Friday, April 01, 2005
Eyelet Cardi progess: finished ties
Eyelet Cardi deprogress: ripping ties
The sashes are too thick with the yarn I used. There's no way I can double knot, but even draping one over the other in a single knot has me looking like I've got a pink fuzzy tumor on my side. I was knitting this and thinking, you know, I really should decrease the width but then I didn't because I'm lazy and now gaaah.
Pictures later.
Filed Under: Rebecca 29 | Eyelet Cardi
Friday, April 01, 2005
Today during a meeting I used the word "nipples." I reminded myself of Jeff from Coupling whose biggest paranoia was accidentally blurting out "nipples" or "breasts" or "thighs" in casual conversation. Only difference was I thought about it first, then gave myself leave to say "nipples" outloud anyway, and then we all laughed until we cried. In a strange twist of sexism I don't think I would have gotten away with saying nipples if I weren't a woman and if I weren't the only woman in the room.
(The conversation was about those little buttons on men's shirts that allow them to button down their collars. The guys were comparing who buttoned their collars and who didn't, and if those buttons really served any valuable purpose. Like men's nipples. They're there, one on each side, but why? Such a natural segue, I thought.)
The Eyelet Cardi/Bunny Wrap just won't end. Everything's been seamed except for a small portion of the right side, because I'm waiting to finish the ties before I do that. Knitting the ties is taking ages and ages. Then I still have to give the edges a crochet finish. I want to wear it already. I've been trying it on periodically and it is so freakin soft. Next fall/winter's projects are going to have to include angora because damn I feel all luscious in angora.
Speaking of angora, my cat, whom we call Bunny, has been projectile vomitting again on a semi-regular basis. Projectile because he leaves a trail of mashed up catfood 2 feet long, or he backs up as vomits. It's totally disgusting. Other than that he's a happy healthy kitty: likes to play, likes to chase his brother, likes to swat at my knitting. He just can't keep his food down to save his little cat life.
Filed Under: Cats | Life | Rebecca 29 | Eyelet Cardi
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Cotton Fleece in teal, Blue Sky Organic Cotton in sand, AV Allegra in ocean and AV Dianna in...ecru tinged with lime. Enough materials for 4 pieces. Also in the bag: AV spring 2005 and fall 2003 pattern books. I only spent a total of 40 minutes at WEBS, even though with the bounty they had it could easily have been 40 days. I deliberately stayed away from the warehouse and stuck to the store and stuck to my list.
Filed Under: Yarn Stash
Saturday, March 26, 2005
We're off to the Berkshires this weekend where I can get my yarn stashing grooove on. On my list of to-get are Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece for the Apricot Jacket (I'm currently using Cotton-Ease but still finding it too stiff), more Cotton Fleece for the Cotton Tank from IK, extra Cotton Fleece for a couple more tanks or jackets to make as gifts, as well as materials for the two sleeveless tops from AV Spring 2005.
I'm almost done with the Eyelet Cardi/Bunny Wrap, but not in time to wear for Easter. It's going to be 40 degrees anyway.
Happy weekend!
Filed Under: Projects
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Blocking the back panel
I have the most ghetto blocking board ever, consisting of an old towel draped over a dismembered cardboard box. Yesterday I broke down and decided to buy a big girl's blocking board from joann.com, because my ruleless board isn't preventing me from blocking my pieces a bit waywardly. This back panel is slanting a bit to the left.
Is it the weekend yet? I am so excited about visiting Webs. Already made a list of materials I'm interested in order to avoid the Overwhelmed-with-All-the-Choices Paralysis upon entering the store. Projects for this spring/summer will include a couple from Adrienne V.'s spring 2005 book, and Webs has the AV yarn called for. If I go for them it'll be the first time I'm not yarn substituting.
 
I'm going to love knitting for summer pieces because none of them will have sleeves which means fast fast fast and finished pieces every week aww yeaaaaah. Knitting is going to make me destitute.
Filed Under: Projects | Rebecca 29 | Eyelet Cardi
Monday, March 21, 2005
Savanna is finished with her brand-new super skinny arms!
Pattern: Sweater with Cable Patterns #18 from Rebecca 28.
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Merino Chunky, 15 skeins
Gauge: 14 sts and 19 rows to 10 cm, size 10/6mm needles
Gone are the loose and flappy wings. I'm really glad I stuck this out and reconstructed the sleeves because I wouldn't have worn this sweater otherwise. But I wasn't about to let all that yarn and time go to waste. I worked out the math and ended up reducing the number of stitches by 8 (about 2 inches), increased one stitch on each side 10 times instead of 11, bound off the same amount, and ended with 10 stitches for the cap instead of 14. This did not prove to be huge difference when attaching the sleeve to the body, a task WHICH by the way, no longer makes me cry. Even though re-doing the sleeves set me back a week, I now actually understand the whole sleeve shaping voodoo magic. Woot.
Other changes I made: didn't knit the cable pattern for the back; knit only 5 rows of ribbing for the sleeves; did SSK in place of s1, k1, psso as ssk looks more symmetrical with k2tog; knit shorter turtleneck as original pattern would have turtleneck up to eyelids.
So this is the last sweater of the season. In all I completed 3 sweaters in the last 3 months. Not bad, considering I just graduated from scarves in January. I love knitting.
Bring on the Bunny Wrap!!
(yet another name for the Eyelet Cardi)
Filed Under: Completed Projects | Rebecca 28 | Savanna
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Normally I would be totally pissed at the prospect of more snow, especially on the first day of Spring, but then that also means if I finish my Savanna sweater soonish rather than laterish I can still wear it soonish rather than laterish in the yearish. Today's goal is to re-do a single sleeve, re-attach it to the body and see how that looks before I reconstruct the other.
Meanwhile this week I have been working on the Eyelet Cardi. I really love the Lush yarn. I'm hoping to finish it by Easter when we go visit the in-laws in western mass. OOO I've coerced Duck to a sidetrip to the WEBS store in Northampton, and then to Colorful Stitches (beautiful spacious store) in Lenox. Eeeee!
Filed Under: Rebecca 29 | Eyelet Cardi
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Savanna sweater: had a love fest with tape measure and calculator to come up with new measurements for slimmer sleeves.
Unseamed one of the gigantic sleeves and wept in bitterness as nearly 3 hours of seaming work unraveled.
Eyelet Cardi: returned the ghastly Soft Kid for 4 hanks of Classic Elite Lush, an angora/wool blend, in pink. Girly bunny softness! Have knitted 11 cm of pattern and am in love with Lush.
 New! Apricot Jacket: Been dying to make this
ubiquitous cardigan forever, from Rebecca 27. Finally received English
copy. At same time ordered Jo Sharp Soho Summer as yarn material, in
color that would rename cardigan to Lemon Chiffon Jacket, or Citronade
Jacket. Must have fallen on head prior to order as yarn is 1) wrong
gauge 2) not at all Lemon Chiffon but more Kryptonian Puke in color 3)
stiff as a board 4) splitty as hell. Ducked into yarn shops to feel out
substitutes: Rowan All Seasons Cotton (no), Debbie Bliss Angora Cotton
(no), and discovered all were too inelastic and hard. Returned Soho
Summer. Then ordered Lion Brand Cotton Ease online, in banana cream.
Filed Under: Projects | Rebecca 28 | Rebecca 29
Sunday, March 13, 2005
...I'm amputating the arms and throwing them back in the water.
Why? Because they are so large and disporportionate that I look like Twiggy with gorilla arms. Veebs and his enormous cat bottom could hide inside undetected. I could jump off a cliff arms extended and maintain altitude. But you won't see me modeling it, oh no.
The arms look totally goofy.
Don't see what the big hoo ha's all about? Let's compare the sleeve width with that of my last completed Rebecca sweater:
Savanna cast on more stitches than the previous sweater, which was in a 2x2 rib. So I don't get why the pattern called for a larger width, in stockinette. Puzzled. Befuddled. Frustrated. I want to decrease the width by as much as 12 stitches, but I'd still have to increase enough towards the underarms to maintain 28 cm circumference there. Which means more increases...In order to maintain the sleeve narrowness AND account for the 28 cm at the underarms, can I increase over a shorter number of rows? Increase every 2 rows instead of 8? Will that make the sleeve all flarey towards the top?
I knew my beginner's luck would run out. Anyway, good learning experience. It's all good. Spring's only a week away but luckily (or not), this is New England. There's still plenty of time to wear thick chunky wool sweaters. Just give it to me without the thick chunky wool sleeves, thanks.
Oh I also stopped by at Spark after work on Friday. It was...aight. Yarn selection was minimal. Paper selection was minial. Then again being Costco of crafts is not their M.O. However, creative inspiration is, so it would have been nice to have seen some examples of fine yarn work on display, some examples of hand-stamped invitations on display, something you could admire and touch and say, I want to make THAT. Show me how to make THAT. But aside from some really lovely jewelry pieces, there was very little. It was all just kind of, sparse, rather than spark.
Tall glass of sidecar full of soothing alcohol is a-callin'. Later.
Filed Under: Rebecca 28 | Savanna
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