knitting in the dark

You know what makes writer’s block worse? When you accidentally delete the post you’re working on after you’ve been writing for a while. Oh well! This is me remaining calm…

After being unbelievably busy with work since July and then with the holidays (and, therefore, not posting as frequently as one might like), there’s A LOT to show and tell. In order to not feel entirely overwhelmed and thus never begin, I am going to start 2008 with a simple finished object post and not do a recap of my last 5 months because that would be crazy and potentially (definitely) long and boring.

So without further ado, may I present the fingerless mitts I made for my best friend for Christmas; please excuse the cell phone photos as I forgot to bring my camera when we took her to the train station for her return trip to Portland.

pattern: none

yarn: Koigu in… um… greens? (top photo is accurate colors)

needles: Prym 6” 2mm dpns (which I previously thought were INOX)

started: December 5^th (maybe)

finished: December 24^th (just in the nick of time to be unwrapped the next morning)

notes: They’re pretty much a tube with a few increases before the thumb. What else? Single-round stripes and twisted ribbing…

Happy New Year everyone!

As tomorrow is the beginning of December and the questions regarding what I want for Christmas are starting to come in from the extended family, I thought I’d post some ideas here for reference (my family doesn’t “do” gift certificates - no matter how brilliant a gift “free” yarn at the LYS may be). There are a good number of knitting books I’d like to own (rather than borrowing from the library, which is what I usually do) - some of these are already classics and some will surely become classics - and books are some of my favorite things to receive as gifts (if I can’t pick out my own yarn).

1. A collection of stitch patterns, either Barbara Walker’s A Treasury of Knitting Patterns (and Volumes 2, 3, and 4)

or the new Harmony Guides (Knit & Purl, Lace & Eyelets, Cables & Arans)

2. The Knitter’s Book of Yarn to go with my newly found obsession with designing my own patterns

3. These beautiful pattern books that I’ve had the time to browse but not yet the money to buy

4. And one that I have not yet been able to see in person

If you have either the Barbara Walker or Harmony stitch guides (or Vogue, I suppose), would you recommend the collection you own or do you want a different set?

It’s done! The Henry Scarf from the Fall 2007 Knitty for my friend Alex’s birthday; I hope he likes it.

pattern: Henry

yarn: Louet Gems Fingering in Indigo

needles: ADDI turbos in 3.25mm and 4mm

started: 27 September 2007

finished: 12 November 2007

notes: I made each row 500 stitches instead of the 450 called for in the pattern. And it still came out shorter than specified! The finished dimensions: 56″ x 6″. I had some extra yarn left from the half-pound cone, but I didn’t really feel like knitting another 24 row repeat (that’s 12,000 stitches, folks!). This is the only thing I’ve worked on during the past six weeks…

I think I mentioned this in my last post, but I like the back better than the front of this pattern!

Let’s have one more shot just for good measure…

And now I can move on to other projects that I planned out in my daydreams while working on this one!

Henry Scarf progress:

I am getting so close! The birthday of the intended recipient is Wednesday, but I won’t see him until Thursday or this weekend, so I think I might just make it. And if it isn’t done this week I’ll just give it a little late. This scarf has taken a LOT of hours to complete and I’ve been completely monogamous about this project - no socks on the side… each row is 500 stitches (I modified for extra length) and takes 20-30 minutes to complete! Is it wrong to like the back better than the front side of the stitch pattern?

The color of these is all wrong, but I’m not getting outside again today before the sun sets… so this will have to do for now.

Introducing the newest member of my family:

I’ve been desiring another pair of wristwarmers/fingerless mitts for the cold theatres I work in (I wear my Endpaper Mitts nearly constantly)… and this Classic Elite Alpaca Sox will be perfect! This yarn is lovely and soft and grey goes with nearly everything in my wardrobe.

I’ve been quiet in the works-in-progress department because I’ve been working on and quite frustrated with a skein of Anne that I bought earlier this summer in Boston and have been attempting to find a good stitch pattern that avoids creating a lavender spiral up a green sock; there is just SO much more lavender in the skein than I thought! I’ve been through three versions and have now taken it off the needles and have cast on for Rainbow Socks in the Kaffe Fassett Regia I bought from The Loopy Ewe last month…

I ordered yarn for the Henry scarf in the new Knitty – a half-pound cone of Louet Gems Fingering in Indigo.

It is a gorgeous blue the color of a twilight sky and I’ve spent almost a week now swatching it.

I don’t generally spend a lot of time with swatches so who’d have guessed that I’d spend a week swatching for a scarf!?! The thing is: Louet doesn’t have a lot of stretch and I want to make sure I find the proper balance of being close to the pattern gauge (it’s knit from side to side and therefore you cast on A LOT of stitches) and creating a dense, sturdy-looking fabric – it is a scarf for a boy after all (and no mom, not a boyfriend).

I think I’ve found the proper needle sizes (3.25 and 4mm, which feel giant compared to my 2mm sock needles), but I have to go buy longer circular needles in those sizes as I’ve been testing on straights and now find I don’t have circulars in the desired sizes.

I hope to be done by the end of the month as I plan on giving it as a birthday present November 7^th; good thing I’m mostly done with Christmas presents already…!

I first started these mittens in February when my mother came to visit - it was cold and we wanted new mittens. So instead of buying new mittens like a normal person, we bought yarn for new mittens!

pattern: Lucy Neatby’s Fiesta Mittens (ravelry: Fiesta Mittens)

size: medium-ish

yarn: KPM and KPPPM in lavender and a purple/brown variegated

needles: as always, 2mm INOX dpns

started: 8 February

finished: photos taken 10 September (though they could still use a light blocking)

notes: I used a provisional cast on and started with the main part of the mitten instead of the cuff. When finished with the main part of both mittens I then went back and did K1tbl, P1 ribbing until the cuffs were close to the desired length and finished them off with a few rows of the contrast yarn. Also, I used an afterthought thumb as I didn’t like the way the pattern thumb rotated the “seam” on the mitten to the back of my hand.

It really very difficult to take pictures of one’s self wearing mittens - so no action shots this time. I think I may have taken more pictures and posted about this project more times than any other in the last year; past posts and photos: here and here and here. And with this post they have been put away in the drawer of winter accessories to wait for colder weather…

Welcome Socktober! And exactly one year since I started this here little knitting blog - but I’m planning on celebrating some different (and later) milestone (100 posts, perhaps?) because I’m too busy with work to think about it right now. Without further ado, I present:

pattern: Jaywalkers (again)

yarn: Trekking Pro Natura in… um… blue? (sorry for the ravelry link)

needles: 2mm INOX dpns

started: perhaps towards the end of August?

finished: the pictures were taken 10 September

This pair is a bit tight going over my heel while taking them on and off, but they’ll loosen up a bit like the last pair of Jaywalkers I made. I think I’m done with this pattern after two pairs. I can see why so many people are addicted to it, but there are lots of great sock patterns out there and if I don’t find one I like for a particular yarn, I should just make another up!

I liked knitting the Pro Natura; it was a bit splitty at times, but it has a nice sheen. I’m a little concerned about the wear because I tend to be a little tough on my knit socks and there’s no nylon-type content, but the bamboo fibers should help.

As a side note: I frequently say that I’m hard on my hand-knit socks, but I’m not sure that’s actually true. I wear them as I wear normal socks (in shoes, etc) but perhaps more frequently, machine wash on the delicate cycle in cold water, and hang to dry. And yesterday the Yarn Pirate admitted to machine washing and drying her hand-knit socks (as does my mother and my friends for whom I knit socks). Does anyone actually hand wash?

My box from The Loopy Ewe turned up a few days after I posted about my missing packages! In it was two skeins of the Regia Kaffe Fassett collection in the Landscape Storm colorway… and it is even better in person than on the screen! I’m not one to order yarn off the internets without seeing it (and mostly touching it) in person first, but I sure am glad I made an exception:

I have a few ideas for this yarn - it’ll probably end up as Rainbow Socks, but there’s a lot of catching up to do before I can start a new project.

I am just so so glad the box showed up as I have more yarn on the way as we speak…!

I think there is a mail thief in my new building, which is so depressing to me. I live in a small (only 16 small studio units) apartment building in a decent neighborhood. Since I moved in at the beginning of August I have had two packages delivered via USPS go missing. The first was just after I moved in so I chalked it up to change of address post office confusion. But I ordered something exciting from The Loopy Ewe exactly one week ago and it shipped two days later and the tracking information indicates that it was delivered the 15th at 2:55pm. It is now the 18th. I checked with some neighbors and my super to see if anyone knew anything, but it’s nowhere to be found. Seriously, folks - really? When Mr Mail Thief opened the package did he (or she, I suppose) say - “Oh goodie! Regia Kaffe Fassett Landscape in the Storm colorway!” That’s what I would have said… but they probably actually said - “Yarn? Bummer.” And then what? Why not just tape the box back shut and put it in front of my door? I would be glad to have it…

I think what the US Postal Service does on a daily basis is pretty amazing… but the lady I spoke to this morning about my missing package was significantly less than friendly. She took my information and told me someone would call me back tomorrow. So after that I called my local branch and asked them not to leave packages at the building anymore. The man I spoke to was very nice and he took my building address and said he’d speak to the carrier and the truck driver and advise them to leave package notices instead of the actual packages. I guess it will be sort of a pain to have to make the trip to the post office whenever I have a package, but it’s far better than never receiving it because it was stolen off my doorstep!