WIP Wednesday 11/7/12

This year, I’ve decided to take part in NaKniSweMo.  This is a take-off from NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), in which participants attempt to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November.  NaKniSweMo (National Knit a Sweater Month) challenges participants to knit a sweater in one month (which is about 50,000 stitches, give or take).

I’ve been meaning to knit and finish a sweater forever, but I need a deadline to really get me amped up to actually finishing it.  I’ve chosen to knit the Tussie Mussie sweater for the challenge, a free pattern from Knitty which has been in my queue for just about forever.  I cast on in a medium and it was huge, so I’m now trying again in a size small (and I pretty much always wear a size medium or large, so this feels kind of weird to me!)  I’m several inches along and have begun the waist decreases.  I’ve decided to add a couple of inches in length, as most of the projects on Ravelry either complain about being too short or show a little bit of belly. I’d really like this to be a sweater that I can wear to work, so I need it a bit longer.  I’m also going to knit an extra repeat of the nosegay pattern (the flowery stuff), to compensate for the extra length.

Although it takes me forever to knit the pattern repeat parts of the sweater, that’s really only a small panel, and I zip through the rest of it (which is knit in reverse stockinette), so the knitting is going fairly quickly.  The bobbles really aren’t that hard to do- rather than have to knit a gazillion (okay, more like 6, but still) stitches together like you have to do when making a nupp, the bobbles just require you to turn your work several times.  Time consuming but easy.
Here’s my progress so far:

I’ve also been working on the Solar Flare shawl as a knit-a-long in the 2KnitLitChicks Ravelry group.  The requirements for the knit-a-long were to knit any shawl in a gradient yarn.  There was a pattern designed specifically for this knit-a-long (although you aren’t required to use it!), and I did try to start it- however, it was very poorly written and confusing (I think the designer was rushing to get it done in time, and didn’t have it test-knit).  I realized that I was getting frustrated and not enjoying the knitting at all, so I ripped it out and started this pattern instead.  It’s going wonderfully- so much easier!  I really like the way the lace is knitting up.

To be honest, I’m not entirely sure that I’ll be able to finish both projects this month, but I’m certainly going to try!


What are you working on this week?  Stop by Tami’s Amis’ Work in Progress

WIP Wednesday

I've been making slightly more knitting progress lately, but not by much.

First up, we have the Chroma Striped Scarf.  I'm using the Noro Striped Scarf pattern, but since I am really not a fan of Noro, I'm knitting it up in Knitpicks Chroma Worsted.  I picked the colorways Midwinter and U-Pick because they complement each other well, but have enough of a contrast to really make the stripes pop (also, the U-Pick was on sale).  The pattern calls for two balls of each color, but I'm still on the first of each and I'm pretty sure I don't want it to be over twice as long as it is right now (almost 5 feet!).  How long do you guys think a scarf should be?

This scarf is taking me a really long time to knit because I'm using it as my travel knitting.  It's a little bulky at this point, but it's nice to have something that I don't have to think about at all when I can get interrupted at any moment, and 1x1 ribbing fits the bill.

When I'm at home, I've been working on the cowl from the Knitpicks Luxe Accessory Set in Knitpicks Aloft in Blush and Knitpicks Capra in Velveteen.  It's knit flat sideways, then the ends are grafted together to make the cowl.  It's been a little frustrating, because I somehow seem to keep dropping stitches, noticing several rows later, and then having to frog back.  It is not easy to frog 75% mohair yarn!  It is nice and soft, though, and I can't wait until it's done.

Last but not least is my Girl Friday sweater.  The pieces are done and have been for awhile, but I didn't get around to blocking them until last night.  As you can see, I chose not to bind off the top of the pieces.  It seems silly to bind off when I'm just going to have to pick the stitches back up again!  I unpinned just before taking the photo.  After this, I will need to seam, then knit the button band and collar.

Maddie, of course, was extremely helpful through the photographing process:

"I can help, Mom!  Just let me tug on these strings for you..."

WIP Wednesday

I've been knitting less since I adopted Madelyn (playing and cuddling with my new baby have taken precedence!), but I've been going a little nuts without my knitting time, so I'm trying to make time for it again.

First up is my Girl Friday sweater.  I have been working on this for quite some time.  I've finished the fronts, the back, and one sleeve- once I finish this second sleeve, I can seam and do the collar.  I'll also get to pick out some pretty buttons to go with it.

When my mother helped me move into my new apartment, she forgot to bring a scarf, so she borrowed my Summer Mystery Shawlette.  She loved it so much that she asked for one of her own, in red.   Her birthday is coming up at the end of the month, so I want to make sure to get it done before then.  It's almost done now; I just need to weave in the ends and block it:

Apparently, I am not allowed to take photographs that don't feature Maddie....

 This post is a part of Tami's Ami's Work in Progress Wednesdays.  Head on over to see what everyone else is working on!

FO: Decimal

I loved the Decimal pattern when I first saw it in Knitty, and threw the yarn for it into my cart on a whim awhile back. The yarn sat in my stash for awhile, until I finally decided that I wanted to make that cardigan.

I loved knitting this. The pattern is fairly easy to follow if you have a little bit of sweater experience, and the lacy rib is really pretty. I chose to follow the pattern as written for the sleeves- a lot of people seem to alter them, but I love the bell sleeves in a ¾ length.

A little bit of panicking happened when I thought I had knit it too small (I’m not sure why it seemed so tiny!), but a good blocking stretched it out to the perfect dimensions.

The yarn was fantastic. I really like Shine Sport, and I would totally use it again. It knits up well, with a nice stitch definition, and it’s not overly splitty, as cotton-blends go. It’s nice and soft, and makes a great spring/fall cardigan.

I don’t know that I would knit this pattern again, but only because there are so many other pretty cardigan patterns out there. I want one of each; I don’t have time to repeat any! I would, however, recommend this pattern to anyone else who wanted to knit it.

Pattern: Decimal

Yarn: Knitpicks Shine Sport

Colorway: Orchid

Needles: US3

Ravelry Project Page

WIP Wednesday

One sock down, one to go on my nice, basic, pink-and-green socks. No pictures, though- I want to save pictures of the completed sock for when I finish them both.

I’ve decided to add a bit more shaping to the Celebrity Tank. The tank is really cute, but my body shape requires a garment to have a bit more shaping in order to be flattering. I’ve finished the decrease section; now I just need to try it on and, if it’s fitting property, work even for an inch, and then do some increases. I’m taking copious notes on how I’m modifying this pattern so that I can put it in my project notes on Ravelry, where hopefully someone else will find it useful.

In other news, I think I may have lost my mind. The KnitCircus Ravelry group is doing a Knit-A-Long for Fannette from the KnitCircus Summer 2011 issue. Because I don’t already have enough projects on the needles (ha ha), and I love a good KAL, and because I did already have the shawl in my queue, I have decided to participate. Anyone else want to join too?

I cast on for in Malabrigo Fingering in Velvet Grapes.

This is part of Tami's Amis' WIP Wednesdays. Head on over and see what everyone else is working on!

WIP Wednesday

On last week’s Work in Progress Wednesday, I had to rip out my Celebrity Tank because it was turning out huge. The designer, Rachel Dickman, read my post and messaged me on Ravelry. She had a really good point. She said that she had designed the garment with two inches of ease in the hips, then cinched it with the ribbon. Since I am omitting the ribbon, this might be why I was having a problem. She suggested that if I wanted to knit the size small sans ribbon, that I do a few extra increases to get the bust back up to the medium size. This makes total sense. I don’t think making the medium and cinching the waist would work very well for me- I have an hourglass shape and need a little more waist definition- but knitting the small with a medium-sized bust seems like it would be perfect.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear from the designer. It didn’t occur to me that she would be perusing my little blog! I was thrilled that she took the time and effort to message me with her suggestions on fit, especially when I hadn’t even asked! It was so helpful.

So there I was, working along on the tank, thinking about how to best space the extra increases, when I realized- I had twisted my knitting when I joined in the round, and had a mobius strip instead of the bottom of a sweater. I’m not even sure how I managed to do that! I was so careful to check and make sure I wasn’t twisting, but apparently I was not careful enough. Amidst much cursing, I frogged again. I have now cast-on for a third time, carefully joined, and hopefully will have a much smoother knit than the last two times. I am determined to knit this tank, but I’m not sure how much frogging I (or the yarn!) can take. On the bright side, I’m getting a lot of practice at the provisional cast-on for my folded hem- I don’t even have to look at the directions anymore!

On a brighter note, look what I found:

I’m not sure when I started these, but they have been languishing with other unfinished objects for awhile, and I had forgotten about them! They’re a nice, simple sock, following Silver’s Sock Class. I’ve turned the heel, picked up stitches, and am working on the decreases. It’s a nice, simple knit, although I did manage to sit on and break one of the needles (on the same day that I had the problems with the Celebrity Tank! Sunday was NOT a good day for knitting!)

I knit another repeat on my Clapotis, but it looks pretty much the same as it did last week, so I don’t think it’s worth posting another picture.

Head on over to Tami’s Amis and see what everyone else is working on!

New Knitty!

Have you all taken a look at the new Knitty? I was very pleased to see the patterns this issue- during a lot of the recent issues, I haven't really seen anything too exciting, but I loved what I saw in this one! Some of them really stood out to me:

Creekbed, the cover pattern, is amazing. It's a Stephen West design, and I love his work. The colors play off of each other beautifully- I'd love to knit this scarf this winter, maybe in blues or purples. This one went right into the queue.

Rhodion is breathtakingly beautiful. I would love to knit something like this, but I think it's a bit above my skill level at this point. I think I'll just have to drool over other people's FOs as they post them on Ravelry!

I am in love with the Lingerie Socks pattern. It's so elegant and pretty! I'm a little intimidated by the fact that they're knit on size 0 needles, but it will be so worth it to have those beautiful socks! Queued!

Leaflet also went into the queue. The detail on the back is so pretty!

What do you guys think? Did anything in particular catch your eye?

WIP Wednesday

Remember my Celebrity Tank from last week? Well, this is it now:

I tried it on, and it was huge. It would have hung on me like a sack. As much as I hated to rip out all of that work, I didn’t want to put all that work into a sweater just to have it be unwearable. I’m going to try casting on for a small, instead of a medium.

I know myself well enough to know that I need to cast on for the new size immediately, to help me get over my frustration with the project, or I will put it aside and never touch it again. (By the way, it's not red- that's just the waste yarn for the provisional cast-on)

In happier news, I’m done with the “work even” section of my Clapotis. I just need to do the decreases:

The Entangled Bag is coming along nicely as well. I have finished one of the flowers and started on a vine:

This has been a part of Tami’s Amis’ Work in Progress Wednesdays. Head on over to see what everyone else is working on!

FO: Biscuits & Bones Dog Sweater

My first finished object of 2011 was a Christmas present that should have been done in 2010: A sweater for the dog. She gets really cold after she gets bathed, and I can’t stand to see her shivering! I chose a beautiful dark teal color of Berroco Vintage. It’s soft and warm, and makes a nice, thick fabric.

The pattern I chose, Biscuits & Bones, was admittedly rather challenging. It has two different cable patterns, neither of which is simple. I found it easier to create and copy paste the rows from the two patterns together, so that each row’s directions would show everything that would need to be done, rather than directing me back and forth to different patterns.

One of the biggest problems I had was trying to out-think the pattern. I saw "moss stitch," and thought that I vaguely remember reading somewhere that moss stitch is the same thing as seed stitch. I thought the pattern was written wrong, tried to fix it, ended up messing up, end had to unravel some parts. Finally, I gave in and just followed the pattern and, guess what? It turned out perfectly!

Pattern B makes some really cool diamond shapes in the center of the sweater, while pattern A forms the biscuits and bones for which the pattern is named.

I absolutely love how this turned it. It fits her perfectly, and it is so beautiful! The pattern is a little complicated, but really satisfying for a project this size. If I tried to do something this complicated in a sweater my size, I think I would have gotten frustrated and never finished.

Pattern: Biscuits and Bones Dog Coat

Yarn: Berroco Vintage

Needles: US7 (Body), US6 (edging and neck)

The Verdict: The pattern was great, and the yarn was absolutely lovely. I’ll definitely be knitting with it again!