makin' my Megan a hat.
Gonna be nice when it's all done,
'Cause I'm makin' my Megan a hat.
Then I usually scat for a bit and start over.

A friend just went through some surgery. Mind you, this is after dealing with cancer last year, and now surgery for something completely unrelated. It's been a rough time for her. Anyway, shortly after the surgery, when she was completely doped up on painkillers, she commented, "Oh, I want a beanie."

If my friend wants a beanie, she's gonna get a beanie. She wanted it in blue, but she doesn't wear wool (it lies very heavy on her, so she can only wear it when it's freezing cold outside.) Luckily, I have some blue acrylic in my stash, in a DK weight.

I started out with Shedir, from the breast cancer issue of Knitty. I've made it before with no problems, but this time, all of the little cables drove me freaking crazy. It got ripped. I decided to knit Odessa, by Grumperina. The ribbing went fine, but the larger needles seemed too loose for the yarn. I tried to switch down to size 5, but I could only find three of them. So most of the hat was knit on three size 5's and two size 6's.

By the way, sorry about the bad picture. My boyfriend's at work, so I held the camera out at arm's length to get this. I'm usually much cuter, and the hat's not so pointy.

Bradly rather liked his hat. I giggled when he first put it on, and commented that he looked like one of the mushroom people from Super Mario Brothers. He apparently agrees, and now, he wants one in red, with white, so he can be a Koopa Trooper, and one in green. Which is good, because I'm not entirely happy with the fit of this one, so I should be able to perfect this pattern.

My knitting friend came over yesterday. I helped her get started on a hat, and our boyfriends killed Ewoks on Star Wars Battlefront. I had a good time, and we're talking about doing that again.

I'm right about at row fifty on the veil (Ingrid's Bridal Knot Shawl). I only work on it a little bit at night, so this will take me a while to complete. I just need it done by June, so I think I'll be all right. Plus, since I only want a half-circle, I'm about a fifth of the way done with the center portion.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love

(with apologies to Raymond Carver)

Way back when, when I first started knitting, I went to a yarn store in Little Rock with my parents (my mom weaves, my sister crochets, and my dad enables). As with any store, I went for the clearance section. There, I found a few balls of a cream colored alpaca yarn. Being new and not knowing any better, I only grabbed one ball. And from that, I fell in love with alpaca.

That sad ball of yarn has sat in my stash for close to three years, waiting for a project worthy of it. A few attempts have been made, but always ripped out, the yarn returning to my stash, to be admired and petted.

Then, my boyfriend asked for a hat. With navy blue and white. The only white yarn I had in my stash, without plans, was the glorious alpaca.

This, my friends, is love. My beloved boyfriend has a hat made from my beloved alpaca. Although he has agreed that if he doesn't like the hat, I can reclaim my alpaca, to return to the stash bin of admiration.