NaBloPoMo Day 25: stripe-tacular

I wish I could show you a better modeled shot of the hat I finished it but I washed it last night and it is still not dry. It’s gotten cool here which means that it’s damp and, apparently, nothing dries. Even though it’s wet, I can show you the jogless color changes.

I tried a new method for them this time. I usually knit around one row in the new color and then knit into the stitch below for the first stitch of the second round. That method requires that you have two rows of each color, though, and this hat has some single row stripes. I did a search, though, and found this method on TECHknitting. Instead of knitting into the stitch below you slip the first stitch on the row after you change color, even if that next row is another color. The slipped stitch then moves from being the first stitch of the round to the last, so you remove your marker, slip the stitch, and then replace the marker. It’s not totally invisible but it’s pretty good.

Speaking of stripes, I have a new stripey project.

It’s the Not So Baby Yoda Sweater. I love baby sweaters because they are so fast! I started this last night and that picture shows a sleeve and a third, or so. I am hoping to finish the second sleeve tonight so I can start on the fronts. No fancy techniques for this sweater, just adorable baby-sized stripey goodness.

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NaBloPoMo Day 24: finished hat

I finished a hat.

Sorry for the terrible picture. I will get a better one tomorrow. I want to photograph the jogless stripes because the new way I found to do it even works with 1-row stripes! Very cool.

Now, my older son is having a friend sleepover for the first time so I need to go to bed early in case when they wake up at the crack of dawn.

NaBloPoMo Day 21: good news, bad news

Good news: The kids were off today so I got to sleep in a bit.

Bad news: The husband wasn’t so I didn’t get to go for my morning walk.

Good news: I managed to sort through the between sizes clothes and move out some outgrown things from the kids’ drawers.

Bad news: We left the house later than planned and it took two hours to drive what usually takes an hour.

Good news: I started, and made progress on, a hat!

Bad news: I just discovered that my gauge is off again so I need to rip back and start over again.

Good news: It’s bedtime so I can just go to bed and think about that tomorrow! (After all the cooking, baking and eating, of course.)

I’ve been remiss, but busy

Karen noted today at BobaKnit that I haven't posted much recently. It's not because I haven't been knitting, I have! Niels is out of school and Stefan didn't go anywhere, and is napping even less since our schedule has become more loose, so I haven't had much online time. Sorry about that! Here's what I've been up to:

1) In the past week or so I knitted a Baby Surprise Jacket for my cousin Betsy's baby. This yarn started out as a February Lady Sweater (more on that later) but it just wasn't working, which is too bad. The yarn itself (All Seasons Cotton, of course) is so nice and squishy in garter stitch, but that variegated purple just wasn't working for me. Now I know why you can still get the variegated shades even though they have been discontinued for a while! Anyway, it makes a darling baby sweater. I might even knit her another sweater, or maybe one for Vibble, because she certainly knows how to rock the hand knits, since I have six or so balls of this yarn left! Remind me not to buy a bag of yarn just because it's cheap when I'm not sure I like the color, okay?

almost FO

So the sweater just needs some buttons and I'm not sure I love the crochet button hole I added at the top after I realized that I started too far down with the buttons. We'll see if that changes. (Ravelry project details)

2) The Ribby Pulli is almost done. I need to weave in some ends. Something about this yarn does not lend itself well to ends being woven in, or rather, ends staying woven in so I'm splitting the plies in two, tying a well placed (I hope) knot and then weaving in the split plies in a way that they won't show on the front. It's tedious to say the least. Also, I'm not sure my bod can handle this sweater. It's very va-va-voom, which is good on some parts and not so good on others. I know you all get my drift, right?

another almost FO

I am pleased with how the bust darts turned out. I think they are well placed and do a good job of making the back longer than the front in just the right way. (Ravelry project details)

3) I started the February Lady Sweater, twice. I started it in the above purple All Seasons Cotton and I was so in love with it that I found myself browsing CucumberPatch on eBay for colors I liked on sale. (Ugh, this is why I need to stay away from her store, I just bought her last bag of Military All Seasons Cotton because it's the yarn I used for Erik's sweater and I have six balls of it left and with another bag I can certainly knit something for myself. That yarn is addictive.) Anyway! For the February Lady Sweater I realized that I should stash dive rather than buy something new so I am using the soy silk I bought at my first stitches which has already been knit into two different projects, neither of which panned out. Third time's the charm, right?

not anywhere near being FO

I am, of course, changing the pattern a bit. I'm making it a v-neck instead of a crew neck. I'm also adding more stitches to the front with the v-neck and I'll decrease them away under the bust. I'm lengthening the garter stitch section over my bust instead of ending it right above, or in the middle. I think that's it. Is that enough? (Ravelry project details)

This picture also gives me a chance to show off my adorable Ravelry Daily Dose of (plant) Fiber bag. I really like it. I think I'll get more use out of it than I would have out of the shirt, since I wasn't fast enough to get the shirts when they first came out.

In non-knitting news, I'm preparing for our trip to the Netherlands. We leave in just over a week. Well, there is some knitting news there. I was debating which projects to take. I think I'll take the Lady Sweater, a couple of sock projects and then some of my oddballs that I've gotten for swatching and my Barbara Walker treasury. I want to design a sweater for myself from scratch rather than constantly changing other people's designs.

I was going to say that I had truly non-knitting news: I'm trying to get myself to bike again. Lisa, a BobaKnitter, recently upgraded her bike trailer and generously passed on a Burley trailer that someone had given her to me. She thought she had forgotten a piece so I hadn't tried it out. She looked around for it and told me recently that she thought that the piece must be in the trailer itself, so I gave it a shot today, and it was in there. Last week when Niels was at my mom's I had taken Stefan to the library in the bike seat but he didn't like that. I'm not sure if it was my backpack in his face, the fact that I was really low in air for the first half of the ride or the wobbliness of riding on the back of a bike pedaled by someone who hadn't ridden a bike in (oh my god) 13 years. In any case, he wasn't interested in getting back in that seat but he and Niels were both excited to try the trailer. Its tires needed air too, so our first stop was the gas station and then I just rode around our neighborhood a bit, trying to get a feel for the bike again. It was fun. I'm going to try to bike over to Niels' gym camp tomorrow to drop him off. It's right by his school so it will be good practice for the fall! I have been eyeing the Xtracycles (I like the Electra Townie one) and I still think I want to get one eventually. There is not much room in that trailer for both kids, besides, I really like the idea of having them closer to me.

The way all that is knitting related is that I'm hoping to lose a bit of weight and then the above va-va-voom-y sweater might fit me better and I can wear it in public! Wish me luck.

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the bombshell bombs again

Why, oh why will this sweater not work? I did everything right this time. I swatched. I got gauge. I tried it on at the perscribed moments. I did the many short rows required to give myself extra room in the front. And yet, it looks like this.

The front looks okay. It's baggy under my breasts, which is never good. I do like the shape-enhancing aspect of the ribbing. But… BUT.. the back! Why is the back still baggy? What the F? I think that what I need to do is get a friend to put a pin in the row where the back darts should start. I'm also thinking that if I reknit this, and right now I'm not feeling that urge, honestly, I should forgo the short rows in favor of more bust darts as detailed in the recent post on Knitting Daily. I'm actually tempted to give up on this one for the moment and go knit me a tomato in some All Seasons Cotton. The All Seasons Cotton loves me, even if no other yarn does. Le sigh.

On the plus side, from the right angle, at the right moment, the Bombshell looks like this. (The right moment being when I accidentally took a photo instead of setting the timer.)

if only it really looked like this one

If only it were that flattering and sexy from any other angle. Seriously.

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a parade of wips

Anouk is almost done, which is good because my friend's baby is due like next week. I have all the pieces knit, I just need to sew them together and weave in a few ends. I mostly used the weave in ends as you go idea but with a cotton yarn, it doesn't hold that tightly. I'm considering taking some sewing thread and sewing the very end to the back of the dress since I want my friend to be able to machine wash it without the ends coming out.

I also picked up my Bombshell again. I was hoping to finish it before I go to Chicago, in two weeks. I'm not sure if that's doable or not. I'm just past the part where you divide for the body and sleeves. I took a picture before joining the body in the round last night. The back seems very long but I think part of that is because I had it on the needle instead of on a string and the weight of the needle pulled it back. I will also be adding some short row bust shaping. I just have to do it backwards from the instructions in the book. I think I have it figured out. At least, I sat down with a piece of paper and measuring tape and calculated what I need to do. Wish me luck!

I also keep forgetting to post about my footie socks. Sock, really. I finished the first one while we were in Carlsbad. I ripped back the ribbing and stole  borrowed Brenda Dayne's i-cord cast off idea. I think it worked. I need to sew the ends of the i-cord together, but that's about it. I weighed the sock and my fairly imprecise scale says that it weighs 20 g and the remaining yarn weights 25 g, so I should have enough left for the second. Of course, the ball originally weighed 50 g, but I won't wonder where the last 5 g went.

finished footie?

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baudelaire and new yarn

I have turned the heel, done the cable increase (which I found challenging on both socks) and am now in the home stretch with my second Baudelaire. Just knitting up the leg! This time I know exactly how many repeats to do before the ribbing too, which will make finishing easier and faster.

second baudelaire

I went to Purlescence today because I had ordered some Crystal Palace Bamboozle from them and it arrived. All but the black, actually. I'm making a flame hat for Niels. I found a flames chart pattern online and I'm going to start with that around the bottom and then do the top in black, once I get it. I think I want to do a tubular cast-on to have a nice neat edge. I just need to find a pattern with a smooth crown. The last hat I knit for Niels was from the Handy Book of Patterns and it had a bunchy top. I'm thinking of basing mine on the Halfdome hat from Knitty.

I also picked up two more balls of Panda Cotton in "Painted Iris" that I want to use for Janice's Early Spring sock. I hope this yarn wears well. It feels better than Fixation already but Fixation is at least nice and hardy. Speaking of Fixation, one of my Fixation socks has gone missing. I would say that they dryer ate it, but I don't put them in the dryer. 

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