Rusted Root - FO

Here she is, Rusted Root. It was a long time coming. She was finished back mid-May but it took a bit longer (with the trip, and all) to weave her ends in and block her.

Details:

Start: March 25, 2007

Finish: May 15-ish, 2007 (knitting finished in early May but blocking only June)

Pattern: Rusted Root by the Zephyre Style ladies

Size: Medium

Software: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Buttercream - 3 skeins

Harware: size 6 Circulars

Note and Modifications:

The key note is that this lace requires practice. Seriously. This was my first lace work and the lace pattern takes awhile to get used to and get in the rhythm of. Like, specifically row 3 (I think that's the one, as I have tried to block it out). I frogged, painfully, 7 times.

A good resource is the Zephyr Rusted Root Message Board, which was really helpful in getting me through this. Especially that lace pattern.

I know it's totally anti-instant gratification but it's worth it to swatch this and practice on the lace pattern. Hopefully it'll prevent you from the frogland I entered.

Also, as always, I added a bit of length.

Finally, I love this yarn BUT, see below.

Can you see the difference in color in the front and back ?(click for close-up) I wet-blocked this and it dried on it's back. I blocked it on a dark green towel so I couldn't tell but I'm thinking the dye sort of bled. I need to reblock.

Whatevs, I'm wearing it tomorrow to work.

FO: Hourglass Sweater

Pattern: Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Hardware: 24” size 6 bamboo
Software: Knitpicks Andean Silk in Orange – 12 skeins.
Start: December 26, 2006
Finished: March 14th, 2007

I really like this sweater in the end. If you look back or notice how long it took me to finish, you can tell that I kind of lost interest along the way– starting and finishing CPH before wrapping this up, etc. I think the reason is that, well, if you're in the stage that I'm in - which is eager beaver new knitter who has a short attention span and who wants to try every new technique she crosses, this could fall by the wayside.

But in the end, I love it. While it's easy and some could say boring (your call - it's many many rounds of stockinette), someone could probably whip this out in 2 weeks and it's just a classic sweater with a bit of a twist.

The first picture I took was this one below. This shows me wearing the sweater before I blocked it and how short it was. This was tres scary.

But then I blocked. And this next picture was the first picture taken post-blocking. The sizing made me very excited and I requested an immediate photoshoot. We were just back from Loreley and several beers (hey, it was that first of the season 70 degree day and what better way to celebrate than at an outdoor German beer garden). Hands on hips and stilll wearing work skirt is indicative of excitement level.

Here is the final photoshoot:

The above and first photo of this post were taken this past weekend (with new camera, btw). You can tell I am in the exact same position so that I could see pre-post blocking. Important to note is that I actually wore the sweater to work on Thursday and then took these pictures on Saturday. Maybe I’m crazy but it seems to have shrunken in length from the previous picture?

Details/Modifications

In terms of yarn/gauge/amount – the pattern calls for a different yarn using size 7 needles. As you may know, Andean Silk has been widely used as a substitute, calling for a size 7 needle. When I swatched, I was running too big, which is kind of weird because I’m a really tight knitter. I probably wish I used the size 7. Blocking did a lot for me but I do wish this was a little roomier. It’s not too tight, it fits well, I just wish it was looser.

In terms of Modifications - I saw a lot of sweaters with serious boat neck action – which is really not that obvious when you look at the picture in the book. This is, in reality, the style of the sweater. This works for a lot of people, mostly those who wear strapless bras or have super bra strap invisible powers, but it doesn’t work for me.

I read a post by a woman who started doing decreases every row instead of every other row, to make the neck more narrow. I am fortunate enough to live close to Purl (owner is author of book), and so I strolled in for some direction. The staff recommended that I NOT decrease every row, but that I instead knit more rows, but continuing in the pattern of decrease one row and knit the next straight. Instead of 38 rows (I knitted the size for 37) of decreasing (19 decrease rows, 19 regular), I knitted a total of 44 – which nets 3 additional decrease rows.

I really wish I would have knitted this longer and while the blocking did wonders for me (added 3 inches in length without looking wonky/stretched)

And about that finishing. Yes, it’s annoying but it wasn’t at all hard. I have since seen some references to attaching/seaming the “turning round” as you go, vs finishing it after, and I would recommend that.

If you want a couple more pictures, click here.

Thank you very much, Ms. Marigold

Voila!

Here she is.

Started: December 12, 2006

Finished: January 14, 2007

Pattern: Ms. Marigold from Zephyr

Yarn: Knitpicks Elegance in Lilac - I originally ordered 4 but needed to order a 5th. I used almost 75% of the 5th

Tools: Size 5 29" circular, size 3 32" circular and a size G crochet hook

Modifications: I knitted for size small, but after getting fairly far along, I tried it on and was concerned with it being a bit too tight. I followed the two modifications - I started the increasing directions to get a little more give in the waist and I also knitted it a bit longer. This definitely resulted in needing more yarn

Other: well, when I was done with the sweater it was still a bit snug, but after blocking, which I thought would do the trick, I'm in trouble. It really stretched out along the neckline, which you can see a bit from the picture. I guess my only option is to try blocking it again. Also, I bought the size 3 circular from Knitpicks with my yarn order, and well, I sort of fell in love. They are stupidly cheap and while I assumed the worse, they are amazing. Super easy to use and the purple cable between the needles is the most flexible thing ever. I only wish they had sizes bigger than 3.

Next up, the disaster that came from my Norweigen Mittens. Stay tuned.

FO - all bundled up for 70 degree weather

Yesterday I finally finished my Irish Hiking Scarf! I wove in the ends and everything. My first cables and my first time using really wonderful, soft, high quality yarn. The scarf was inspired by An Abundance of Lisa who did a great one. I finished it on Saturday and it was a great day to do it although I should have spent more time outside enjoying said weather.

Start Date: December 24th
End Date: January 6th
Material: 2 skeins of Malabrigo in Pagoda 11092
Pattern: Irish Hiking Scarf
Other: I knitted this up on size 7 needles instead of size 8. Also, I ended up using the entire 2 skeins which got me to 65" vs the 55" in the pattern because I usually fold the scarf in two and pull it through to tie a "knot" at my neck.

So my first official week back at work was brutal and on Friday Hart and I aimed for a chill dinner at Mexicana Mama - the one on 12th and broadway (vs the sister restaurant in w. village which requires way too long a wait) and then head to Union Square for a movie. but as soon as we walked out the door we saw Soho Billiards staring at us. We see this each and every day but this time we really saw it. We ended up going east to another Mexican restaurant that Hart of course heard about from Chowhound, but which I won't list because it was not memorable. Net net, 2 margaritas later (and excessive discussion about Bush and deployment of troops*) we played pool, went to bed and woke up groggy on Saturday.

we got up and met friends for brunch, walked around Union Square a bit and headed home and watched some football and (me) finish my scarf.

I love it. Love it. I only wish it was cold enough to wear it. Did I just wish for cold weather? I sort of willed it today as I wore it today while Hart and I were running errands. We ran into our friend at a bookstore and I started sweating in doors and needed to take it off.

So up next is finishing Ms. Marigold (just got my extra skein in the mail) and getting down with my Hourglass. I actually stayed in last night and through both Kill Bill 1 and Kill Bill 2 - got about 20 rows done. This is going to take for - ev -er.

In other news, I'm getting a little ancy about my bookclub situation. It's all me - not the group. I'm simply not feeling the books we are reading. It's been less than 6 months for me and I joined the group because my reading was becoming - well becoming like nothing. I hadn't read any novels in a long time and I used to be an obsessive reader - I think I just got out of practice. When I joined the group was reading Feminine Mystique - we had a few (in my opinion, which is what this is about) great books: Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion and Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami. But the last one was Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson and the current book is an Lee Miller: A Life, an autobiography by Carolyn Burke. I find all books selected to be fantastic - influential and interesting, but at this point in my game, I am really interested in reading more low-maintenance stuff. Like I just finished Kite Runner and I'm reading Atonement now. I don't know - I love the discipline that comes with book clubs and the women in my group are great. I am not reading the Lee Miller book and am telling myself to be fine with it. Our bookclub meeting is in 1 1/2 weeks and I thought I would pick it up this weekend - but a) it's not available at the two B&N near my house, nor at Strand, b) the in-store price is $35 and 450 pages and c) given the 450 pages gig, I can't order it online and read it on time. Clearly this is an internal struggle that I just needed to rant about.

*I will say this: I wouldn't call myself a liberal - I would call myself a Democrat. There are things that I lean on the side of the liberal point of view and there are things that I fall more in the moderate camp. Hart is almost a liberal. I truly believe that Bush would rather stay in Iraq until he leaves office to save face. I believe that he would rather let it go until the next President to clean up this mess than actually pull out and admit that he's wrong.