Baby Surprise Jacket in the Works!

I know I haven't posted in forever, but believe me, I have been making things left and right! Not making things simply isn't possible for me.

Right now, I have two big focuses: baby knitting and art journaling. Baby knitting, because my sister (due April 1) and my sister-in-law (March 17) are both pregnant, WITH GIRLS, as well as two friends (March 20 and April 8). I've decided to make baby surprise jackets for the nieces, and hat-and-bib sets for the other two babies.

I've wanted to make a baby surprise jacket for the longest time, but I've lacked an excuse. When I didn't make one for the first two nephews, I didn't feel right making one for the next three. And if I'm not making them for nephews, I couldn't very make a sweater for a friend's baby, right?

But after five nephews, I'm getting nieces. Girls! Perfect excuse.

I took that pic when I was on row thirteen, and I'm on row thirty-nine now. I should take a new photo, but if I wait to do that, I'll never post! So you'll have to use your imagination.

The yarn is Pichasca, a hand-dyed thick-and-thin cotton yarn by Ester Bitran (colorway 901). I bought this yarn in September, but found out today that it has been discontinued! I better not run out, or I'm really in trouble.

I cast on 134 stitches; that's what the directions for the A-B-C-SJ version of the pattern give for a gauge of five stitches to the inch. My gauge is actually eighteen stitches to four inches, but I figure it doesn't hurt if a baby item is slightly large. After all, they grow so fast!

Some people find Elizabeth Zimmerman's directions a bit difficult to follow, since she doesn't present them the way we are used to. But the kind folks in the Ravelry Baby Surprise Jacket group hosted a perpetual knitalong earlier this year, and their clarifications are incredible! Such a big help. That's where I stole the idea of doing single increases on either side of the marked stitches. It seemed way easier than removing the marker, doing a double decrease, and then replacing the marker for every decrease!

This is a very easy knit, since it's in garter stitch. My only error was in going along on autopilot after you switch from decreasing to increasing, which happens on row thirty-nine. I had to rip back to my lifeline, because on a few rows I decreased instead of increasing! Apparently I REALLY got the hang of decreasing on either side of those marked stitches. :)

Believe me, I'll be watching that very closely! But I don't anticipate any trouble getting both sweaters and the other baby items finished on time, even taking breaks to work on my entry into the Sketchbook Project.

That's all for now. Keep creating!

Shock and Awe

My husband and I are in the processing of buying a house. By in the process, I mean we keep driving through neighborhoods, my husband haunts movoto.com, and we've actually talked to a mortgage guy and a real estate agent. We have not actually chosen a house, but we better if we want to move on time!

In preparation, I have decided I should probably start going through stuff and packing. I think I'd be more motivate on the packing front if I had not shouldered ninety-five percent of the responsibility last year. Maybe it was more; since my husband was cramming for summer classes, all I remember him packing was his cookbook collection. Actually, I think he went through them and I packed them after he had purged his collection slightly, and we had returned his mom's books.

You get my point. Anyway, I decided to start with my yarn, because I've noticed that it has spread all over the house.

I'm still in shock. I never thought I had much stash; I listen to some women talk about their stashes, and theirs are huge! I never buy that much yarn.

Behold! I have bins of the stuff. WHERE DID IT COME FROM? HOW DID I COLLECT SO MUCH YARN?



And why do my UFOs number in the double digits? I tried counting some of them as WIPS, but I had to admit that if I've knit less than a row in the past three weeks, it's not really "in progress", per se.


A few of my UFOs

Give Socks a Chance

I tried making socks once before, but I hated them. The pattern was easy enough: Wendy's Generic Toe-Up Socks from Wendy Knits. The construction made sense, and I had no problem with the short row toe and heel.

But I hated making them. I made it all the way to the ankle on the first sock, but I had to make myself do it. I hated the fiddly tiny needle with the skinny yarn. I had to pay close attention to holding the needles, and it took a bit of finger contortion to ensure that the needles I wasn't using didn't fall out–especially the one next to the working needles.

That's not good when you do most of your work on the bus in tight quarters.

However, the wonderful ladies at the Yarn Garden in Lawrenceville showed me the most amazing tiny circular needles! It's only six inches long!

Finally I decided to give them a try. I bought a size 0 (or was it size 1) needle, because I knit loosely (it's the only way I avoid knitting so tightly I can't get my needle in!). I also bought a skein of Malabrigo sock yarn, to entice myself into knitting. (I don't actually have a stash of sock yarn, unlike the rest of the yarn-obsessed universe!)

I also switched to an eyelet rib pattern I found; since I've proved I can grasp the structure, that leaves me free to do something interesting.

The skinny yarn and skinny needles still require more of my attention than I might like, but at least I won't lose needles and have to scramble under my bus seat for them. As much as I love interesting socks, I need to learn to knit them!

Crafting Like Crazy

So, it's only fifteen days until Christmas, and I still have lots of holiday gifts to make. I've already missed the deadline for my dance instructor's Ogee Lace Skirt, so that one won't happen until the new year, when classes start back. But I have to send out an ATC for a swap soon, as well as twelve Christmas ATCs which I offered to do instead of Christmas cards for a swap at Fans for Christ. I have to knit hats for my two nephews by December 26. (Did I mention I've never knit a hat?)

On top of that, I just remembered that I had decided to knit a shawl and maybe crochet a purse for my bosses' daughter...and that would be for Friday night. Eek. I am using Rowan Handknit Cotton in two shades of pink, which was in my stash, and the Simple yet Effective Shawl pattern from Cosmopluto Knits. (I made myself a shawl using the pattern, and it was very easy.)

Don't expect to be doing anything else anytime soon. Let's hope I make my deadlines!

A Dearth of Creative Activity

Since June, I've had very few opportunities for creativity. I spent most of June packing up our stuff, in preparation for our move in July. Unfortunately, I had to do it almost by myself, since my husband was spending eight to twelve hours a day working on assignments for his THREE summer classes.

July, we moved. And then moved more stuff. And unpacked stuff, and rearranged stuff, and brought more stuff over from storage. We also bought a Billy bookcase from Ikea. That lead to yet another trip to Ikea, since we had so many books that we needed two extra shelves! (And we could really use another bookcase just as large; there are still tons of books in boxes!)

I also had lots of furniture to assemble, since we had purchased a Noresund bed when it was on sale, in anticipation of our move. There was also the Majiker sideboard I had bought a year and a half ago, when it was put on clearance.

I did get a spinning wheel, which is so incredibly wonderful. Seriously, you wouldn't believe how much I squeed when we picked it up. It was a bit sad... So it took me two evenings to assemble it, and I got to use it exactly once. I've been way too busy, and I had to miss my spinning guild meeting, so I missed the opportunity to get help.

I was so very sure I would have lots of time to do creative stuff this month, but it hasn't been the case. The apartment is still in a state of semi-chaos, and my craft space is the worst. I can't slack off, either, since I have friends coming to stay with us in a couple of weeks.

So I've had to satisfy myself with knitting. I love knitting; don't get me wrong. And I'm happy with the progress I've made with my Malabrigo simple shawl. I even started a sock, but the tiny double pointed needles and skinny yarn are driving me nuts, so it's on hold.

I can't even remember the last time I put some real time in with my art journal. I pray it will all come together soon!

Cold day mitts are in progress!

I’m on row twenty-four of the Thanksgiving Day Mitts by TwinKnit. I like them, and I learned to cable-without a cable needle, no less-while working on them.

See more progress on: knit fingerless gloves

ROUS Love

I joined a new group on Ravelry recently: As You Wish. And if you're as geeky as I am, you've already guessed that it's a fan group for that eighties classic The Princess Bride.

There's a discussion going on right now about the ROUS. In fact, we're trying to figure out how to turn the Year of the Pig purse pattern into an ROUS knitting bag.

I am so very tempted. :) Good thing I have so many projects already in the works!

*I made the banner. It was a quickie job, but I'm fairly pleased with it. :)

Lace Shawl Envy

My mother-in-law bought Victorian Lace Today for me as a Christmas present, and then took me to Needle Nook in Decatur to buy some yarn.

I picked out some beautifully soft 100% merino in black, laceweight of course. I'm going to start with one of the simpler shawls, so I can get an FO sooner. But my REAL goal is this absolutely gorgeous hexagon shawl, which I intend to make in dark red. It's huge, though: it takes eight skeins of Kid Silk Haze, and it's knit on size 5 or so needles. I think it's five feet across, or something crazy like that.

It will take me a lifetime to finish it, but I really want it. <3

Thank you, Ravelry!

Well, I didn't find out about ThankRavelDay until today, which is sorta later. So I'll take this chance to express publicly just how impressed I am by what Jess and Casey have done! I'm so glad they have put so much time and ingenuity into it.

If you aren't familiar with it, Ravelry is a knit and crochet community. That's very simplified, though. Ravelry's biggest strength is that virtually everything is interlinked! It has some really unique features, too. The best may be the forum radar: you can watch the new forum posts from all over the site pop up one after another on one page. It's fun.

The quality level of everything on Ravelry is very high. Jess and Casey have done an excellent job!

I <3 Knit Picks Options!

I've been meaning to try magic loop for practically forever. Er, six months. Whatever...just glad I finally got around to it.

Anyway, I never tried knitting in the round, because I couldnt' justify buying a totally new set of needles! Think what else I could do with the money!

But it's my favorite needles that finally got me going. I use the Knit Picks Options needles, and now I have a couple of the Harmony needle tips. If you aren't familiar with them, they are absolutely wonderful interchangeable needle sets. The Options needles are an incredibly smooth nickle-plated brass; the Harmony needles are wood. Beautiful, and very high quality.

The great thing about them, though, is that they have the most wonderful cables: incredibly flexible. So they're perfect for magic loop, and it's only a few dollars more! I can't wait to buy more needles, and a second set of long 47" cables, so I can jump projects more.

Wait, maybe that isn't the best idea...

Magic Loop for the Win!

I've never learned to knit in the round, but I've been meaning to. But frankly, double-pointed needles seem a bit unappealing to me: they're unwieldy, and I would have to buy whole new sets of needles. So I decided months ago that I would learn to knit small-diameter items on long circulars.

Finally, I followed through. I'm doing magic loop, and I love it! For one thing, I only had to buy a new cable to go with my Knit Picks Options set, which is great! I would much rather buy a $6 set of two cables and be set to knit with whatever needle size I need.

But really, it's kinda fun! And it's easy to keep track of the beginning of the round, since your knitting stays in two halves. I'm making the leg warmers out of One Skein, and it's turning out great. I'm incredibly slow (no news there), but it's great.

Using what you knit...

You know, it feels really great to make a special project and finally get a chance to wear it!

For instance... A few weeks ago my beloved husband took me to the Atlanta Opera, at their new home, no less. We saw Turandot, which I definitely enjoyed. I wore a spaghetti strap black velvet dress, but it can get a bit cool in the evening (occasionally) in October. So I decided to wear my Gothy Scribbling Shawl from Mason-Dixon Knitting, for the very first time!

It felt so special! I felt really fancy, too. It was the perfect choice. :) And I felt even more special when the opera volunteers started handing out these really gorgeous Asian fans to all the ladies!

Wheel of Time Scarves

I love CraftBorg, which is a really fun, totally geeky podcast. The hosts, Rosemary and Julie, are big fans of both Harry Potter and Star Trek (yeah, no surprise there), as well as all sorts of other fangirl stuff. Sadly, they haven't updated in months, but there are seventeen episodes available.

Anyway, they both make Harry Potter socks. No, not socks with the Harry Potter characters on them, or house-striped socks, or socks from the movie. They make socks inspired by and named for Harry Potter characters. They choose colors, patterns, and yarns to reflect the character's personality, interests, and tastes. As soon as I heard that, I thought, "Oh! I love that!" Of course, I have no interest in making Harry Potter socks, but I love the concept: letting the characters from your favorite fiction shape your knitting!

Now think about the Wheel of Time...there are so many interesting characters! And Robert Jordan always puts such effort into each character, so there's plenty of material to work with. So, I've decided to make some Wheel of Time scarves... I love scarves, so it's going to be fun!

My first scarf is for Pevara Tazanovni, an Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah. As a novice, she was close friends with Seaine Herimon, but had to break off the friendship upon gaining the shawl. When Elaida charged Seaine with searching out the Black Ajah, the White recruited Pevara to help.

Pevara, a pretty woman with dark eyes and a cheerful nature, is not your typical Red: she actually likes men, and she's quite notorious for her belief that Reds would find Warders useful. She is open to Aes Sedai of other Ajahs, even though the Red Ajah strongly discourages friendships outside the Ajah.

I'm doing the Turkish Stitch version from A Trio of Scarves. I chose South West Trading Company Bamboo in Red Jester. The deep reds represent her ajah, of course, and the Turkish stitch is lacy buy restrained, which reflects the balancing act that has so shaped Pevara: the demands of her ajah versus the demands of her heart.

So far, I'm having a blast!

Gearing up for Anime Weekend Atlanta!

My friend Ishy and I from Craft Wonderland are selling some of our stuff at Anime Weekend Atlanta in two weeks. Boy, am I busy…

See more progress on: sell my handmade items

My Bat Shawl is finished!

I finished it! With almost a week to spare!

Okay, I didn't exactly finish it, because the finishing isn't done, or the choker and wrist bands. But...I finished knitting it in the car today, five minutes after leaving the Peachtree Handspinners Guild meeting today!

The yarnovers down the center are a bit uneven, (because I shifted it by one stitch at one point), and there's a dropped stitch I need to tack, but I'm still very happy with the results. It's not quite as wide as I expected, probably because it's only one strand instead of two, so I'm not going to slip my fingers through the yarnovers along the top. Besides, it looks like it would quickly stretch out, and I suspect it would get in the way when gaming or even eating.

Instead, I'm going to make bracelets to match the choker, and attach them at the ends. I really hope it works!

Bat Shawl Update

I have finished twenty-eight out of forty-eight rows on my bat shawl. It looks like I really will have it ready for Dragon Con! (Yay!)

I've had a great time working on it, even if it took eight or ten rows for me to understand how the pattern works! I've made a rough sketch of the shawl, to try to convey the style. I'm excited...

Gothy Scribbling Shawl is finished!

I finished my Scribbling Shawl from Mason-Dixon knitting about a week and a half ago. I love the colors: dark red and black.

Then again, I always love those colors. But it was fun. I did drop a stitch about halfway through, so I have to figure out what to do about that. I also snagged it, but that will be a very straightforward fix, if a bit time-consuming.

I used Lang Venezia for the red and Doucier et Soie for the black. Both behaved themselves very well. :)

See more progress on: knit a shawl

Ravelry Addict

I've been on Ravelry eight days. EIGHT DAYS. And I have fifteen projects entered, twenty projects queued...and forty-one stashed yarns.

That's not even all of it; I have a big bin of stuff (about half of it cheap, actually) in my basement that isn't entered yet. And yet I feel a great desire to pull it all out, catalog it, and photograph it. Yes, I want to spend an hour or two or three taking photos of yarn! I have LOST MY MIND!

It has cemented my burgeoning Flickr addiction, which, believe me, needed zero help. And I think discovering Moo Cards is going to be very bad for me. Way, way bad.

Maybe I should make Moo Cards of some funky yarn photos. You know, cropped in close...

www.flickr.com

Knitting gone gothy...

Believe it or not, I was goth in high school. Yes, really. Perky me. Where did you think my predominantly black wardrobe came from?

Anyway, I have tons of cool jewelry, tons of black clothes, and naturally pale fair skin. And I need another costume for Dragon*Con. What to do?

Enter Not Another Teen Knitting Book by Vickie Howell. I had seen it in the stores, but..."teen knitting?" Hello! I'm over thirty! Sure, I look younger, but not by that much!

Let's just say I've learned an important lesson...Never judge a book by its title! My friend Jenlar actually bought the book, and brought it to church to show me...the Goths Bat Shawl. Yes, a bat shawl! Eureka!

I bought the book the same day, and ordered the yarn the next. Now, with two weeks to go until Dragon*Con, I'm hard at work on my shawl. It will be finished. Oh yes.

Vacation crafting

Okay, I took several knitting and crochet projects on vacation with me. I figured, "All those hours in the car? I'll get tons of stuff done!" Uh, yeah. Apparently being on vacation means I'm suddenly unable to knit! About all I could do was crochet, though I even had to frog some of that!

Here was the plan: finish the backpack I was crocheting, start and finish the MagKnits Saturday Market Bag (modified in a manner similar to Disdressed's), work on my dragon stole, maybe start a new project.

Uh yeah. Right. Best laid plans and all that.

What really happened: work on backpack, frog, redo until I like the way the shape is working out. Figure out I'll never finish it in time to go hiking. Stop with one strap begun, but only two inches long.

Cast on market bag. Frog. Cast on market bag. Frog. Cast on market bag. Knit two rows. Frog. Cast on market bag. Knit two pattern repeats (eight rows). Put in lifeline. Knit three rows. Put down. Start fourth row. Almost fall asleep. Put away. Pull out knitting and realize I've lost stitches. Try to fix. Frog to lifeline. Knit four rows. Realize something is wrong before lifeline. Frog to beginning. Cast on. Knit seven rows. Frog. Cast on. Knit six rows. Frog. Cast on. Knit ten rows. Frog. Cast on. Knit six rows. Get to Atlanta. Knit six rows perfectly while riding bus and walking home.

Yeah, it was frustrating. And now, one row from a pattern repeat (and lifeline), I've messed up. I was talking to my husband, and I have no idea what I did.

/sigh