Between the Stitches

Look, I really do knit!

I promised a finished object, and low and behold I actually do have one.  May I present Rapunzel...

Poor Rapunzel had been sitting around nearly finished for ages in my knitting basket.  I had a small little bit of sleeve to finish and that was about it.  In early August the urge to finish her up took hold and I had the sleeves finished in no time.  I not only wanted to finish her, but wanted to submit her to the Big E state fair.  This was good in theory, but with a vacation scheduled for the last week of August was a bit of a reach.

I did most of the piecing on the flight to Florida, and spent any of my free time at the end of the night working on the collar.  I finished her the day before I had to have my package postmarked by for the fair entry.  Actually I still haven't added on the crochet trim, but my mother has a hold of the sweater now and doesn't show signs of wanting to give it back.

It looks like it pulls a bit in that photo, but once I add the trim and the buttons it will be fine.  It was supposed to be for me, but my failure to test swatch, and my super tight knitting made sure there was no way the sweater was going to fit me.  I knit the sweater in the large size, and it just fights my mom who usually wears a size small. 

I was unsure in the begining how I was going to like the Lurex Shimmer color that I ended up using.  The original sweater used a pewter color with the glacier blue Kid Classic.  Lurex Shimmer had already been discontinued when I started making this sweater and was unable to find any of the pewter colorway.  I found two balls in "Minty" at my LYS that I ended up using.  It's a pretty green/blue color and it works great with the the glacier.  I'm so glad I didn't end up using the pewter.  The shimmer had a great and unexpected pop to the sweater. 

The Details -

Rapunzel, Rowan #34, Designed by Jean Moss

Knit with Rowan Kid Classic (Wool, Mohair, Nylon Blend).  10 balls of Glacier, and 2 balls Rowan Lurex Shimmer in Minty.

Pattern Notes 

I loved this project, crazy ends and all.  The pattern held my attention throughout and never got boring at all.  The knit-on icord was a bit tedious, but wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I knit it pretty much without any changes.  I think I made the collar a bit shorter, but that was about it.  

I really need to swatch before I make my next Rowan pattern.  I'm a tight knitter and always seem to end up with things that don't fit in the end.  When I was working on the sweater down in Florida, my family was all trying to talk my mother into letting them have it.  She was thrilled that I screwed up and she ended up with it. 

Yarn Notes 

I loved using the Kid Classic.  So soft and touchable.  It is works perfectly for this sweater.  The lurex shimmer isn't my usual style, but it works with this pattern.  Since it's only used fair-isle style just little bits of it show up and it adds a nice touch to the sweater.  I'm glad I used it.

And how'd Rapunzel do under the judges harsh glare?

Woo-Hoo!  Second place.  I was thrilled, as this was my first ever entry.  I lost out to a gorgeous aran sweater so I can live with that.  My judging card said it liked the yarn choices and the pattern.  My edges looked a bit rough (still needs that crochet trim) and some of my stitches were a bit uneven.  I always end up a bit uneven when I work on something in a pattern that alternates between knit and purl stitches.  It's something I need to work on to improve my knitting.  (Either that or just knit things in the round).

Still Knitting

Wow. It's been a long time hasn't it? I hadn't even realized that it has been nearly 2 years since I've posted here. I went through a period when I did barely any knitting. Working in NYC has really changed my knitting habits, and I've been finding myself getting home after 7pm and being too tired to even think of picking up the needles. I used to do more knitting on the train, but most of the time I've been finding myself taking catnaps on the train. I don't think that I realized how draining the commute was going to be. I also became a bit obsessed with a thing called the Dis boards and planning the two Disney vacations I've taken since my last posting. Socializing there took what was left of my very little free time.

I have been working on a few knitting projects, more slowly than I used to, but I've still had things on the needles. Back in August I decieded that I wanted to finish my Rapunzel sweater so I could submit it to the Big E state fair. It had been sitting barely touched since I had started working in New York. Very sad, especially since all it needed was for the sleeves to be finished. I finished the sleeves right before my late August vacation, and spent most of my flight down to Florida piecing it together. I got the collar added on over the course of vacation and came home with a finished sweater just in time to make the submission date for the fair. How'd it do? I'll save that news for when I post the pictures of the sweater.

Since then I've been reinvigorated with my knitting. I started a Rhinebeck sweater. I didn't quite finish it, but have a bit more of the sleeves to do. (Those sleeves kill me every time!). I picked up some yarn at Rhinebeck and have a few new projects on the needles. It feels good to be knitting again. I don't think I realized how much I had been missing it. I also finally signed up for Ravelry, and that has been feeding my renewed obsession as well. (my name is "ibelle" on Ravelry) I found a knitting group in my home town to, and it's been really nice to get together with other knitters. I've been missing blogging to, and am going to try my best to balance all my addictions. Everything in moderation, right?

Now I just need to learn to read my Disboards while knitting!

Another Look at an Old Favorite

Way back in 2004 I had knit an Onde Tunic for my older niece Megan.  Shown here:

Doesn't seem too enthused does she?  Actually she had really liked it until she was asked to put it on for a picture.  Then I got that face.  I like to think of it as being part of her charm.  Needless to say I never got a really good picture of it on her to my dismay.  I don't even know if she ever even wore it after that.  These days she's a bit fascinated with my knitting, and she loves telling people that I made her things.  She put in a request for mittens for next winter so I'll have to do my best to oblige.

Luckily I have two nieces.  I had forgotten all about the Onde tunic until I was at my brother's house for Megan's birthday party a few weeks ago.  I had eventually faced the truth that I'm an indulgent aunt and bought Megan the outfit for her that matched the outfit I bought for her American Girl doll for Easter.  She was thrilled.  She told me it was her #2 favorite present.  (I got edged out by her American Girl doll's dog Jip that my parents gave her.)  It made me better about shelling out so much money for kids clothing.  Anyways she had to try it on right away, and have her hair fixed to match her doll. 

While this was going on Michaela was feeling a little bit left out.  She loves playing dress up and was missing out on not having any new clothing to put on.  She ran off to her room and came back with this on.

At least someone appreciates my Onde tunic!  My sil told me it's her new favorite thing to wear.  They can't get her out of it to wash it.  The problem was that she doesn't want to wear it with pants.  She insists on wearing it as a dress, but when she does the slits on the sides are so far up she's running around with her underwear hanging out.  She a little pip squeek so it actually is the perfect length for a dress on her.  I still had some of the yarn at home, so I brought some with me the next time I visited and voila it's now an Onde dress.

I just love when my projects end up with people who love them!

Look! Yet Another FO

It's Anouk 3.  Can you tell I really love this pattern?  This is the third Anouk I've made, and I haven't tired of the pattern yet.  It's so quick and easy, and most importantly absolutely adorable.  While I'm happy with this incarnation of Anouk, it's probably my least favorite color combination of the three I've made.  The orange/yellow combination is still my favorite, followed by the teal/purple combination.  I was kind of stuck on this one, because my LYS had a very limited color selection for the main color.  I was able to use up left overs from my stash for all but the main color.  Irregardless the recipent should love it (or her mother at any rate).  The color choices are perfect for her tastes, and that's what really matters for a gift.

On a side note my intarsia abilities really aren't improving from project to project.  I find it very hard to keep the proper tenstion between the color changes.  I end up either too loose, and have big gappy stitches, or I knit too tight and it doesn't lie right.  Usually I do both within the same project.  I am determined to improve.

Here's the round-up for Anouk 3.

Anouk, Knitty - Sprint 2004, Designed by Kate Gilbert
Knit with Cascade Pima Tencel (50% Pima Cotton, 50% Tencel).   Worked with 2 balls pink (#1317) and color remnants of no more than a 1/2 ball each of leaf green (#4084), sunflower yellow (#0258), and natural (#0030).

Pattern Notes - I love Anouk and can't recommend it enough for someone looking for an quick and easy project to give as a gift or for their own little girl.  It's a great project for someone wanting to move up from the basics too.  The shaping is simple, and the piece doesn't require much finishing.

Yarn Notes - My newest version was made in the 6 months size and the Pima Tencel works very well for that size.  My prior orange version was made in the smallest size, and the teal was made in the largest size.  Having made this in three of the sizes I've found that the Pima Tencel works best in the smaller sizes.  The Pima Tencel has a lot of weight and drape to it, and it was a bit heavy for the largest size.  The skirt on that one pulled a bit too much while my niece was trying to walk around in it.  A lighter weight yarn would probably work better for the larger sizes.

Pattern Changes - I made only two small changes to the pattern.  On the left shoulder side (the side with the button) I increased the rear shoulder by a few rows.  I find it easier to attach the button if there is a little bit more of an overlap to the front and back pieces. 

The only other change I made was to knit the collar in the same color as the pockets instead of using the main color.  It's just a personal preference, but I just like adding in a bit more color into the pattern.

Will definitely not hesitate to use this pattern yet again!

Springy Birch

The weather here in Connecticut finally decided to start feeling like Spring, just in time for the wedding  I went to on Saturday.  After the incredibly cold and wet weather we had for the past few weeks this was a welcome change.  You couldn't ask for a nicer day, my friends really lucked out for their wedding.  I was grateful as I was convinced all last week that I was going to freeze wearing my new dress, and that maybe I had better come up with some kind of a contingency plan for a backup dress.  Luckily no back up was necessary, and all I needed was my new Birch,  which was just the light cover I needed for my shoulders with the a/c at the reception.

I apologize for the quality of the pictures.  I was expecting two of my friends to be at the wedding and have one of them take a few pictures for me but one got stuck working, and the other never bothered to tell me she wasn't going.  I ended up at at a table with a bunch of people I didn't know.  (Note to self - you must find someone to drag along as a date to these things.)  The couple sitting next to me was quite nice, but overall it's still rough being at that table with the miscellaneous group of people.  A few of my good male friends were at a different table, but I didn't want to try to explain why I needed them to take pictures of me with my shawl.  I used the timer on the camera when I got home.  They aren't the best but they'll do.


The  back view of Birch.  I was happy that the seam I was so concerned about really just blended in against my dress.  If I turned it around so that the wrong side was facing out it barely showed at all.

And a few shots of how Birch looked with the front of my dress.  With my favorite sunglasses -

And without -

Birch, Rowan 24, Designed by Sharon Miller
Knit with 2.5 skeins (250 yards each) of Louet Kidlin Pixie (49% Linen, 35% Mohair, 16% Nylon) in Rose Bloom (04) on Clover Bamboo Straights.

Pattern Notes - I'm really happy with how my Birch came out.  I'm very glad that I chose to make this Birch using Julia's modifications.  Her notes on how to adapt the pattern are easy to follow.  I followed her modifications with just two changes.  The first was that although I didn't work the regular decreases at the end of each right side row, I still needed to work the decrease on row 8 (the only decrease on the purl row) in order to keep the shape of the pattern correct. I'd work the decrease on the last two purl stitches, and then knit the last three that I was using as a border.  On the next row (row 1 of the pattern) I work across until I had the three border stitches left on the needle and then increase one stitch before knitting the last three stitches.  Without working this decrease and increase the leaves formed in the pattern would pull wonky to one side and didn't look right.

The only other change I made was to work my two pieces about 10 inches longer on each side.  Mine measured about 30" or so before blocking.  This was by accident, I was on a roll knitting and forgot to keep measuring, but in the end I was happy it ended up being longer.  I love a shawl you can really wrap yourself up in.

Yarn Notes - This was my first time using Kidlin Pixie and I found it to be an acceptable substitute for Kidsilk Haze.  It's not as soft as Kidsilk, but still feels decadent, and the linen in it gives the same hazy appearance that Kidsilk does.  It was a bit cheaper than Kidsilk Haze, but not significantly so.  (Especially as you only need 3 balls of it.)  The color range worked better for me for this project.  It's a very strong yarn too without looking like it.  Don't try to break this without scissors!  I like that even though the shawl looks fragile and delicate it's not.

Check out Julia's notes on Birch for more help.  She's got great hints there, and it would be silly for me to just reiterate them.

First FO 2007

I actually finished something this year!!!  I finished Birch on Friday night, but had to hold off on blocking it until yesterday because I had company over the weekend.  Here's a picture of it pinned out on my floor.  I'll get a better completed picture of it this weekend at the wedding.

I'll give some more detailed notes when I post a better picture, but overall I love the modifications  of my long Birch shawl.  I did screw up and bind the two pieces off on the wrong side so the seam is really apparent, but I can live with it.  I tried to tink back and fix it, but I was causing more damage than what I was fixing so I left it.

Here is a closeup of the pattern detail:

I promise more details later!  I'm so excited I finished this week with plenty of time to spare.  Heck I didn't even have to rush.

The Need for New Yarn

I don't know where the time this year has been flying to, but it has definitely been getting away from me.  My new job has been keeping me exhausted.  I'm not the world's best morning person so getting up and having myself on the 6.30am train is really difficult.  Last week I was so beat that I overslept 3 days.  Luckily I was able to catch the next train at 6.50 which still gets me to work at time, but my goal this week is to break that habit.  I don't want to get used to taking the later train.  I like having it there for emergency purposes.  The exception rather than the rule.  So far so good.  Woke up right on time today.  I just need to be sure I get to bed at a reasonable hour tonight.

The one bad thing is that I've been so tired I haven't been able to do much knitting on the train.  I try, but after knitting only a row or two I start feeling the eyelids get incredibly heavy that I have to put it away.  (I've been taking lots of power naps on the train).  I've still managed to get some good knitting time in though on my lunch hour and while watching tv.  I've put Rapunzel on hold temporarily so I could start this:

Lace.  Birch from Rowan #34 to be exact.  I have a wedding to go to at the end of the month and had bought this dress from Newport News to wear to it.

Aren't you all surprised I bought a dress for an event and didn't drive all of you nuts asking for opinions on dresses?  It was one really nice bonus of losing weight that it was much easier to find a dress.  I got the catalog in the mail, saw this, and had to have it.  No hunting around trying to find something from one of the few plus-sized retailers.  Open a catalog and order something.  Love it!

The only problem is that this shows a lot more skin than I am used to exposing.  I was a little unsure about the spagetti straps, and the low cut of the front but it looks beautiful on and feels secure.  I just need to get over a few minor insecurites about my body.  It cried out for a nice wrap though.  April is an iffy month around here in Connecticut.  I could be a beautiful spring day or freezing.  I bought the wrap that Newport News sold that matched the dress, but it's the same sheer lightweight material as the dress.  No warmth at all to it.  It is also very tiny.  I wanted something I could wrap around myself.  I contemplated borrowing the Birch Shawl that I had made for my mother two years ago, but it was light green and really didn't go.  (Okay to be honest the light green looked fine with the dress, but I really wanted to buy new yarn).

I had plans to meet up with an old college friend two weeks ago after work, so after she had to postpone our meeting at the last minute, I took advantage of the chance to take the subway down to lower Manhattan to do some yarn shopping.  I was a bit nervous about this, as my sole foreay on the subway in NY has been to Union Square Park and back for the NY Yarn-Out, and from Harlem to Yankee Stadium.  I wasn't even sure exactly how to get to the shops I wanted to hit (The Point and Purl) as I had only been to them once before with Susie, and we had walked there.  Luckily I found this site that has a wonderful interactive subway map that tells you which subway to take to get between any two points in New York.  It got me exactly where I needed to go, so I recommend it.  The only problem is that it doesn't give you any walking directions to get from the subway station to your location.  Once I got my bearings though on which was was North and South I was fine and got to both locations with relatively no problems.

I went to The Point first and looked around a bit before heading over to Purl.  I had originally planned on using Kidsilk Haze as I just adore the stuff, but none of the colors looked quite right with the color of the dress.  Even the whites and off-whites didn't quite look right with the dress.  I had the same issues with the Kid Seta yarn I tried too.  Nothing was quite right.  I had been hoping that someone would have carried Douceur et Soie.  I had gone online and seen that they carry a great coral color that might have matched the dress exactly, but alas no one had it.  Nothing was quite right, and I was just about to give up, go home and order some Douceur et Soie online (or at least wate until I could try Knitting Central in Westport).

Then I saw this, and while I hadn't planned on using pink with a coral dress I actually liked the way this looks with it.  It's Louet's Kidlin Pixie in Rose Bloom.  While the KidSilk Haze pinks looked all wrong with the coral, the undertones of the Kidlin  complement it nicely.  Kidlin is a mohair/linen/nylon blend that is amazingly strong.  (Found this out the hard way when I went to break a strand of yarn).  While it's not quite as decedently soft and luxurious as KidSilk Haze, it is still fairly soft and gives off a similar hazy appearance.  I'm anxious to see how it blocks out in the end.

I also chose to try Julia's modifications to Birch to make an oblong/rectanglish wrap instead of a triangle.  Both my Charlotte's are triangles, as was the Birch I made for my mother, but for this I really wanted something long.  I finished the first piece in less than a week, and am now working on the second piece.  It shouldn't be long before I'm back to finishing up those Rapunzel sleeves.  I don’t foresee any problems finishing on time for once.  I love the Birch pattern.  It's so easy to memorize and is simple enough that I can work on it while on the train.  Since this is a rectangle shape, I never had to worry about those huge long 200 stitch rows either.  The rows are the perfect length.  I can finish one up fairly quickly so that I can end a row if my stop is coming up.

My goal is to finish the second piece this weekend.  I'll post finished pictures as soon as I do.

Bobble

Wow!  Working really takes a toll on knitting time doesn't it?  Before I went back to work I was flying along on Rapunzel.  Since returning to work a month ago, I've knit very little on it.  I guess that's what happens when you have to sleep at night and not during the day.  I think I need a job where I can watch TV and knit all day.

I do have a finished object to show off though.  A little bit of train knitting I've worked in between my sock knitting woes.

It's Bobble from Rowan 34.  This was actually a bit of stash knitting with some Felted Tweed I had left over from the girls Harry Potter sweaters and a loose ball of Kid Silk Haze that I had floating around.

Before I show the next picture, may I please just state I know I am not a hat person.  This is not news to me at all.

My question to Rowan is who in the world has a head as small as the ones you write these patterns for?  I added one extra pattern repeat to the hat due to the fact I have a very large noggin, and it was barely enough.  I still don't think it's quite enough.  I find myself wishing it was a bit longer.  While it completely covers my new hair cut, it does not cover my ears completely.  It's okay for most days, but on the coldest of days (like our weather around here recently) I still need to use my 180 ear wraps to keep warm.  All in all it was a quick easy knit and it keeps my head warm.  It's just a bit small.

Speaking of new haircuts may I just say how much I love my new haircut?  I only changed by hair cut back in October to this:

but I just couldn't get used to the bangs.  I'd start the day with them hanging where they should, but not even half way into the day I'd have them pushed off my forehead.  5 months later the hair style wasn't growing on me, and I was convinced the style was aging me.  I think this was all in my head as the friends I questioned told me I was nuts.

I went to the salon last week thinking I'd just bob it and even it out a bit.  My hairdresser talked me into this modified bob.

You can't even see the best part in this pictues which is how it angles up in the back.  This might be the easierst hairstyle I've ever had.  Really - even easier than my permed early 90's hair-dos.  I love how it's shorter in the back and falls forward.  This picture was taken after I got home from the salon, but so far I can actually make it look like this on my own.  Easily too.  People have actually stopped ans asked me about it.  Amazing.

While out of work I became a bit obsessed with the X-Files.  Okay, I got a bit re-obssessed with the X-Files which I hadn't really seen since it had gone off the air.  I had found this quiz while searching for something else entirely about the show.  These were my results.

What Unusual Scully hair are you?

short bob
Take this quiz!

Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

How funny is that?  That's my haircut!  It made me laugh when I realized it.  Completely unintentional. 

Well I'm off to bed.  My alarm will be waking me up at 5am for another fun filled day at work, but then I'm off to Happy Hour with some old co-workers back here in Connecticut.  Can't wait!

Endless Socks

Try though I might I have a real problem knitting socks.  Maybe it's the endless rows of stockinette that drives me nuts, but I tend to lose interest relativly quickly.  I think I need to try some kind of sock with a cable pattern or something.

This pair of socks has been taking me forever to knit.

On the left is the original sock I had started knitting.  It's the Step Above pattern, which I love, but I had several issues with how it was comming out.  I had used the pattern before to knit one sock (still waitng for it's mate) and it had come out too small to fit over the ball of my wide, high instep feet.  When I started knitting this one back in May while on vacation if Florida, I used the men's size of the pattern figuring it would come out fine for me.  I didn't bother to check the sizing until I ran out of yarn, and had to buy another ball.  When I tried it on the sock was huge.  Turns out that in addition to knitting the larger size, I was unknowingly using the wrong - larger- needles.

I made the decision then that I also wasn't happy with how the color was turning out.  The first sock I had made was in Lorna's Laces Sandridge colorway (check the photo album on my side bar for the pic) and the colors came out wonderfully blended.  With the Knit Happens colorway all I was seeing was big old strips, and I wasn't overly impressed.  I decieded to knit a regular sock instead - and knit if from the unfinished one so I wouldn't have to wind it up again first.

I'm not sure how I feel about this one.  I feel like I should have made it longer - I have 3 balls of this colorway, plenty of yarn.  It's just feeling a bit skimpy.  I also am finding it hard to get the interest up to even pick it up.  Most of what is in that picture I knit on the train going to the NYC Knit out back in October, and then up in Rhinebeck.  Just not feeling the love.

Anyone any thoughts of a good pattern for Lorna's Laces sock yarn?  I really want to find just the right project for this.  I've also been comtemplating making hand warmers with it as well.  I lost my beloved lime green Natalya mitts back in January.  (Actually I know I left them in the dressing room at H&M.  They weren't there when I went back and they hadn't been turned in.  Someone is looking snazzy with my handknit gloves on.)  I really could use a replacement as the weather starts warming up.  Even now when I go out at lunch time it's a bit warm for regular gloves. I miss mine!

Let down your ends!

Rapunzel is a huge mass of ends.  I love this sweater, but could do without the mass of ends to weave in.  Ugh!  Here is a quick look at the back at the front pieces of Rapunzel when I had only woven in about half of the ends.

Pretty ugly isn't it?  It took quite awhile to weave in all of those ends.  I was so wrapped up in the knitting that I kept putting off weaving in all of the ends.  By the time I finished the front pieces I was a bit horrified at all the ends to weave.  I hadn't thought of it rationally and realized that with two separate pieces there would be twice as many ends as the back piece had.  Rational I know, but I wasn't thinking it at the time.

Here is a much nicer shot of the front pieces from the front, where you can't see all those ugly ends.

Much better don't you think?  Here is a shot of the finished back piece:
I am loving this project so much.  I am amazed at how fast it's coming along.  I've only been working on it a month or so, and I've already finished three pieces.  That's incredibly fast for me.  I'm just past the intarsia section on the sleeves so they should start moving faster now as well.  This project is going so well that I'm not sure it's going to fit when I'm done with it.  I started knitting the large size instead of the xl thinking that with as slow as I normally knit, by the time I was done with the sweater it would be in the right size.  Now I'm going to have to work harder on the diet t catch up.

I'm going to have to start a new traveling project tomorrow.  I start my new job in New York on Monday so I'm going to have to have something to keep me occupied on my new longer commute.  I have my ipod all set and loaded with good stuff, but I need some knitting as well.  I have a sock on the needles, but am comtemplating starting a new pair of fingerless gloves, as I lost my favorite pair of lime green ones just after Christmas.  (In the mall.  I'm convinced that someone stole them as I was only in two stores and they weren't anywhere to be found).

I'm a nervous wreck about the new job.  Not so much because of the work itself, I'm pretty confident in what I do that I'll be fine in that respect, but a wreck about meeting new people.  I sometimes wonder if I have a touch of social anxiety syndrome.  It's always amazing to me how real the fear of such situations can be to me,even though my rational brain knows it's pretty stupid.  My wish is just to blend in with any crowd and hide.  It's going to be a rough week.  I had worked at my last job for 4 years and was just begining to feel like I was getting comfortable with the co-workers outside of my department.  Yes, it takes me that long.