Saturday, September 29, 2007

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??

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

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.

Monday, September 17, 2007

shoulders and patterns

TheBlackSheep asked for pics of the shoulder seam so voilĂ ! Shoulder seam 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!!!!!!!! Baby blankets Excuse me while I squee like a noob here. :D

Sunday, September 16, 2007

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.