lessons learned over a long vacation

I can't believe it's been six months since I last updated. A LOT has happened in that time. I successfully defended my dissertation, graduated, and racked up an insane amount of frequent flier miles! First I took myself off to Massachusetts for a conference, popped down to New York for a lightning fast visit to family and a trip to Citi Field to catch a Mets game (they lost, shocking I know, lol), then I had a relaxing three weeks in Hawaii (hey, I deserved some sun and sand!), and finally ended up in Argentina for several months. And I've done a far amount of knitting too!

Maybe it's because I didn't have my head so consumed by writing and research I've been able to learn a lot of things about my knitting.

1) Lace blocking wires are good for blocking non-lace projects too!



I really like how they help straighten out the edges on scarves. I'd used them on the Blooming Cotton Scarf at the beginning of the year to help even out the stockinette, but I really like how they helped the garter stitch edging in the A's Manly Scarf too (and since it was for my dissertation supervisor, I really wanted to make it as perfect as possible). They help straighten out funky joins and any general unevenness in the knitting nicely.

2) (and this is probably the most important thing I learned) I've been purling wrong for the past 4 years! Now, I knit Continental, and I know that when I first learned with the fabulous videos at knittinghelp.com, I was purling correctly when knitting flat, but somewhere along the line, I started wrapping the yarn around the needle around the back of it and over before pulling it off the left needle. The result, one row twisted, one row not!



Ergo the "texture" in my fabric. I'd noticed something was wrong with my knitting before, especially when I had to seam garments (I'd grab the floats in the V's of one row and then couldn't on the next). Ironically, I finally figured out what I was doing when I was knitting the gargantuan hood in the Heather Hoodie Vest (which I deliberately made smaller after seeing so many comments about its hugeness on Ravelry)! I finished the hood the wrong way and then used some of my many in-flight hours to practice purling correctly.

3) Yoked sweaters are pretty fun to make! Unfortunately, I'm not so sure about the finished product around the neck area.



Now, the boat neck style in the Wheat-Ear Cable Yoke Pullover masks it some, but there seems to be a definite tendency to funnel up at the top that I'm not sure I'm digging. But check out the nice and smooth, textureless stockinette! I'm purling now, baby! What's more ....

4) I'm finally cabling without a needle! That project helped me finally figure this out in a way I'm comfortable with. It also helped that I didn't have my full arsenal of needles with me while traveling, just my Knit Picks Options set and a stitch holder. I figured out that the whole pinch the base of the stitches and flip 'em around thing? yeah, not for me thanks. Me, I drop the working yarn so I don't add tension and unravel my stitches, slide the stitches off the needle, and pick up the ones to be held in front or in back as called for with the left, pick the others up with the right and then transfer the ones on the right back to the left and then knit them up. I know, it probably sounds more complicated than it is, but it works!

5) Buying yarn by weight as opposed to yardage/meterage is not fun, but it does make you learn about yarn weights and put up! I also got to see a lot of neat yarns in Argentina, though I didn't get to hang out much in the yarn district in Buenos Aires (yes, there is a yarn district, with one LYS next to another, next to brand distribution shops and everything!).

6) Wool can shrink and felt in cold water! I don't think I showed off my Circle Socks over here:



Unfortunately, I can no longer wear these beauties. :( But after all that work, there was no way I was going to throw them out! So, what better than to turn them into fingerless mitts?!



(That's me with the fabulous sea lion, Juan Carlos.) Close-up:



I did save the toe bits so I may eventually turn these into convertible mitts.

So, I guess you could say I had a pretty eventful summer of knitting! Bring on the fall!

overdue update

So much has been going on since I last posted. Apart from Ravelympics happening last month, I was working furiously to revise and get my dissertation defense draft finished (all done! defense at the end of the month!). I planned two projects for Ravelympics to help me through the writing --knitting helps my sanity (or what's left of it!)--so this seemed like a good idea. I finished one project (Star-Crossed Slouchy Beret) and got about half way through the second one (Blooming Cotton Scarf).




The hat was knit in Garnstudio DROPS Paris and the scarf is being worked in KnitPicks Comfy Sport. I like the way the hat turned out but, despite my love of hats, I don't think these slouchy ones suit me well. This one's going to a cousin for her 18th birthday--she's hip enough to pull the slouchy look off I think. I LOVE the way the scarf's turning out! Can't wait to finish it and start wearing it.

Also on the needles is the Heather Hoodie Vest but, since I'm still working on the scarf, it's hibernating at the mo. Once this scarf's done--which should be in the next few days since I'm not writing!--I'm going to start working on a thank you gift for my dissertation advisor, A's Manly Scarf which I'm planning to make in Cascade's Eco Wool. I think the Blooming Cotton Scarf is actually somewhat good practice for this since they're both knit lengthwise. Here's an early project pic for you:



I thought the colorwork on this would be harder, but since you only work one color at a time, it's not that bad! The only annoyance is having to unwrap whatever color's being worked from the other yarns being carried whenever I need it again. Being a colorwork newbie, I'm sure this is probably wrong, but since I didn't want to cut and rejoin whenever the color was needed again, I decided to carry up at the beginning of the round. I figured this would be ok since that's where the knitting will be cut to unravel and create the fringe. *shrug* So far so good though!

cold, cold, please stay!

Wow, it seems like an eternity since I last posted, amazed that October had arrived. Now it's November and I'm sitting here begging the weather gods to let the temps in SoCal stay cool. We've just come off of another freak heatwave--it got up to about 90 yesterday! It's November, for crimoney's sake! And today we're in the mid 70s. I guess the good thing is that our desert designed house retains the cold. At any rate, I'm glad November is here. October proved to be a bear of a month for me. I started sending out job applications and that affected my writing progress AND my knitting progress! Seriously, though I finally finished my mom's Rusted Root (which she's been able to wear thanks to our strange weather),



I've had one sock languishing on my needles. Unreal. By the time I'd be done working, my October days saw me too pooped to even hold up one needle let alone two. Pathetic. Things started improving once I started putting the timer on my job apps. Course, why it took me until the end of the month practically for that light bulb to turn on is mind boggling. I guess my brain was too tired to remember the obvious.

At least I was able to knit up a gauge swatch for the Soap Bubble Wrap I've got planned for my SIL. This was supposed to be her bday present but considering it's the 5th and her birthday is the 22nd, I'm thinking this is going to be her Christmas gift. I'm using Lion Brand's Cotton Bamboo in Chocolate Dahlia:



The knitted swatch reminded me somewhat of nylon stockings which, I suppose, sort of makes sense since they're using rayon from bamboo. But it looked nice and felt soft which satisfies my yarn scrumminess criteria.

So hopefully November will continue to be more settled than last month and I can seriously get back to my writing and my knitting!

it's October already?

I can't believe it, but autumn is finally rolling into SoCal. Or at least it's trying to. The temperatures are starting to drop (hurray!) and I'm finally into the writing of my final content chapter. As usual, building momentum through writing angst has been a bit of a challenge, but it's starting to feel a little better. I'll spend this weekend at a dissertation bootcamp, writing among fellow dissertators so I hope to make better progress on that, and maybe finish the chapter intro by the end of Sunday.

Knitting-wise, about a week or so ago I finished my first toe socks!


Pattern: Toe Socks by Sandi Rosner (with modified toe construction)
Needle: US2.5 (3.0mm)
Yarn: Four Seasons Grundl Marathon Miro in colorway 607

I changed the toe construction by not casting on extra stitches at the between toe gaps since they ended up looking huge and sloppy. Instead I worked with the existing stitch count and worked the toes that way. They're snug, but considering the need for negative ease in socks, I'm hoping this will work. A fellow toe-sock loving friend saw these on Flickr and fell in love with them, so I'm going to make her her own pair in Knit Picks Felici as part of Socktoberfest. Since she likes bright, happy colors and works at an aquarium, I chose the Aquarium colorway naturally. This time though I'm going to follow the toe construction instructions in Sherbert Toe Socks and see how I like that. I think that picking up and knitting 2sts in the toe gaps rather than casting on four might work better. I'm hoping anyway!

In the meantime, I'm about midway through my mom's Rusted Root top, just before the waist shaping. So far so good! I'm making her the L size.

Well, it's back to Napoleon for me. Toodle-oo!

momentum

I seem to be feeding off the writing momentum I'm building. The chapter is in the final example of the final section, I'm waiting to hear back from my advisor on submitting my intent to receive my degree form this semester, and I'm knitting. lol, ok, so I'm never not knitting lately and that's a good thing I think. I've finished the baby blanket I was working on--I love knitting on big needles; it makes everything go so much faster, even with DK weight yarn, which is what I used.


Pattern: Soft and Sweet by Evelyn A. Clark in So Sweet Baby Afghans from Leisure Arts (#75015)
Yarn: Bernat Softee Baby in Pale Blue and White
Needles: US13 (9.00mm) & US15 (10.00mm)

This is a really fast knit and the drape of the blanket makes it snuggly and soft. There is an error in the pattern I have. It begins with 89 sts and then omits a YO on the final repeating lace row. So, I left it off and, before the second repeat (and subsequent repeats), increased a stitch two rows before the lace row to get it ending with a k2tog instead of a YO right before the side border. Then I increased again two rows before switching back to the smaller needles to finish off with the top seed stitch border. This is the second time I knit this but I didn't leave myself any notes last time! (I'd knit it when I was still a knitting noobie, just a few months into knowing how.) Have fixed that now since I'm sure I'll be knitting one of these again.

So, since I still haven't placed my Knit Picks order (the one with the yarn for my mom's Rusted Root, and my Blooming Cotton Scarf), I've moved on to the toe socks I promised the fabulous housekeeper at Chawton House Cottage (where I stayed on my research fellowship last year). I love the yarn the designer used, but it's discontinued and I am trying to destash! So, I rooted out some Marathon Miró from Four Seasons Gründl.



It's going ok so far; am on the leg of the first sock now. Oh, and speaking of yarn, KP is E.Vil! They've got their lace yarn on sale for a week! I think I may take advantage and get the yarn for the Celeste long cardigan from French Girl Knits and the yarn for the Shipwreck Shawl I want to make in honor of finishing my dissertation and Margaret Fuller (who died in a shipwreck). The only thing is that I'd like to make it in a colorway that's greyish/blue/black like the color the designer ended up with, but I don't have the patience or inclination to dye my own yarn. So I was thinking of either (from L to R) Shadow Kettle Dyed in Soot, Gloss in Cypress, or Shadow in Midnight Heather:



From the projects and stash pics I've seen on Rav, the Soot looks like it's more black or more grey, depending on the dye lot and lighting, and the Cypress has a bit too much green in it for my taste (I know! I'm poo-pooing green!) The Midnight Heather might work because it's blue/black, and the designer said she used a mix of Sapphire and Black dye to get that color. What do you think, dear readers?

interruptions and progress

That's how it's seemed this month over here -- lots of things interrupting my writing progress and me taking out my frustrations by knitting (but still only at night before bed). What's really going on is that I've been fighting off diss fatigue, and when I'm ready to go, a ton of things suddenly appear that compete for my attention (as happened again today). The result is that though I have a good base to work from, three weeks into the month, I've written about 15pp in my third content chapter. A major PITA. I think I need to go back to my strategy of saying no to everyone and everything and hole up to finish this chapter, which I still think I can finish by the end of this month--like I said, I have a solid base of notes and free writes to work with.

On the bright side, I'm making progress on my Rusted Root:


Lace detail:


The color is way off in these and I was too lazy to fix it, and they were taken with natural indoor light. Ah well. The colorway is Sea Foam so it's actually much more aqua-blue than this; the pics make it look like Rowan's Cashcotton in Clear. Anywho, I'm quite pleased with this so far and am about an inch from starting the hem, then it's sleeves and neckline and voila! Top-down construction rocks. Mom has now requested one of her own, hee!

Since I had my camera out I decided it was time to finally get some pics of the Yaquina Bay cardy:


I knit it top down, left out the waist shaping, changed the ribbing at the cuffs and hem to 1x1, and added pockets as well as my color windows and racing stripes (as I call them). I probably should've gone with slightly wider pockets but these are good for those pocket pack tissues and my cell phone, and a little dosh(!), which is probably what'll go in them, though they are actually big enough for me to get my ridiculously thin hands into them comfortably, lol. Obviously, I still need to weave in the ends but I did at least get the zipper for it finally! It's very snuggly; I can't wait to get some use out of it this fall/winter.

Well, I'm off to work on the Rusted Root again. I'll definitely be holing up this weekend to write!

an update with more happy

lol, I know. I've been such a slacker updating over here. But I have a good reason and that is that I've been diligently working on my dissertation. Two content chapters drafts have been turned in and I'm working on the third. The last content chapter is also partially written thanks to a conference presentation that earned me a lot of compliments and praise, and my intro and conclusion are also starting to take shape. It's been a busy four months. My knitting has continued and I've been good at sticking to my stash as well. I'll be adding to it for three specific projects soon though (two more gifts!), but overall, I'm pleased that I've been sticking with my destashing resolution.

I'm currently working on Rusted Root by Zephyr Style in Knit Picks Comfy in Sea Foam. It's a nice aqua blue color and the yarn itself is so soft. It's quickly become one of my favorite yarns. I had to start over and cast on for the next size up, though, since it was fitting a little too snuggly.

Speaking of KP, I'm sure you've seen the new Zephyr acrylic needles they've come out with. I've been debating whether or not to try them since I've become such a fan of their Harmony needle tips (I barely use my nickle plated Options anymore). I started poking around the Ravelry forums and found out that KP is sponsoring a giveaway of an entire Zephyr Options set! Click here for the details and to enter yourself!

Off for more writing! Will update with pics soon. And I need to finish weaving in the loose ends on the Yaquina Bay that's been done forever and get that zipper in! Summer heat has not helped my finishing that off unfortch.

waiting for Henry to stew

I'm stuck in the middle of a paragraph discussing Henry Tilney's use of the phrase "voluntary spies" in Northanger Abbey so I'm updating here while my brain works it out. Funny how multi-tasking has been helping me write this week. I feel like I've spent more time writing about knitting this week (via email with TheBlackSheep) than I have on my actual chapter but I know that's because I've had about three different ideas spilling out of my head simultaneously making things go slower than normal. Today, after some driving and yarn shopping (more on that in a sec), everything fell into place. The section that had been bugging me all week finally smacked me and it's been moved down a few pages, showing up in a much more natural spot, no longer interrupting its old paragraph. Huzzah!

Sock knitting's been on hold this week after I spent three nights last week working the short row heel on the first On the Fly sock (I call mine Flitter Toes). Note, this is my first toe up sock. The pattern is fabbity; not too tricky and interesting enough to keep you going. But Ugh. That heel drove me a little batty. I like the ease of the short rows but I first tried Priscilla Wild's 'no wrap' method which isn't supposed to leave holes. Yeah. I had a holey heel. I think it may've been because of my yarn (cotton blend), so I ended up ripping it all out and using misocrafty's pass-the-wraps-over method. It got a little tricky on my tiny needles, but the result is fab!

Ta-da!



No holes!! Not bad, eh? I'm quite happy considering this is my first try at short row heels. The first sock's done (after fighting my yarn to make the loose cast off loose enough!), and I've already cast on the second and finished the toe increases, but I'm taking a break from it. In the meantime I cast on the Not Quite Straight Scarf as part of a KAL. Easy pattern. This is one of three gifts I need to finish by April. The other two are a pair of socklettes in pink (I have no pink yarn!) and a felted bag in green. Hence my yarn shopping today. I got some Paton's Classic Merino in Leaf Green for the bag but struck out on pink sock yarn. Will have to keep looking. I also got some storage drawers at Big Lots! for $11!! That beat JoAnn's 40% off clearance price! So, this weekend I plan on getting control of my sprawling stash and reclaiming space in my small room. Oh, and also swatching and casting on for the Yaquina Bay cardigan FINALLY! I used my gift certificates and got some Patons Merino in Cognac Heather and Dark Grey so I'll get to finish off the rest of the grey sitting in my stash as well. So what brought on this cardigan decision, you ask? My office happens to be in the coldest room in the house--great in the blistering SoCal heat, but not so good in winter. I tend to be cold regardless of the season and the significant difference in temperature between the great outdoors and my office (20 degrees F easily) is killing me. I've had to dig out the space heater plus bundle up in cardies, gloves, and blanket. It's pretty ridiculous. I'm hoping a wool cardigan (instead of my standard cotton ones) will help.

I think Henry's percolating so off I go!

a pimp and a post

Pimping!!: Susan is giving away Manos del Uruguay! You read that right. Go to her blog to enter, and hurry! She's choosing winners tomorrow. :)

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I think I must be the slowest knitter in creation. Eris is *still* on the needles but at least I can say I'm at the cuff of the first sleeve. I had planned on working on it today but it's been very warm here and the thought of having that very warm cardigan on my lap is not very appealing right now. Must wait a few more hours. As for my mom's socks, I finally CO the second sock on the flight home from Salt Lake City last weekend. And the Charm Wrap is pretty much hibernating, though it is turning out nicely.

Knitting's taken a bit of a back seat the past few weeks as I've worked on the dissertation and the temps have gone up and down. Last week I did an intensive course on course design for university level classes. This week, I've been working on the portfolio for that class, which is due next Friday. I decided not to redesign one of my previous courses, since those are mostly freshman/intro level classes where I've got to meet departmental and institutional requirements with students. So, I decided to create a course for upperclass English majors (primarily) that grows out of my dissertation, in essence. It's on women writers of the Romantic period, but rather than look at English and American Romanticisms separately, which is what's usually done, I've designed it so that we'll examine British and American writers together. This way, students will be to examine how women writers built on each other's ideas and arguments, and hopefully gain a better appreciation for Romanticism, learning that the ideas didn't happen in a bubble and stop at a certain place on the nineteenth-century timeline. Anywho, that's the academic ramble of the day. :D

Next on the knitting front are some KAL and swap projects--and I'm keeping myself to my stash (it minimizes later guilt :P). I was thinking Hew by CanarySanctuary for the color KAL with the SPEW group, but I'm dithering again and reconsidering Endpaper Mitts, which I've had queued for-eh-var. But I was also thinking I'd combine the color KAL project with the Master & Commander RAL/KAL project, since that's 'Mediterranean'. Bah. I'll make up my mind eventually .... by Monday, lol.

Anywho, the food's on the barbie, so I'd better take myself off. The temp's cooling, the Mets game is about to start, and the pundits are still spinning from Hillary's speech this afternoon. Say what you will about her, her run at the White House is just as amazing as Obama's. I hope people remember this year's historic presidential campaign--so many gender and color barriers and prejudices being shattered. More still need to come down, but these steps sure do make me proud of my country.