Lo, and it was finished

It's done!! *zooms around room* Pics:

Side:



Back:



Front showing off sleeves:



Alas, these are all slightly blurry. It was raining today and the flash totally washed out the reflection. But that's the best I can do on my own. It looks more impressive in person, despite the black yarn, which sadly doesn't show off the pattern well. But, that can't be helped as it matches the bridesmaid dress.

I sewed about an inch seam in each armhole as it was a bit too open and saggy for my taste. Now it's fab. One happy accident did occur, but that's why it's a happy accident and wasn't ripped out. Either that or I was too lazy. :p I decided to block it at home, mostly cuz I just can't be bothered to do it now. Off to indulge in more Sherlock Holmes and Mr. Greenjeans now!

ho ho ho

I'm getting excited for Christmas. I know, I know. What about Thanksgiving and all the turkey yumminess? Well, it'll be virtual turkey for me this year, although I do have loads of pumpkin bread and pie supplies thanks to my pumpkin conspirator friends! Being a Yank in England is a funny experience when our national holidays come along. For Fourth of July my brother was trying to convince me to hang a big-ass American flag off my balcony. Hahaha. Yeah, not a good idea. It was a funny one though.

The wedding shrug is about 70% complete. I'm at the flat pattern bit on the other sleeve and side now so with any luck, this sucker will be done this weekend. And none too soon as I'm heartily sick of this pattern already and keep having to keep my eyes from drifting longingly to the Mr Greenjeans supplies for mom's Christmas present. 60 more rows. 60 more rows, seaming, and blocking and I'll be free!! I'm so excited.

And speaking of Christmas, I think I'm going to be up the proverbial creek this year if I don't get a move on with my Christmas shopping. Methinks online shopping for everyone this year with just a few exceptions as there is no way I'll have room in my suitcases next month. Plus, I'm really not one of those who loves last minute shopping. The crowds drive me nuts and suck out all the Christmas cheer from my bones. This year's going to be chaotic enough with my brother's wedding happening before New Year's and I'm all about minimizing holiday stress. I'll have to start poking around my favorite online shops this weekend.

And speaking of online shops, is Elann.com the best kept yarn bargain secret out there? Seriously, I got their newsletter earlier this week and was floored once again by their selection and prices. They're even beating KnitPicks! I may have to appease the stash gods once again when I get home.

Well, it's off to the dissertation for me now. I finished reading Northanger Abbey last night and my chapter on education awaits. I need to see how my readalong friends are doing with the novel.

Toodles!

ETA: I know, I'm back. But look! Cass the enabler has posted great gift ideas for knitters. Oh my weekend is going to be fab!

writing to knit

That's how it's been feeling lately. I work on the dissertation, sometimes begrudgingly, sometimes quite frustratingly, sticking to my self-appointed work time just so that I can chuck it all in by 10pm and "legally" take out my knitting. Still, last week's trip to Hampshire was very productive diss-wise and it's spilling over into my writing, which is always a good thing. And! I even remembered to take the wedding shrug with me! Not that I got much knitting done since I was basically up and out by 8am to breakfast and hit the road to Chawton by 9.15a to be at the library by 10. Chawton House library is utterly fantastic and I'm really glad I spent a few days working there. But being conscious so early meant I was in bed much earlier than is normal for me so I really only worked a few rounds on the shrug all week. Saturday, however, saw much greater progress since the weekends are diss-free. I'm now knitting the flat part of the pattern for the left shoulder and back, still screwing up now and again but I'm finding that fixing mistakes in lace is not as difficult as I once thought. Maybe I'm becoming a pro. :p

Toting about my knitting made me realize, I really need a knitting bag. I used a small bag from the Shakespeare Trust to tote the shrug in and while it did the job, it just wasn't knitterly and cute, you know? I grabbed the pattern for the Knitting Needle Knitting Bag last week or so, but I've also had my eye on KP's Total Tote (in the lime green, of course). Alas, to be a poor grad student who has to budget books and yarn. We shall see. Maybe I'll win the lottery one day.

Woops! Break time's over; back to the writing grind!

I'm supposed to be writing?

Oh Mari, you enabler! I clicked over to Shut Up, I'm Counting's contest and have been knitting blog surfing ever since. She's hilarity on a stick, yo. Definitely check her out!

Must. Go. Write. Chapter. Now.

Reboot and Restart

Reboot. I made the pattern up as I went and it changed from my original plan as I kept working. The way the contrasting color popped out almost like it was trying to take over reminded me of the falling colors/numbers in the opening sequences of Ghost in the Shell and The Matrix (See?) so, Reboot. It's not uber long but it's long enough to wrap around my neck and still cover up my chest. Tres toasty. I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

And then there's the wedding shrug.



See that pile of yarn next to the ball? Yeah, that's all the yarn I'd used (one whole ball) in the decrease rounds, only to finish them, count stitches and realize I screwed up the decreases. *headdesk* I misread the instructions and didn't decrease on the rows worked even. So, I ripped the whole thing apart and recast on. Tinking back 45 rows of lace to put in the decreases would've fried my brain. The only good thing is that I've got a handle on the lace pattern now so working can go faster. So if you need me, you'll find me under the yarn pile.

yarn explosion imminent; you have been warned

Knit Picks has launched their autumn clearance sale. *falls over* Someone stop me from bankrupting myself.

autumn snuggles

I've always loved autumn. The crisp, cool air, the changing leaves, snuggling up with blankets and hot cups of tea. I've really missed these true autumns living in California (where it doesn't really chill itself out til November if you're lucky), so I'm really enjoying them here in England. It's also reinforcing how much I miss living in New York where seasons actually happen too.

After frogging Mr Greenjeans (which was coming along), I decided to use the yarn in a cable modified version of Hug (pattern modification can be found here).


It's nice and toasty and will come in quite handy when I go down to Chawton again for some Jane research in the Chawton House Library in a couple of weeks. I'm now trying to get this scarf idea out of my head to go with it. It was quite chilly in Hants last month so I can only imagine it'll be nippier now. I want color blocks of some sort and was trying to find a cooler stitch than just plain stockinette but I think I'm going to have to stick with the plain stuff. I tried out brioche stitch last night (love it!) but it wasn't really adaptable to what I envision for the blocks. So it looks like I'll just make up my own pattern as I've got to keep in mind that I don't have that much of the lemongrass yarn left over to match with the nearly full skein of the deep olive I used on Sesame.

I plan on going back to Greenjeans but in a different yarn and color for my mom. In the meantime, I finally cast on I Do earlier this week. I'm sooo glad I didn't put this off til next month! The lace pattern took a little bit to get into but I think I've got the hang of it now. I've probably only got the equivalent of a sleeve cuff and a little more done which I don't consider much for the time I've spent on it. Hopefully it'll start to go faster now.

That's all for now! Off for some lovely tea!

FOs

Well, after all the doubts, hoorays, and aggravation, Sesame is finally DONE. As I said, it knit up as a size S so will now be a pressie for one of my cousins. Although, since I'm chatting with her right now, I may send it on home as a "cheer-up" present since it seems like she's having a bit of a rough time, rather than wait for the holidays. I ended up choosing toggle buttons after all and I really like the color contrast they make with the deep green wool.




Buttoned up it has a bit of an Asian/military feel which is down to the buttons I think. I didn't think of that when I chose the toggles--I just like toggle buttons, lol. In all honesty they make me think of A Knight's Tale with Heath Ledger and Paul Bettany and the toggles Roland uses off the tent for Will's ball tunic. *is slightly shallow*


I also whipped together the legwarmers this weekend. Oh man, I am so glad I did! My legs are so uber toasty. I used Rowan Spray in Sunset and Calm. I don't care what anyone says, legwarmers are a fantastic item to have in your wardrobe. I wear them under jeans, with lounge-type pants, with shorts, you name it, if I think my legs may be a bit chilled, legwarmers baby. Especially if they're snazzy looking. *wink*

@$%#! gauge

I hate knitting. That is all.

Sesame's gauge was obviously off and the M knit up as a S. Shipping off to the cousin so I don't have to see it lying around.

Mr. Greenjeans will now be for me. And the good thing is I don't have to recast on as I'd thought as I'd already cast on for a size that'd fit both me and cousin, and my migraine prone brain had forgotten. Yay. Gauge better not be off on this one. Of course, if I obsesses over it, of course it will. *sigh*

I really hate knitting.

rewind and repeat

I went down to Hampshire last weekend and had a grand ol' time talking Jane Austen and seeing her old haunts. As usual I didn't take any knitting with me (I really have to stop doing that)--I figured we'd be uber busy (which we were) and that I wouldn't have time (which I somewhat didn't). Ah well, when I got back I started seaming Sesame which had finally finished drying. I've got one side done and one sleeve in but I've decided to take the sleeve out (partially) and reseam it as I'm just not liking the look of the seam into the underarm. It shouldn't take long. I did try it on to see how it was going and I'm happy to say it looks like it'll be a nice fit. Now if only I could find my sewing kit so I could sew on those buttons ....

I also cast on Mr. Greenjeans and am part way through the yoke (how excited am I that this is knit top-down and in the round??!!). It takes a little bit of concentration with the YOs, but not enough so that you can't have something on the TV and actually pay attention to both. We'll see what happens when I get to the cabling bit.

This weekend, though, looks like it'll be dedicated to finishing Sesame and knitting up some legwarmers! (I did fall off the wagon, may as well make something :p) Autumn's turning decidedly cold here and my heaters don't seem to like me. Result: I'm living in an icebox! And the computer has got to be in the coldest part of the flat. *rolls eyes* So I'm off! My fingers are freezing up!

PS. Did you see they're taking pre-orders for Ravelry T-shirts??

fallin' off the wagon

Well folks, I have purchased yarn. Nine balls of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran (how much does Ebay rock?!) And here I'd been doing so well on the No Yarn For A Year challenge. But my yarn hor self got the better of me 11 days before NYFAY finished. Alas! Keeping to just that small amount was SO hard. Of course, this doesn't mean I haven't stashed a bunch of others in my KnitPicks basket >.> Dude, and Ebay. I'm always gobsmacked by the amount knitting supplies you can get there for cheap! *pets bamboo needles* Even with international shipping, it was still cheaper than buying it here, yo.

Anyway, the point of the yarn hor moment is, of course, the I Do shrug. Jill left me a comment reinforcing my knitting in 9 days doubt (jetlagged no less!), so I decided to find some yarn as soon as humanly possible (read: NOW!!!). So, thanks, Jill! I love good advice that gives me an excuse to bulk up the stash! :D Hopefully this yarn indulgence will last me til I get home. Three more months, three more months ... chant with me!

In other news, Sesame's all pinned and blocked; I think it actually may be dry by tomorrow. Would you believe the LYS here does NOT sell blocking pins? I've had to commit Knitting Sin by using regular pins. *shockgasp*

ps. If you haven't checked out Stash & Burn's podcast interview with Casey and Jess of Ravelry, it's quite interesting (and fun!) You can find it here.

shoulders and patterns

TheBlackSheep asked for pics of the shoulder seam so voilà! Clicking will take you to my knitting folder where you can find a small collection of pics of the seam--I experimented with lighting and flash use since 1) it's about 7pm here now and the natural light is fading, and 2) the yarn is such a dark color that getting the stitches to show up as well defined as possible is a bit of a challenge.

Of course, getting near the end of the project means I'm already thinking ahead to what I'll knit next during my thinking downtime (I don't think I've mentioned this before but, for those who don't know, I'm currently writing my dissertation on two of my favorite chicks, Jane and Maggie, aka Jane Austen and Margaret Fuller). So, it should come as no surprise that I nearly danced a jig when I saw the new Knitty was up this weekend! I banked something like 5 or 6 of the patterns to my Ravelry queue including Mr Greenjeans, Cherie Amour, and Percy. I'd really like to find a cute cardy pattern that I could use my Lion Wool in Lemongrass on--I'm thinking of my young cousin here who's as much a fan of green as I am, bless her. Now that I'm 99.9% sure Sesame will fit me, I think she'd really get a kick out of a sweater in that color. Plus, packing a sweater will definitely be much less bulky than 6 skeins of unused yarn when I return home this winter. I'm leaning towards Mr. Greenjeans as that would mean using up almost all of the yarn. Mwehehehe! Must appease the Suitcase Gods!

I'm also pretty much decided on I Do for the wedding shrug. Still need yarn though. Not sure if I should wait til I get home though for this one, even if means trying to whip this out in 9 days with my jetlagged self.

ETA: BZUH! I just got a message at Ravelry asking to use my pic of the Country Cousins Blanket I knit for baby PinkSheep last year! On the pattern page!!!!!!!! Excuse me while I squee like a noob here. :D

Oh boy, oh boy!

Would you believe it? I'm on the button band! With any luck, I'll block this bad boy today. Holy cow, I can't believe I'm almost done with Sesame. And with the button/hole bands in, it's finally looking like it'll fit me just fine as they gave me another 2 or so inches on either side. Wooohoo! Of course, I managed to screw up the actual button holes slightly by working the 9th CO stitch instead of PSSO with them, so I did a quick decrease on the way back as I realized it, of course, after I'd worked all the button holes. In my defense, I'll just point to the fact that the pattern just says to slip one stitch over the other, but not off the needle. My brain should've kicked in to realize this would leave me with extra stitches though. Anyway, no big, a decrease at each hole and I was back in business. I also stopped in at the LYS earlier in the week to check out their button collection. Moon also came with as her mom finished up her cardigan so Moon was on the button prowl. She picked out some really groovy slate grey buttons that have a sort of iridescence to them. Very cool but a bit expensive at £2.25 (~$4.50) a pop. For myself, I scoped out these cool wooden buttons that have a bit of a swirl cut into them. I think they may be a bit too dark though; I need to take some of the yarn with me next time (maybe later today). If not those, they had some snazzy toggles in a natural wood color which I liked as well. We shall see.

I used the cable cast on for the first time ever when working the button holes. Not bad but a bit of a pain in the ass with that slip knot at the front--no matter how I tightened it up, it always stretched out leaving that one stitch a bit too loose for my liking. I wonder wouldn't it be possible to just cable CO with an existing stitch already on the needle? Surely that has to be better than using a slip knot stitch for the first. By the way, am I ever so glad Tara got me Charmed Knits for my bday--hooray for having techniques in a book instead of having to log on to KSOS when I don't feel like turning my comp on. (Please to note, I am rather nearly completely knitting book-less since the majority are home in the States.) Not only was I able to learn the cable CO method, I was able to learn that I seamed the shoulders together incorrectly. *headdesk* I used mattress stitch instead of backstitch right along the cast off row. Mind you, this doesn't mean I'm going to go in and correct this as 1) that would require extra work I'm just too lazy to put in, and 2) I rather like the pseudo, 'defined purl' row look it gives the shoulders. I'll stick in a wooden hanger when I block it and that should help round that out some.

Speaking of blocking, I have no blocking pins with me and forgot to check how much they are at the LYS, or even if they carry them. Granted, I can't use the excuse of having left pins at home as I just do not own any. The only blocking I've ever done on any of my FOs has been on felted projects so, you know, a shoe box here, a couple of plastic bags there. Think I can get away without using pins?

Well, that ends today's rambly ramble. Hope you've enjoyed. With any luck, I'll update with pictures next time! I think I'll also look for a pretty black yarn for the shawl/shrug cover thing I need to create for the Bro's wedding. Thanks for all the links and suggestions last time! You guys just rock.

Sesame and Wedding Accessory

You guys are fab with your replies; thanks so much for answering my question about the neckline over the weekend. I've since finished the back, the right front panel and am about to start working on the neckline of the left front panel. WOOHOO! Bank holiday weekends rock for knitting progress. :D

Now, since apparently my brain thrives on being crammed full of stuff, I'm thinking about what to do about arm coverage for my brother's wedding in December. The bridesmaid dress looks like this and I know I'll get cold. I was thinking maybe a wispy shawl or similar type cover or a shrug type cardigan. I dunno. Anyone have any ideas/patterns they think would match well and look elegant?

Sesame neck

Well, I've been cruising along on Sesame this week while taking thinking breaks from writing, or at night once I've finished worked for the day. I've got the back panel nearly complete and am at the neck shaping, only I've hit a bit of a snag.

The pattern says:

Neck shaping: Working each side at the same time - work 22 (22, 23, 24, 25) sts. Place the next 28 (28, 30, 30, 30) stitches on a holder. With a second ball of yarn, work remaining 22 (22, 23, 24, 25) sts. Dec 1 st at neck edge every row twice; 20 (20, 21, 22, 23) sts remain. Work even until armhole measures 8 (8, 8.25, 8.5, 9)" / 20 (20, 21, 21.5, 23)cm.

Shoulder shaping: Cast off 10 (10, 10, 11, 11) sts at each armhole edge, work 1 row even, then cast off rem 10 (10, 11, 11, 12) sts at armhole edge.

I've worked the 20 sts on either side of the neck and done the decreases called for:



only I've still got those 28 sts on the holder, as the picture shows. The pattern says to 'work even' blah blah so my instinct is telling me to start reworking those stitches on the holder, but as I'm not sure, I've stopped:



As you can see, I'm currently working the WS. My doubt really arises from the instructions for the shoulder shaping since it only says to cast off 20 sts total along the armhole edges. So, what about the 28 sts along the neckline??

Help? I'm sure this is all fairly basic but as it's my first sweater, I really don't want to screw this up.

ETA: I just peeked at mariknits' pics of her finished Sesame and *think* I've figured it out. Will this be solved by:

Neck finish: With right side of work facing, starting with yarn A, pick up and knit 4 sts from right front neck holder, 20, (20, 20, 22, 25) sts from right front neck edge, 3 (3, 3, 4, 4) sts from right back neck edge, 28 (28, 30, 30, 30) sts from back neck holder, 3 (3, 3, 4, 4) sts from left back neck edge, 20 (20, 20, 22, 25) sts from left front neck edge, and 4 sts from left front neck holder; 82 (82, 84, 90, 96) sts. Work 36 rows in 2x2 rib stripe pattern. Cast off loosely in ribbing.

If so, hurray! And gawd I feel like an idiot. *hd*

Fried

Gawd I'm so tired. My next door neighbors decided to get drunk and argue all night last night. And I was really looking forward to getting a good night's sleep so I could straighten up the flat and run some errands before sitting down to knit.

Instead, I'm walking around like a zombie (well, sitting actually, heh). I woke up to a cold and rainy day (no errands for me then; I don't feel like lugging around groceries etc in the rain), a missing potted rose from my balcony, and the other knocked over. My foggy brain tried to figure out if the roses had been victims to the drunken neighbors or the wind. This meant going downstairs to ask another neighbor if my rose was in her garden. Luckily, I stopped to get the mail first and my potted rose was in the foyer so I guess it had fallen downstairs and she wasn't sure which of the flats above her it belonged to. So I got fully dressed for nothing (as opposed to comfy, rainy day clothes). Ah well. Mystery solved. I've now got a load of laundry in, and I plan to at least move things off the couch; the rest of the flat will have to wait til I'm more awake.

In knitting news, though, I've finished my socks, hurray! Actually, I finished them last weekend but haven't had a chance to come ramble about them. No mistakes with the second sock and I was able to work in a whole bunch of scraps of left over yarn into the leg of this one. I also tried a different method for adding in a new yarn. Rather than slip knotting the new yarn on to the end of the strand that's finishing, I held the new yarn against the old and worked the two strands in together for a few stitches before dropping the old one. This is probably not a new method for anyone else, but I was well chuffed with it. Huzzah! Thank you Betsy McCarthy! (I found that trick in Knit Socks!) The socks are now in the machine being washed after their first week as sleeping socks.

I've decided my next project will be Sesame by Melissa Wehrle. At first I had thought of doing the stripes, but I changed my mind when I realized, hello! first sweater here. I don't need to worry about weaving in umpteen ends on top of seaming the whole thing together. Seaming is my biggest fear as the only time I seamed anything was my legwarmers last year. The result wasn't too heinous but it was tedious as all get out. TheBlackSheep suggested I knit it in the round and if I could figure out how to convert the pattern I would (*failz at knitting math*). Part of me thinks I should do it in pieces though so I know how to do that if needed later. I can always figure out how to knit sweaters in the round later. (Heh, that's kinda like my 'I'll figure out how to do fair isle knitting later.' :p But that's a long story better left off for another time.)

Oh! I almost forgot. TheBlackSheep sent me kewl socks for my birthday. Columbine Peaks by Cat Bordhi. Tres nifty and so friggin soft!
Aren't they purty??

Well, I'm off to find comfy rainy day clothes and start casting on my first sweater. Wish me luck!

More on the socks .... and felting!

What do you know? I got sucked into Harry Potter and all things related. I went down to London the week of the book release and attended Sectus, an HP fandom conference, and was there for the madness of a midnight release party! I've never done that before as I usually just order from Amazon. Aside from getting sucked into the book and trying to keep my bearings in the fandom aftermath, I also visited John Keats' house, Charles Dickens' house, the British Library, and St. Paul's Cathedral. It was a lot of fun but would someone please tell me why I forgot to take my knitting?!

The second sock is now in the gusset stage (finally!) so I'm starting to think ahead to my next project. I brought yarn with me for two known projects and also sock yarn for boredom/emergency purposes, as I've said before. One of these projects is a Lucy Bag which requires felting. This is all well and good except that my washing machine here is not top loading. And I've never manually felted anything in a sink or bucket or anything. Has anyone got any tips? Can felting be done in a front loading machine?

Death to Socks

I finally finished the first of the Sleepy Socks last night. I should probably inform you that this is version 3 of socks knitted with this yarn. And, no, that doesn't mean I'm using up massive amounts of skeins of the same yarn. I mean I'm literally using the same yarn for the third time. Version 1 was an attempt at toe socks, modifying two different patterns and morphing it into my own. It worked fine, I even finished the sock. But it was way too loose so I decided I'd rip the whole thing apart and start over on smaller needles. Sock duly ripped. Attempt at reknit on smaller? Never happened. I then switched to a different pattern, a pretty lace pattern called Peaks and Valleys from Knit Socks! Enter version 2.0.

All was going well until I remembered I tend to knit socks inside out through the leg and heel flap and end up having to turn it right side out to finish it as I'm too lazy to try and figure out the backwards version of a pattern written for right side out. :p So, I got to the heel flap and realize that something is just off. Waiting to turn right side out after the heel flap just won't work, says I. So I turn it out and continue. All is well until I get to the gusset and foot and realize the pattern is now not going to match what's on the leg. *sigh* I soldier on thinking, who cares, I'll just wear them to sleep. But as I near the end of the foot section the pattern inversion is just too much for me. So I rip the sock apart again. I'll start over correctly with a different yarn or switch to a different pattern again. Not.

Enter version 3, the current version. I traveled to the UK for my six month sojourn and packed my sticks with me and a three projects worth of yarn, including the recycled sock yarn. I unpack and realize, I've left my bedtime socks back in the States. Well, here we go. This time I decide nothing fancy, just your basic Starter Sock out of Cat Bordhi's Socks Soar on Two Circs book. I've got the smaller needles with me and away I go. Last night I was cruising along the foot nearing the toe decreases and kept measuring to make sure I wasn't making the sock too long. Despite repeated measurements, I was so engrossed in whatever I was watching that I knit an extra five rows in the foot portion. Bother. As I didn't feel like taking the time to tink 5 rows back (hahaha!) I decide to rip out carefully and reinsert needles. Good plan, bad execution for 8 of 60 stitches. That's right, 8. Eight bastard stitches that unraveled and in a very bizarre way. I fixed all but three of them correctly since they were just doing their own thing.

Dude. I cried. My first crying over knitting experience in the two years I've been at this. Granted I've gotten mightily frustrated before but have always been able to calm myself down and fix everything. This, however, was just ridiculous. In the salvage process I also increased 1! Well, I finally decided there was no way I was ripping out everything when I was so near the end, so I k2tog, left the funkiness in--there were no holes, I'll deal with sleeping in irregular socks. Hrmph. And so the first sock is complete. Bastard.

I'll cast on for #2 today as there is no way that bastard sock is staying alone.

Knitting blog!

I finally gave in and started a place to blather on about my knitting triumphs and woes. Currently more woe-y than triumph-y probably, heh. However, since I just got my invite to ravelry, I had to do it. I mean, really.

To tell you a little about me, I'm a Literature Nerd. Seriously. These days when I'm not knitting I'm somewhere working on my dissertation. And my stash and needles are conveniently located next to (or in between, lol) my books and pens, hence the blog name. So you can call me Pen if you have the inkling (omg pun! sorry :p), I don't mind.


Ta ta for now!