Month: July 2010

Clearly I have a problem

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A problem with color. Or rather, a problem with purchasing and knitting the same color repeatedly.

I just finished the Stevie and the sunburst test knit, both out of burgundy yarn. Or rather, the exact same burgundy yarn.  While the sunburst knit was blocking and drying, I decided to ball up some yarn for my next lace project. I was quite eager to do so, even though balling 3200 yards of laceweight is a daunting project. And just so you know, it takes about an hour.  In that hour, as I sat next to my blocking cardigan, I realized that I was balling 3200 yards of laceweight in the exact same shade of burgundy as the cardigan.  I sighed and then put the huge ball of laceweight aside figuring I couldn’t possibly knit with burgundy again so soon.

So I thought about some other projects. I knew I had wanted to make Bug the teacup pinafore, and I also knew I had already purchased the yarn for it.  So I became quite excited about starting a new project, grabbed the yarn and the directions, cast on, and realized…..that the yarn was burgundy!

Sunburst Cardigan

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I had agreed to test knit a new design from ummeyusuf, as I know I had bugged her until she made the design. You see, I really wanted to have my own sunburst coat, even if it meant knitting a lace pattern I found challenging.  I decided to use stash yarn, because these days I just don’t purchase new yarn, so I grabbed the rest of the lambs pride worsted that I just knit the stevie sweater with and decided that I would use it up no matter how big that made the sweater.

At some point I tried it on and became quite concerned about it not fitting properly. You see, there were about 5 inches across the front before the two sides even thought about meeting, never mind the fact that I’d need to button it.  I persisted though, figuring I could at least have it modeled by someone smaller than myself. I was a bit disappointed, but went ahead and lined up a model and a photoshoot date.  The idea was to have it done and modeled before my vacation began.

Once Bug headed off though, I realized that it just wasn’t what I wanted to be knitting, so I really pushed through to finish it. In this kind of heat and humidity, it was awful to knit with that fuzzy worsted weight yarn. I then soaked it, and blocked it, then realizing that it did block out quite well. I felt maybe if I looked at it sideways it looked big enough. I did notice that it was a much bigger sweater than I had knit.

It took a full 4 days to dry, unsurprising with so much humidity and such a heavy yarn. I refused to touch it until it was truly dry, figuring if I had gained some size in the sweater, I would want to keep it. Yesterday I tried it on and was absolutely amazed to find that it fit beautifully!  I’d say it is on the verge of being too large, but will be perfect over a blouse in the winter.

I am really really pleased with this sweater! I love the length I got in the body of it, the length of the sleeves is very comfortable too.  This sweater felt like such a surprise since I hadn’t anticipated it fitting at all!

Hanspun Citron

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Bug asked me recently to make her a shawl. I thought this a little bit silly, as no 6 yr old could take care of or wear a shawl properly. But, then I thought about the lovely citron shawl I’ve seen on knitty.com recently.  I thought I had some handspun that would be to Bug’s taste and I decided to do it.

The pattern is a half circle with ruching details.  Paired with striping handspun, I thought it would look rather cute. I didn’t have enough yarn to follow the pattern exactly so I decided to eliminate a repeat and then shorten the bottom ruffle.

And then I had a blocking fail.  You see, I am a very aggressive shawl blocker. I spent a good portion of the morning blocking out the shawl. And then I couldn’t figure out why there were sections of the shawl that were thicker than others.  Finally it hit me, I had pulled the shawl out so hard that all the ruching was gone.  I took most of the pins out and let it dry flat, but the top two ruched areas are still less than…ruchey?

It did turn out to be cute anyhow, and hopefully I’ll be able to pin it on her to her satisfaction.

Happy Birthday Bug!

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My Bug turns 6 today, and I am far far from her. We will have to celebrate another day. In the meantime I know that her Nana and PopPop are taking great care of her.  Fortunately, they’ve also been posting pictures so that I can enjoy through them.

What is Bug doing on her extended vacation?

A little swimming:

A lot of biking!

And some helping with a gorgeous cake!

I must say, initially I was a little jealous about that cake, I bet it is going to be really really delicious, and I am not there to eat it!  And it is really cool, the perfect cake for a little girl.  And then I realized that Bug is really really lucky. While I was fortunate enough to have a mom that would make me fantastic and interesting cakes, I am not that mother. It is very special that Bug has a Nana who can do that with her, because that just isn’t where my creativity lies.

Ladybug-you are very very special little girl. You brighten so many lives every single day. I am a better person because I have you to look after.  I can’t wait to see you! *hugs*

Rainbow sock

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I have come to the conclusion that if yarn has rainbow colors I find it irresistible.  My current purse knitting has been another gentleman’s plain winter sock from Vintage socks in trekking. The rainbow colors make it quite interesting, and this helps plain knitting just fly!

I’ve got one sock done, but I haven’t cast on for the other yet.  I really do only knit this kind of sock when I need something truly mindless, so it goes a bit slow.

Blue Suede Shoes

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I finished the half of the crown mountain farms merino in blue suede shoes that I traded for with Carin from Round the Twist. I hear she is plying hers as well, so it will be interesting to compare them.  I think mine will be quite a bit lighter in color. I’ve got a 3 ply light fingering here, but I haven’t gotten a chance to count the yardage but I suspect it is a pretty decent amount.

I can’t imagine knitting this one into socks, it really is so pretty, I love the colors. Maybe a shawl?

I am off to a work retreat later today, so I’ll be without internet access until tomorrow afternoon.  Thankfully once I get back I have another blog post for you!  I know, two in one week is bordering on the unusual for me lately!