Technical Issues

No, not with any of my projects. Literally. A technical issue. That is to say... I left my camera in Connecticut. Great. Nothing with which to document the greatness that is all my knitting. Har.

So I stole my roommate's camera (muahuahua!). And now, I bring you an extremely late update featuring three very lovely, overdue FOs.


Juniper Print o' the Wave
pattern: Print o' the Wave Stole by Eunny Jang
yarn: Zephyr Wool/Silk in Juniper, 2 balls
needles: 43.50 mm (US 4) 36" Addi Turbos

This project, as some of you may know, has been an utterly epic one for me. It began in May when I bought the yarn as a gift to myself for finishing my finals and my papers. It was always meant to be a Print o' the Wave stole, but apparently, 630 yards is not enough. I did calculations and was actually feeling rather smart. I thought I figured out how to maximize my yardage and still have enough to make a good sized stole.

Little did I know that when it was all said and done, I'd have ripped out the edging three times. Yes you read that right. I ripped out thousands of stitches three times. As a testament to the yarn, it survived every frogging very admirably. It's also a testament to my patience... or stupidity.


But it was worth it. The finished product is gorgeous, and I adore it. The yarn is beautiful, but I'm convinced it ripped off the finishing of my needles. Severe ugh.

In terms of mods, as you can tell I didn't do the grafting. I knit 27 repeats of the center and picked up 64 stitches on the short side and 200 on the long side.


Noro Striped Scarf
pattern: 1x1 ribbing, switch yarns every two rows
yarn: Noro Silk Garden, 4 balls in two colorways
needles: 5.00 mm (US 8) Clover straights

This is basically brooklyntweed's thing with a few minor adjustments. I wanted more drape, so I went up a needle size. So it wasn't ridiculously wide, I cast on only 35 stitches.

It's long. It's nearly 7 feet... maybe it is! I don't know... couldn't measure. But it could have been longer. I finally decided enough was enough and bound off.


I adore the colors. This will be a great way to add some pop during the grey winter days, don't you think?


Rustic Shedir
pattern: Shedir by Jenna Wilson
yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed - 1 ball
needles: 3.25 mm (US 3) aluminum dpns

I didn't even blog about starting this. It quite literally took me 3 days. And just in time for the winter!

That's all for now. There's lots of progress on the Tangled Yoke front (one sleeve done!), and even some on the experimental front. Christmas is quickly nearing.

Quick Update

Because here in southern California, it's too hot for anything else!

Like I mentioned before, there are FOs I am physically unable to show you yet (camera cable, why hast thou deserted me?) but I can show you this WIP I haven't really mentioned before at all.


Winding cable knee highs!!! I finally finished one. I actually started these near the end of June. I wish I had made it a little longer, but I was scared of running out of yarn. That doesn't seem like it's too likely now, but I'd rather not, I guess.

Print o' the wave update: Ran out of yarn. Debating whether to rip out border and reknit or order more yarn, rip out border, and make it longer. What would you do?

Also! I don't think I mentioned this before, but I finally got my Ravelry invite. My username is yarnhugger. Add me! :)

Infidelity

So let's talk about project monogamy...

I have none.

Today was a beautiful day, so my roommate and I decided to head out to enjoy lunch and sunshine in Washington Square Park. She brought a book. I brought my knitting.


So after a bit, my roommate decided to get a pedicure, and I decided, what the heck! I'm going to go get some yarn!... since I'm halfway to the yarn store anyway... yeah bad reasoning but I decided to go. I originally only planned to buy yarn for socks for my grandma, but I made the mistake of calling my mom.

My mother informed me that an old acquaintance of mine and the daughter of a close friend of hers had a little girl. So why don't I knit her a sweater!!!


Lorna's Laces in Lilac. Good God. I always looked at this beautiful yarn and wanted a reason to buy it. This will probably be a Trellis. Leftovers may become that amazingly adorable Upside Down Daisy hat if I have to crack into the third skein.

Of course, I made my intended purchase as well.


Koigu KPPPM in a beautiful slate blue. Sometimes it looks blue. Sometimes it looks grey. Stormy blue. Periwinkle grey. It depends on how the light hits it. I love yarns like that. So much depth in the color. My mom told me to knit anklets, so I doubt I'll need the second skein... and I have a project in mind for that.

And of course, something for me.


This was a bit of an impulse buy and the only thing for me. I really loved the beachy blue and sandy colors. I think they're destined to be the currently extremely popular Monkeys, which I have been dying to knit for a while.

I also bought the Favorite Socks that I've been coveting for a while. And remember how I said I feel naked without socks on the needles? Well I'm naked no more. I cast on for the Padded Footlets and am plowing away on the first one.

Lace in Progress...

... isn't very photogenic.

I wasn't sure how many repeats to knit before I started the edging. The centre bit went by a lot quicker than I had anticipated. I knit 27 repeats before I finally decided enough was enough... I'd rather have too much yarn leftover than not enough and have to rip it all back... AND PICK UP 500+ STITCHES AGAIN. *dies* Yeah, that was not fun.

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.

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.