Okay, time for a goal report. Per my last post, I was supposed to complete just ONE of my five works-in-progress. Are you ready for the status check?
Drumroll, please.
It will shock no one to learn that I did not accomplish this first goal. Still, it should be noted that I went down fighting.
Saturday, I gathered up my knit bag and my nearly complete DS bag (just 20 rows of knitting left!) and went to Panera Bread for some sandwich and knitting time. The sandwich was top notch (tuna salad on the honey wheat bread - SO. GOOD.) My knitting could use some work. Or I should say, my reading skills could use some work.
The last time I knit on this, I had gotten to the first button hole row, successfully bound off the required stitches to create the button hole and finished off the row. This is where my problems started. The very next row, the confusion set in - how do I compensate for the three stitches I just bound off? Weeeelll, ok, let's be honest. The first time I did this, I forgot I had bound off anything - so I was knitting the rows normally, as if there were still 38 stitches to the row. This was screwing with my seed stitch border. So my knitting at Panera started with me ripping back about four rows to where the button hole started and assuming that I was supposed to just skip over the three stitches in the row. That caused me to have this weird hole in my left cable and it was making me so mad. I was CONVINCED there was an error in the pattern. That this would cause the whole thing to look weird and dang it, why was there even a button hole there ANYWAY?
Finally, after complaining through about five or six rows, I went back to read the instructions for the button hole. And there it was. Bind off three stitches to create the hole, THEN, use a backwards loop cast-on to put the stitches back onto the needle. OH. *insert red face here* I SWEAR I did not see that sentence before in the instructions. But now, there it was. Faced with having to rip back AGAIN, I just put it away, put more soda in my cup and left Panera for the day. No more knitting the rest of the weekend.
Tonight though, I'm facing off with this bag again. Luckily, I'll be with a knitting army as I'm going to the Rose City knit night for the first time since December. I am excited about knitting AND excited about getting a green tea at Zephyr.
So...apparently, I knit things? I don't know. I am getting frustrated with myself because I am unable to actually just FINISH anything. I just start things, knit on them, and then stop. Meanwhile, I am adding more and more patterns to my "To Knit" list every single day. Oy. In an effort to face facts, I'm going to post about each work in progress I have going and give a progress report.
Let's start with the one that makes me feel the MOST GUILTY. This would be Heather's sweater, the coat of just one color, the constant reminder of how Procrastinator has become my middle name. This long sweater was supposed to be my NaKniSweMo sweater, but I didn't come close to finishing it by the time November 30 rolled around. I worked on it a bit in December in an half-assed effort to get it done before Christmas. No Dice. I have completed one sleeve (the very sleeve that you see in the photo!) and am just a few inches of ribbing away from completing the back of the sweater. I am crazy with how it has been coming out so far but let's be honest - it's miles and miles of stockinette and a little mind numbing. Also - my husband has somehow hidden it from me. Honestly, I'm a little worried about it because I haven't seen the nearly completed back in a couple of weeks. Might be time for a search party.
Okay, so maybe there's a tie in the "most guilty" department. Here's the thing, there is no real reason why I haven't finished these slippers. Reason #1, they were supposed to be the main part of a Christmas gift for MY MOTHER. That is plenty of incentive, right? #2, They are a quick and easy knit. The work you see there was done in just a couple of hours one night. #3, my MOTHER is expecting them! And her birthday has already passed so it's not like I can just pretend they are a gift for a new occasion. I still have to finish the first one - the photo shows literally the only work I've done on them in months, then knit the second one, felt them both, then embellish the uppers. I could do it in a weekend if I focused. I think.
Okay, this one I feel less guilty about, but probably because I have actually been working on this one. This is a basketweave scarf I am making for my brother-in-law. I cast-on for this one after a particularly boring session with Heather's sweater and just to have something portable to work on once the sweater got larger and more unwieldy. BiL was hoping for it to be completed by the end of December but that was just some wishful thinking on his part. Since the photo there on the left was taken, I have done a considerable chunk of knitting on this, and I actually really love it. It probably wouldn't take much more time to finish it off. But, I really do need to downgrade it to "portable project" status. I can't be knitting on this during precious home knitting time!
This shawl I can only blame on myself. It was the weekly pattern in the Stitch n Bitch page-a-day calendar I bought and I didn't even think much of it when I first saw it. But, then I remembered this yarn I had at home that was kind of perfect for this and I figured the pattern looked quick and next thing I know I have a W.I.P. And the really maddening thing about this is that I am technically done with the knitting part of this. But it looked small and so I added extra pattern repeats. Which means I am technically *still* working on this. But, I am almost done, which should totally count for something, right?
Another culprit from the Stitch n Bitch calendar. The little voice in my head told me not to cast-on for this, but it is such a cute pattern, and I love cabling and it was going to be a gift for my 11 year old niece, and I could totally finish it in a weekend. Not to worry, little voice! Yeah, no. Always listen to little voice. I did nearly finish it in one weekend, I only have about five or so rows to go with minimal finishing. But I lost interest, felt guilty, and now it sits right next to my bed. Reminding me of its incomplete status every night and every morning.
So there you have it. The state of all my projects. Going through this is cathartic, a bit. But now I feel like I have to set goals and get through some of this stuff so it doesn't wear on me. And duh, so I can cast-on for more stuff! Move along, projects, I need the needles!
So - goal! THIS WEEKEND (Feb 1-Feb 3), I will complete ONE of these projects. The following weekend I will complete a second project.
Goal! I will move Tim's scarf to my portable knitting bag and leave it there. I can work on it while I'm out and about and that's it.
Goal! I will find where Art hid Heather's sweater and get back to making it my primary "work at home" project. It MUST be completed by March 5.
Goal! No more casting on for anything new until Tim's scarf is complete.
Hardest Goal Ever! No yarn or pattern purchases until Heather's sweater is completed.
Oy. I think I just felt a tear escape from my cheek.
So when I last talked about the saga that is my Long Cardigan for NaKniSweMo, I mentioned I noticed a problem. A small problem, you might say. As in, this sleeve is going to be too small.
Let me just admit to you right now - and apologies to Heather if she is reading this - but this sweater has so far been a comedy (hilarious!) of errors. Or to put it more politely, a learning experience! I did a gauge swatch (a little one) and my gauge was off but I didn't think it was that big a deal so I was just going to cast on for the next largest size and fudge around. Apparently, I like to pretend that I am not a total novice with a slow learning curve. I realized that that wasn't going to work when I attempted to try on the sleeve and it wouldn't really fit. The sweater is supposed to have an easy, loose fit and that's not what was going on there with the needles. I knew what I was going to have to do (and Kesha confirmed it for me) but would I be able to get over my inherent laziness to do it?
I spent the next day winding a skein into a ball and starting a new and improved swatch. Then I got caught up playing a video game. I lost an entire day to that game even though I knew I would be starting from scratch on my sweater. Procrastination is my middle name.
Finally, Sunday, I finished my swatch (this time nice big area, instead of just a tiny thing) and measured. I washed and dried it and measured again and I was a full stitch per inch under the gauge necessary for the pattern. Well, there's the problem! My row gauge was just fine but width-wise I was going to run into trouble unless I recalculated the pattern to suit my gauge (I'm pretty much married to the yarn, I am in love with BSA's Dyed Cotton). I, of course, have never done that. I consulted my Stitch n' Bitch Nation since that has clear instructions for that sort of thing and late Sunday afternoon, I had cast back on for the sweater.
I had been moving right along until I realized that I hadn't paid enough attention to how many increases I needed to complete in the number of rows I'm given in the pattern. See how good I am at pretending I'm some sort of expert? Yesterday afternoon, I have to pause my knitting AGAIN to recalculate.
But now things are going right along. I don't have any new photos since it looks about the same as the last ones I've uploaded, but I'm over my hubris and am checking every damned number in the pattern. So I have learned something and isn't that what a learning experience is all about?
Yesterday was the first full day of knitting for NaKniSweMo and I had had a rough morning so I coudn't get started until lunch time. I decided I wanted some somewhat "instant" gratification so I started on a sleeve. I did a loose cast-on over two needles since when I was swatching the night before I was knitting way too tightly. I zoomed through my first 300 stitches on my lunch break and was feeling great about the ribbing. It looked so cool! I am easily impressed by myself, you should know. I was eager to start again after work, and the knitting gods smiled on me because I found myself in a big traffic jam on my way home. I got through four more rows while I sat, unmoving, on the freeway.
FINALLY during The Office I was able to really get to work. I finished the ribbing on the sleeve and started the stockinette portion. By the time midnight rolled around I had successfully increased ten stitches. I stopped to take some photos and write down my first day stats and that's when I noticed a problem.
But! Let's not focus on any problems just now - I did accomplish something and that was getting started. Here are some photos of the progress I was able to make on the sleeve.
Completed 29 rows and 912 stitches. Don't laugh,I didn't have a ton of knitting time yesterday! I'll be more impressive later.
Tomorrow, I'll share more about the issue I discovered. I need to research a solution first!
Okay, I'm dusting this off! Yes, again. We'll see how much longer we stick around. I'm still obsessively knitting though so I really should be spending tons more time around here. Blah blah blah who cares, right? RIGHT?? The important thing is that I'm here now.
It's November and for a lot of you that might mean NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. For me, it means NaKniSweMo, National Knit (a) Sweater Month! This is the second year that Knitgrrl has put on the knit-a-long and the first year (of many, I hope!) I'll be participating. This will be my very first sweater so I'm going big. Or rather, long. I'm knitting a pattern called Long Cardigan by Betsy Westman. It's from the Fall 2007 issue of Knit.1 magazine. Since the entire sweater is supposed to be completed in the month of November I decided to work on some Christmas knitting so I won't feel too guilty about pushing aside my other works in progress. The sweater will be for Heather, my fellow Jason Dohring freak, sock knitting guru, running buddy and occasional sister.
True to form for me though, I'm already procrastinating. I ordered the yarn later than I should have so I'll just be getting it today. That leaves just tonight to get the swatching completed. I'm doing a pretty major yarn sub, so swatching is even more of a must than usual. Let's hope those trick-or-treaters don't lag around too much!
Since I'll be shooting for one major goal, I figure it won't be so hard to add another one, so I'm going to re-commit myself to this here knit blog. Sure, my regular LJ might suffer but I'm not too concerned about that. Four posts a week. There, it's written down. Now it SURELY will happen.
We shall see.
Another week, more knitting! But first (apologies to Julie Chen), I wanted to post about the Red Scarf Project, which I just came across last night. Red Scarf Project, now in its third year, accepts donations of red scarves and sends them to underprivileged orphans enrolled in college/trade school. The donations period began September 1, and goes til October 15. Click the link above for guidelines and pattern suggestions! Maybe some of my local friends would want to combine shipping? I have two skeins of a pretty red wool in my stash that would be perfect for this. Maybe I can even try to learn cables or something new. I am looking forward to starting on this.
Currently though, this baby blanket is starting to take over my life. I have worked on it a ton and I am seeing many late nights in the future because I just learned I have to have this finished by Sunday. I was hoping the baby shower would be at the end of September but no such luck. It is this upcoming Sunday. Not good news for a slow knitter like me. I did spend the majority of my day yesterday working on it, and got a lot done. Another time saver, I switched to circular needles and have noticed that I speed through my rows now. Plus, the weight of the yarn as it becomes blanket doesn't weigh on my wrists as much. I didn't take progress pics (too busy knitting!) but since you'll be seeing the finished product soon enough, I hope that's all right.
That's the haps right now. I have some more stuff to talk about since I've lined up some new projects but I need more blog fodder so we'll get to that later.
I've been away again. I know, I know! But I've been knitting, so all should be forgiven. Right? RIGHT? Of course.
I spent the majority of my weekend working on the blanket I'm making for my cousin. Late last night I finished the first go around on the stripe pattern (see photo). Only 7 more to go! I was so relieved that I liked it so much because I was starting to second guess myself on the color combination. I'm thinking it looks really cool, and much different than the regular pastel blue that you see on a lot of baby boy items. Also, even though a lot of people consider straight garter stitch to be boring, I'm finding that the need to change colors every few rows and keeping my yarn from twisting (this is a double stranded knit) keeps me on my toes. It's a slow-going knit with 105 stitches on the needle, but I'm still really enjoying working on it. I'm hoping to be done with it as soon as possible , or at least before I lose interest. Which could be any day now, knowing me the way that I do.
Yesterday, I went off in search of some yarn to make my a pair of slippers for my mom. Yes, I'm expecting these to be a Christmas gift and I'm preparing this far in advance. I am a REALLY slow knitter! These are to be felted so I knew I would need a 100% wool yarn and I was kind of hoping to get the suggested yarn since I want to make something fancy for my mom. That meant a trip to Unwind in Burbank! And I have to say, as much as I LOVE the awesome yarn store in my neighborhood, I really enjoy my visits to Unwind. It's a nice and roomy store with plenty of selection and everything is so well stocked. The staff is lovely, too. Plus, they will wind up your purchased hanks for you! Fantastic. Okay, I'm digressing. When I found the suggested yarn at Unwind, they didn't have as many solid colors to choose from, so I did an immediate substitution and picked out these pretty blues from Blue Sky Alpacas. The darker color will be for the sole and the lighter color goes on top. I literally CANNOT WAIT to swatch for these slippers. But I'm forcing myself to work more on the blanket before I can move on.
So, that's what is new around here. I picked up the new issue of Interweave Knits last week because I'm in love with the jacket/sweater on the cover, but I don't know if I'll ever have time to knit something so intensive. I'll keep it in mind for after the holidays.
OK. Time to go back into the trenches. This yarn will not own me! I will own IT!
Yeah, I gave up around here. I stopped knitting. I am in shame! BUT - I am about to pick my needles up again to start on my cousin's blanket so I thought I'd give a heads up here and say so, also wanted to drop off a few knitting related links before I forgot.
First! I received my invitation to Ravelry over the weekend - another reason to make me feel guilty about my knitting hiatus. I have only signed up and that's it. I've heard about what a time suck that place can be so I'm not going to start adding things until I have a good amount of time to devote to it. I am sinca over there as well, since I am devoid of name creativity.
Second! I received an email from StitchDiva studios and they are having a pattern sale for charity. 25% off all patterns for the next 48 hours and the proceeds go to knitters in need. Go check it out here! I think I am going to get two patterns but I still need to narrow that down to two. A challenge! But I'm in conserve money mode so two patterns will have to be my limit.
And that's it! I will be back this week, I promise.
I see I have a couple of readers now! Yay! Hi there, you make my life and I appreciate it. I tend to think this blog gets a little dry even to me, so I am happy to see you here. I promise I wasn't soliciting more comments just now. Heh. Okay, so what's up with my knitting this week?
Last weekend, I went all around to every Michael's craft stores in the land looking for all the yarn I needed for my second gift knit. I think I talked a bit about it over at this post. Once I had finally found it all, I couldn't wait to swatch it and see how it would work. The pattern calls for holding two yarns together, so that was a new thing for me. I swatched it while watching one of Bob Barker's last episodes of The Price is Right, (*moment of silence*) and it was super quick and easy since I'm working on size 10 needles. I am crazy about the swatch. I am this close to turning into Obsessive Weirdo Lady and carrying that thing around with me. It has such a neat feel - it's soft and ... I guess 'cushy' would be the word for it. It feels pillow-like! Which is convenient since it will end up being a baby blanket. I found the pattern here at the Lion Brand website. I just need to finish the booties I'm making first (the baby shower those are for is coming up on the 30th!) and then I can start this pillow blanket in earnest!
Speaking of the booties, I had a a big loss of confidence in my own knitting and have completely restarted the booties. I wasn't wild about the booties when I finished the first one, to me it looked completely amateur, which duh, I AM an amateur, but I didn't want to give booties to a long-time friend that I wasn't totally satisfied with, so Tuesday night I started over. Plus, I was bowled over by these booties that are similar to the ones I am making. Those look gorgeous! Mine just looked even more shoddy in comparison. How do people gift knit all the time? I would go insane. Call the wah-mbulance on me. I am taking a page from this blogger's book and on this new pair I am knitting the darker color on the bottom. Of course I just put myself in a "must knit" situation for these since the baby shower is next weekend. Good thing I enjoy working under pressure!
Oh! But I wanted to share this one last thing about the booties. I had the first unwanted one sitting on my coffee table all lonely because it will never get a partner and my brother-in-law noticed it. He asked, "Did you KNIT that?" When I
responded in the affirmative, he told me he thought it looked really cool and that he thought it looked great. He was really sweet in his praise of my bootie. That sounds way wrong. hahaha. Anyway, when I admitted that I wasnt't happy with it and that I was re-making them he asked if he could keep that one! AW! Sweet!
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superbonbon said:
[this is good]I'm in! I'll knit one with you this weekend! read more
on I've been expecting you -
superbonbon said:
[this is good]We really need a knitter's weekend. When? Where? My place? Your place? Tam's place? read more
on I'm a lot like you -
superbonbon said:
[this is good]I love the swatch too! I can't wait to see the blanket. What else is in your "to knit" queue? read more
on What difference does it make?
LOL! I do this too. I had several projects laying about the house, so I bought more knitting bags, so... read more
on What are we doing?