A Warm Summer's Day

I'm trying to make a conscious effort to update more. My updating is hardly proportional to the amount of knitting I actually do. My Blouson is practically finished... I'm working on the last sleeve... but that is hardly a very interesting knit. Perhaps I'll update on Tuesday.

I'm currently in Wilton, CT, visiting some family. I love living in NYC - yarn and book stores within walking distance! Restaurants just across the street! But sometimes the chaos of the city that I enjoy so much just gets to me and I need, at very least, a short getaway. Which is why I adore this small town. It's gorgeous practically any time of the year. As an added bonus, my aunt feeds me. A lot. It's really relaxing to just come here and do nothing.


Isn't it lovely?

I did bring some knitting with me. I was really tired of the squares and the Blouson (besides the fact they're not very portable projects) so I picked up my Print o' the Wave, which I hadn't touched in a couple weeks. It's actually strange to me that I don't have any socks on the needles. Weird! Usually, socks are my bare minimum. Here's my progress on my first lacy stole:


I decided to modify the pattern a bit. I'm doing the center bit in one go rather than grafting it together. I think the asymmetry would get to me WAY too much. This teal has been the most elusive for me to capture. In some pictures it is too green. In others it is too blue. It is a gorgeous, gorgeous color. And I LOVE the Zephyr Wool/Silk. So cheap. So much yardage. A COLLEGE STUDENT'S DREAM.


I knit on the train ride here, and that's only notable because I was standing the entire ride. Yes, folks, it IS possible to stand for an hour and tackle lace at the same time! (Granted, I had the pattern memorized and it truly isn't a very difficult repeat.) I drew some interesting looks though. The fellow standing across from me watched me with engaged interest as I stood there, knitting away.


I was originally going to knit ~20 repeats but I think I may be able to ekk out a few more repeats. Like 25 or so. Then I'll do some maths to figure out the edging. I really, really love lace.

Progress

I got another square done.


I actually had another one done, but I effed that one up so, knowing it'd bug the hell out of me, I decided to frog it. It'll be done soon though, probably. I'm pretty happy with how the blanket's progressing. But you know, knitting these squares can get pretty dull, so I started another project...

The 1824 Blouson. I've been reading reactions to this pattern, and I'm surprised to find it overwhelmingly negative. I really like this pattern. I love the simple yet comfy lines and I actually like the inside out look. Why do I always go for these patterns with miles of stockinette? Anyway, I cast on for the back and a Mets-Yankees game and 7 episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air later...


The back was finished.


Here's a shot of the raglan shaping.

It's not really an exciting looking knit, but I like how it's shaping up. I'll probably finish it real soon, so it'll be ready for me when I need it in the fall. :) It's exactly what I like to wear and I'm sure I'll get many wears out of it when the weather calls for it.

I found a (possible) problem in the pattern though. I can't believe I didn't figure it out when I was looking at the pattern. The pattern says to "Repeat the last 2 rows 18 more times." and then it says it should measure about 3.5" from the CO. I took this to mean knit 36 rows... which makes sense, right? But duh. Worsted weight, 36 rows, size 7 needles ... is not going to give you 3.5". I think what it means is to do the last 2 rows 9 more times for a total of 18 more rows. I did that and I got 3.5".

Now my mind is wandering for other projects.

Not a Square

Yes, that's what I've been doing in the last 13 days. Actually, I also did more - like my Print o' the Wave, which I did 10 repeats of. But this is where most of my knitting attention went to. I went so crazy with the squares my hands cramped up and I had to take a break from knitting altogether.

My grandma recently had a stroke, and I decided to go ahead and try and knit a blanket for her... so this is my effort. I'm not quite sure how big I want to make it yet... either 4x5 or 3x5. The squares are pretty big. And I want the blanket to be kind of a throw, not really a massive quilt. I guess I'll reconsider when I get to 15 squares.

Most of the yarn used is just stash yarn. I pulled out all the worsted yarns I owned and picked out colors I thought went together. There's Wool-Ease, some archaic grey wool and acryllic blend (from my mum, when she used to knit), and brown and natural Cascade 220.

As I was knitting though, it occurred to me I did not have enough for the blanket. So I went to go get more brown and natural. I came back with a whole lot more than just Cascade.


14 balls of Cascade Luna to knit the 1824 Blouson in the new IK. I REALLY love that pattern and I REALLY love the color. I can't wait to knit it.

Oh, I also go this cute little guy, partially because I was in need of a measuring tape, but mostly because he was just so cute.

Summer! Yarn! Lace! FOs!!!

Okay, so it's been a while since my last blog and even LONGER since I've had pictures and such pretty things. Since I last blogged: I finished Elfine, wrote three papers, and took all my finals. I'm done!!! So, I'm here to make you happy with pictures!!! Yay.

Here, at long last, pictures of my first sweater, Arwen. *gasp!*

Arwen
pattern: Cardigan for Arwen by Kate Gilbert in Winter '06 IK
needles: 4.00 mm (US 6) Addi circ and 4.50 mm (US 7) straights. I had to go down a needle size to get gauge.
yarn: Elann Peruvian Wool in Victorian Violet.


A shot of the back. Huh. You can see my imperfect grafting and and the seam down the middle of the hood. Clearly, I opted not to knit it in one piece. No regrets though! I really enjoyed seaming the sweater together. It actually left me hungry to knit another sweater just so I could seam some more. Is that weird or what?


(If I look exhausted it's because I AM! I took my last two finals this morning and goodness, I'm so worn out.)

Everything (almost) is perfect about this sweater. Well, the pattern itself is great. It fits perfectly. My only complaint is the yarn. The cheapness is brutally apparent. It still looks quite nice, but it's getting pilly after a couple of wears. But for a first sweater, I wasn't exactly jumping to dump over $100 on yarn.

I've worn Arwen a couple times now. I told my friend Michelle that I was knitting a sweater, so she told me to show it to her when I finished. When I told her it was this one, she gave me a critical look and finally said, "You're going a really good mom one day."

I'm not sure how to take that.

When I started Elfine the weater was cold as hell. I knit these to encourage spring along. By the time I finished the first one and cast on for the second, the cold weather had completely vanished.


Elfine
pattern: Elfine by Anna Bell
needles: 2.25 mm (US 1) Clover dpns
yarn: Koigu... oh geez I never remember the color names.


I love them. They fit perfectly and look lovely. I was apprehensive at first. The color isn't one I usually choose, and I wasn't sure about the pattern, but as I kept knitting, the subtle variegation really helped bring out the beautiful lace.

Funny story. Or not so funny. Anyway, I was so fixated on the yarn, things were starting to look green to me. My needles, especially, appeared to have a greenish tint. At first I thought it was just due to the yarn making everything look green, but after a while, I realized... no! My needles really WERE turning green! I guess the dye from the yarn was rubbing off? But anyway. I don't have a picture, but it's quite funny.

With the completion of Elfine, I was without a project. I don't have much of a stash to speak of, so I couldn't even resort to that. Besides, what I really wanted to knit was some lace. So. After I struggled through my papers and finals, I decided to treat myself to some yarn.


JaggerSpun Zephyr Silk/Wool in Juniper. I had initally wanted something deep red, but this teal caught my eye and I knew it was just crying to be knit into Eunny's Print o' the Wave. My first real lace project! *is excited*


Rowan kid silk in pink. Super soft, super pretty. Which is why I bought it. Hahaha! I just really liked the pink color. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. I reckon I wanted to knit a Branching Out, but we'll see if I actually do.