2012 here we come... OR a knitting update

How's the new year treating you all?

I read somewhere that the second Monday of January is called BLUE Monday, anyone else have a day of the 'blues'?

I've been recovering from surgery and am now at that point where I 'want' to be doing stuff but still can't be doing what I want to do.

This energy bubbling has morphed into a pretty bad case of startitis. Over the past weekend I've cast on for 3 scarves, knitted the ribbing for a 2nd sock, and added 2" inches to the 2nd of a pair of wristwarmers. I've also finished two WIP (yay me!) and planned a number of Christmas gifts for next Christmas. I need to get one of those counter widgets and keep track of what I do get knit :)

About those wristwarmers... I'm working the Nereid Gloves from Sutherland Studios. A nice textured, ribby wave pattern that is working up right nice in Chroma Fingering in the Regency colorway. The subtle greys are nice and long and the purples are just enough color accent at the base of my hand and thumb with just at dusting of it creeping in on the fingers edge. I usually don't bother with finding the repeats when working with variegates but this time I did although not perfectly accurately.

I'll post a picture as soon as I get one uploaded to Ravelry.

I'm having a little bit of trouble with the yo holes being loose, due in part I believe to using two circs. I really need to get stocked up on dpns. I 'like' the idea of 2 circs, but somehow my tension and gauge goes on holiday when I use them with any sort of patterning beyond simple ribbing.

Another thing I've noticed, is that I don't seem to be following the graph and yet, the pattern is turning out correctly. I can't see that the change I'm making is a correction on the graph and pattern, since it's a really big obvious switch of the ribbing in the middle section.

Anyone else do this sort of thing? Just decide that the pattern should be another way and knit blissfully on til you need to check for a measurement or increase or decrease number and find yourself in a WTH moment? I can't really be alone in that can I?

I hope to be back on track with the posting this year. Not exactly a resolution (more a kick myself in the pants moment) but I guess like with every good intention, we will see.

Happy New Year.

A Difference of Opinon

With all due respect to the designer of my current knitting project; I acknowledge her ability, her writing skills, the time and effort she put into conception, planning and presenting this pattern. Which by the way, I'm really enjoying seeing how it's coming out and all ....

But...

WHY?

Why do it ASSDFF all in pieces and fuss about sewing stuff together?

Why would you change the build concept halfway through the pattern. More to the point.

You had me knit the fronts and back all in one, with mock seams. Pretty awesome. Sleeves being separate I totally agree with as they are raglan and that's an annoying thing to try and figure out how to pick up and knit down to the wrists to be sure. For that matter I also find that the sleeves that are knitted down from the shoulder tend to stretch on me... so like I said, all for those separate sleeves.

I won't quibble with you over the hems and how you chose to present them. We did agree on the provisional cast on though I personally find it easier to reverse stockinette on smaller needles, one row of purl or picots even for a turning row then switching up to the body size and catching up the caston stitches for what I would have been satisfied as a satisfactory hem (if not exactly as yours was). Whoops, guess I did quibble a teensy bit there. However, I still did them your way and lived so it wasn't too bad after all. :)

So now I've got two sleeves, and one piece that is fronts and backs. Cool you say? All done but the making up, right?

Yeah, not so much. Now we get into the part where I am going to quibble. There's this really cool wavy ribbing edging on the pockets that works up to a nice shawl collar. A shawl collar and deep pockets were the two design features I was looking for when I chose this pattern.

My bad for not reading the whole thing all through. To be sure.

But it's my blog and I'm still going to quibble.

So we've got this body piece, and we've picked up the conditional cast on stitches and made our pocket fronts with our mock seams and hem. Now we get to adding the edging...

And herein lies the heart of my bitching.

Why are we knitting it separate? Why after so carefully having me knit two fronts and a back and pocket fronts for both sides all in once piece are we switching horses to make it, sew it mode?

Why aren't we attaching the edging like one would for a shawl by knitting it on? The pattern for the edging isn't that tough and you've been so great about incorporating in the selvedge stitches for sewing...why not just use them for attaching so that once done either side one could just reverse seam the back of the two collar sides and voila instantly done sweater.

This is minor for most, me included to be honest. And in no way am I questioning your ability or design, nor am I finding errata in the numbers. I just don't get the whole sewing it together annoyance.

Granted I'm the first to admit I'd rather 3 needle bind off shoulder seams than sew them (for strength and stability of course but also cause I can't abide sewing :) ) so the whole idea of sewing an entire facing and collar when it would be just as easily done to knit it on is bugging the heck outta me.

Is it fitting the shaping to the curved edges of the pocket? Don't think so, cause you are so line by line careful to address that shaping in the instructions for the edging and collar. Did you just want to pad the pattern to make it fit the space allocated for your pattern in the magazine? Did the editors of said magazine make this change for you? Always a possibility I realize, that what one submits for publication can be quite changed when finally publshed...

I'm still just left wondering why.

I suppose it might be unnecessary to say but I will be knitting the edging and collar on even though I'd promised myself that I would slavishly follow this one...this time.

Appears my best intentions are built upon sand.

Stay tuned... I'll let you know.

It was inevitable

I've been trying hard not to turn this blog into a mommy blog, or a knitting blog and reading back through my posts...well... I failed. So I might as well give in and write about knitting.

A while back I started reading (with great delight to find her blogging) The Yarn Harlot. Finding Steph posting on the net was like discovering an old friend. I used to read her on the KNITlist and often read her posts outloud to my family. That is when I could get the words out without falling outta my chair with laughter. Trust me, if anyone of you has ever read the skating while knitting adventure and didn't laugh then you just plain don't have any sense of humour what so all.

Her blog isn't quite as madcap as some of those posts used to be (I wonder if she's planned a book of those) but it's full of wonderful inciteful posts that will leave even the non knitter muggle thinking, I guarantee you that. She hardly needs more publicity :P I can barely get to her site some mornings over coffee because her non believer ISP has difficulty believing -that- many people want to read a knitting blog.

So in the interest of throwing up my hands and surrendering to one of my quiet passions here's a copy of a letter I recently wrote to Steph aka TheYarnHarlot.
Hey Steph,

Yet again I've read something in your blog that has inspired me.. gofigure :)

I tend to focus on the little throwaway stuff you toss in more so than the big check this out ones :) so a while back you mentioned acquiring Sea Silk. I promptly went to the link, checked it out and after a while (cause I tend to have wonderful intentions but a gold paved road) went back and found the link again and bought some.

I have to say, my initial take on it when my son picked it up for me (at the wool shop, in the city, where he had to go out of his way across town to get it for me...what a good boy he is...which would be said with a great deal less sarcasm if the daughter of the owner wasn't his age and a gorgeous doll that makes him nearly stammer when he talks to her LOL) was wow.. oh WOW it's even prettier than in the pictures. Yeah I know, it always is but I'm always surprised. Living life as an optimist has its perks :) .
Then I felt it. YUMMY. Smelt it..double YUMMY...

then... and then... oh the pain... I started to wind it on my ball winder.

Not so yummy.

It was a mess. It tangled and twisted and was generally a pain. Okay so it's me I decided and took up the other skein after fighting with the first one for two days. This time I told myself to besure to examine the skein ... find the right end and not try to wind from the middle out. That was what I was sure was the problem. Not so much.

Second skein same as the first. (will you forgive me if I say that sounding like Davey Jones? :))

I called the wool shop and whined and whimpered. They said they'd get in touch with handmaiden. A goodly time passed. Days, weeks even and I spent hours on the couch untangling the silk and ended up with about 6 balls where I had to break it.
This was intended to become a hairpin lace shawl so I wasn't too overly concerned with the breakage but the stuff that was too tangled that bothered me as I hate to not have enough. (hence my stash suitable for insulation of a bedroom according to hubby)

Long story short, by the time they got back to me I'd started and completed 3/4 of the lengths of lace so wasn't interested in their return the skeins and get new ones solution.

Even more cutting to the chase...

The shawl is nearly done, border to be crocheted on today.
And now after all that longwinded moaning, my question... any ideas on how much I can block this? And how to do so?

How has your seasilk experience been? I'd like to do more with it...not totally turned off it from the winding but definitely will be fortified with various libations to the knitting gods before I attempt another winding.

tRu

FYI the shawl was recieved with much gimmeegimmeegimmee of the recipient. Promptly put on and cuddled. Made its debut on a cruise and was pronounced perfect. So a happy ending nonetheless.