i've been working on laLAaalaaa all the live long day...

look! I finally finished the February Lady sweater. (February 17 2009-December 22 2009, with many breaks!)

i can't keep a consistent update schedule.

my life seems to have changed a lot since i started a blog. I have always been busy, but the sort of busy I am now just doesn't mesh well with writing about it. the major reason for this, of course, is my change in job.

i rarely design costumes at this point--partially the economy and partially burn out--and i have been teaching more and more. I started with 2 classes. this quarter i teach 3, and next quarter i will teach 4. really, i just don't feel right talking about my teaching job in a public forum. i love teaching my subjects, and most of the time my students are pretty great. i don't need to talk about the exceptions to that rule!

i don't know if this means i will close down shop or not.

(pssst... look Tractor Sweater for Collin. christmas present--i can do intarsia! sorta.)

the blog isn't hurting anything sitting here, and maybe i will come back when i feel like writing more about my knitting. i have been doing more knitting than writing about it, but overall i am making less progress on projects (time!) i also have taken on a host of new or revived hobbies.

i am trying to maintain my sewing and increase my reading, cooking, documentary watching, and picture taking. i have also taken up crossword puzzles (because i am historically bad at them) and invested a new level of interest in fitness activities. you will notice many of my other activities involve being stationary. i do not want to be a round cat lady knitting on her couch when i am in my late thirties.

i don't know if i will try to garden in pots again this year. if i do i think it will only be tomato plants in some 5 gallon buckets. i need to keep it simple.

here is a project i can share! i made an online portfolio.

and if i am being a blog slacker, you can always look at my yarn antics on ravelry.

stranded colorwork oh, my!

several things

okay okay.
enough prodding. i've had things to do, folks. they are many. let's review.

1. go see Roundheads and Peakheads. running through March 15th at the Atlas Center, it was produced by Catalyst Theatre Company. buy tickets here.

2. Constellation Theatre Company, a theatre i am proud to be an Associate Artist of is being awarded the James Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company at the 2009 Helen Hayes Awards. okay. so i didn't actually do anything when this announcement came out. jump and down and stuff... but i had to share.

3. deer are awesome and have natural camouflage.

Looking Out My Back Door

4. i have decided i really need to sew through some of my fabric stash--especially the things i have already cut out to make for myself. see my sewing here.

5. i read The Friday Night Knitting Club. not as good as i had hoped. only it sort of was because my expectation was to not really like it as much as "i should". still i read it because customers are always coming into the shop and telling me "oh! you would LOVE it!". yeah. because i knit i will automatically like chick lit about a knitter? um. actually, you don't know very much about what i like beyond knitting, so it is hard to say i will like a certain book. yeah. so it didn't change my life. and the totally unrealistic portrayal of opening and running a yarn shop was a bit trying.

6. i have become a selfish garment knitter. my needles have focused primarily on vests and sweaters for me, and so far i am loving what i have made. all. for. me. muwahahaha.

7. okay. so i may have knit rW another hat and scarf.

8. owls are neat.

9. my mother sent me an awesome red hat for valentine's day.

10. on the homefront, rW and i went out the friday of valentine's and had a yummy dinner. then we saw my show on saturday. i gave him a neat-o tie and he gave me an excellent back massage to combat the serious neck and shoulder tension that my work and hobbies create.

11. rW's record collection (see right) has helped return my love of taking pictures. the geometric shelves make a great backdrop for my fabric creations.

12. i have been trying some new recipes and adapting a few old favourites to be vegetarian. pumpkin bread. i couldn't find my version of my mom's recipe so i may have tried Betty's.

not bad.

13. best text message i have ever received: "Whenever i take Collin's socks off he has lots of fuzz between his toes. I always tell him we re going to send it to Aunt Yvette so you can make a sweater."


14. and a great knitting-related email.... "OMG, another tempting cablelicious project to tempt me! I sometimes wish I were an Indian god with multiple arms."

and that is life for now. i have a lot of knitting i should post. i realize that 2009 has been a very lax year for me actually updating the knitting content. i am still producing, it just isn' t making it to a blog near you.

i will try to be better.

intarsia

instarsia is also known as "picture knitting". it is most often seen in the wild in the following 4 forms:

1. teacher sweaters.

2. reindeer sweaters.

3. big 1980s flower sweaters.

4. kiddo sweaters.

it is a very challenging means to creating an incredibly tacky end product. unless it is a cute kiddo sweater. i like to think this strawberry, my first foray into this form, falls under heading #4.

being green

most of my recent knitting is of the stealth variety. i will be able to share it all next week, but for now i need to reach back to provide content.

i have been hanging on to this one for a modeled photo. it is really cute when worn, but i have not been able to take a good picture of myself wearing it. i think it is the sort of odd garment that requires seeing the whole person to not have a "whoa. what the...?"

PUFF-n-STUFF!

Himalayan Vest
designed by Katie Himmelberg.
published in Knitscene, Fall 2008.

knit in approx. 6 skeins of Manos Del Urguay Wool (#68 citric, 100% wool) purcased at K+S=B on size US 11 and US 8 circular needles and stuffed with 100% wool roving purchased at Just for Ewe in Marblehead, OH.

started: november 4, 2008.
finished: november 17, 2008.

i started this while watching the election returns. i needed something pretty straightforward because i was obviously distracted.


you knit this with a double strand of yarn on very large needles. this was a little tough on my hands, so while the knitting itself went quickly, i could not work on it for long periods of time. despite being knit almost entirely in one piece, this has a lot of finishing. there are only two seams (shoulders) but because of the construction method with the "chambers" that need to be stuffed to make a puffy vest. there are just a ton of ends that must be woven way.
i wear it with the front open, and you would not think the vest would be that warm, but when you take it off, you really notice a big difference. i like it because it keeps me warm, but i don't get too hot when i have it on.

i have some more vests in my sights for 2009. i want to get back to some sweater knitting for myself, but i plan to go into it slowly because i don't think i can have more sweater disappointment.

we shall see!

out of town

i am i ohio right now visiting with my family and attending my cousin's baby shower. right before i left, i finished my dad's sweater. about freaking time.

i know it didn't take me long to knit it, but it felt like a dog's age because there were so many unexpected mistakes in the numbers. i was following the pattern carefully, and then it stopped following itself. and there is no errata for this pattern!

boo.

the project...

i ::heart:: my dad
a.k.a. Unisex Knock-Around Cashmere Pullover
by Teva Durham
published in Weekend Knitting

size 44". knit in Cascade 128 Tweed (7 skeins #7622 olive green, 90% Peruvian Wool, 10% Donegal.) on size US 10 needles.

started: july 24, 2008.
finished: august 11, 2008.

let me start by saying that this sweater is beautiful. let me also say that i really enjoyed making it up until the last 20% or so. and let me conclude this initial assessment by posting my ravelry notes into the blog.

it had such a positive start...

i have started my christmas knitting. i work on this project around my boyfriend because i get distracted easily by our conversations, and this pattern is very simple.

i am considering modifying the sleeves.

07/27/08: finished both center panel sections. i have sewn them together at the side seams and picked up the stitches for the bottom of the sweater to knit in the round rather than picking up separately and seaming later.

me = lazy

i should not have been lazy. or i should have done a bit more thinking. i picked up the total number of stitches for both sides and knit them. well, if i had been thinking, i would have taken away stitches for the seams. two stitches on each side get used in the seaming, and i had no seams.... so my bottom section of the sweater flared out.

in the end, i decided to seam in darts on each side to reduce those stitches--flare taken care of.

07/30/08: finished bottom portion of the sweater body, picked up stitches for front body and sleeve increases.

08/04/08: finished the top front/front sleeves. i was knitting away and thinking “wow, this is taking a long time” until i looked at the reality of what i was knitting–the top of the sweater body and both sleeves at the same time. silly knitter, trix are for kids.

i am a little nervous about the collar looking good!

nd my nerves started at the right time. my knitter's spidey sinse was tingling because it got tough from here on out.

08/06/08: i knit the collar last night, and it looked good, but despite carefully reading the directions, my collar is about 5 stitches too far to one side. in this bulky yarn, that is more than an inch! gah. i need to go back to being a sock knitter.

08/07/08: i fixed the collar yesterday and it is now in the correct spot. for the life of me, i could not make the pattern numbers work, so i just employed my old pal logic.

08/09/08: i knit the back following the instructions, and it is all sorts of jacked up. i cannot even describe the absurdity.

08/10/08: okay. i managed to fix the back by completely ignoring the directions and decreasing the sleeve stitches MUCH sooner than the pattern recommends. i did the 3 needle bind off written in the pattern, but it looks assy, so i am riping it out and redoing.

i have had such a hard time with the last haul on this pattern, but there is no errata on the pattern.

i am dubious.

08/11/08: sweater is done. drying from the blocking. pics to follow soon!

i ended up pulling out a second three needle bind-off and simply binding off the back section and sewing it to the back center panel. it looks much better.

as if the pattern problems were not enough, i was thisclose to running out of yarn!

my final problem with this pattern is the serious amount of extra yarn i needed. i am glad i bought two extra skeins because th pattern called for 660 yards for the size i made and my skeins totaled 896 yards. that is more than 100 yards over the amount called for with the next size up.

i used all but the tiniest scraps. i have one 4 yard piece and 4 pieces of yarn longer than 8 inches. the rest is the clippings from the ends.

08/12/08: blocked and photographed. thank you to rW for standing in as a sweater model.

in the end, i can say... i like the sweater. it is very pretty, and i hope my dad likes it and actually wears it. i can also carve another notch on my knitting belt. i have now officially knit a man sized sweater! yeah!

more when i return from ohio. maybe even some non-knitting craftiness.

sometimes i make my own stuff

but this is not one of those times. when i am at the store i tend to work on store models. some i have been asked to knit, and others--like this one--have been abandoned by those who were originally asked to knit them. like an aluminum can on the side of the road or a funny looking dog at the pound, i scoop them up and take care of them.

i actually finished this silly thing about a week ago, but i needed a picture for the blog before i aired it for all to see. i have started anther model in the shop. this one is a new little gal... i am knitting the strawberry pullover from Roo Designs. i'll report back on my first foray into intarsia.

Marshmallow
a.k.a. Baby Cardigan (and Hat) P630
by Plymouth Yarn Design Studio

knit in Plymouth Oh My! (5 balls turquoise, 100% nylon) on size US 10 addi turbo needles.

started: june 4, 2008.
finished: june 18, 2008.

this was another orphan project. it was abandoned about a year ago by a collegue who just got tired of knitting it. on one hand, i don't blame her, it is a simple (boring) pattern knit in a goofy yarn. but then again, i inherited it with the back and most of one side finished, and i knit the sides, sleeves, collar, and did all of the finishing in about 6 hours.... so why not tough it out?

either way, i feel more informed about this yarn. it is all nylon and pretty slick. people seem to like it a lot, but now i can see why the other ladies are always trying to steer new knitters away from it. you really can't see the stitches and it is a pain to seam or otherwise finish.

it feels like what i imagine knitting marshmallows would feel like.

but it sure is cute, no?

model knitter

at the shop, we get paid to knit store models. i took on one that should have been very easy. big needles, very little shaping, no sleeves, simple stitch. the only catch seemed to be that i was knitting the third size instead of the smallest size (which is what we usually do a model in) because my boss wanted to wear it after we stop carrying the yarn.

that was back in march. i finally finished the beast today. to be fair to my laziness, i finished the sweater over a week ago, but i tried to get the seaming done at work. we were too busy for me to get it done (which is good! very good!) so i put it off until today at home. but now Lyn is back from vacation and there is no more letting this sweater sit on the back burner.

Lyn's Tank
a.k.a. "#6 Ribbed Tank"
designed by Rosemary Drysdale
published in S. Charles Collezione, Spring/Summer 2008

knit in Lana Grossa Cambio (5 balls #8 teal, 70% cotton, 30% polyester microfiber) on size US 10.5 and US 5 bamboo straight needles.

started: march 15, 2008.
finished: june 24, 2008.

i know, i know, it did take a long time. it was really hard for me to knit. the yarn on big needles hurt my wrists a lot. i had to wrap it so much and hold it with so much tension that my hands would ache after only an hour of knitting.

boo.

i learned that when knitting a yarn on a needle that is much larger than the yarn calls for, it is better to use straight needles. when i tried to work this on a circular, the yarn would snag on the cord joins and often it got too tense to slip easily back on to the working needle end.

i also learned which needle i needed to use by trial and error. i started out on metal needles, and they were waaaaay to slippery. i switched to birch, but they had too much drag. i finally settled on bamboo, and it worked pretty well.

i hope i can get a picture of this on Lyn because on me it looks very silly and dress-like. the yarn has a lot of vertical stretch knit on the big needles, so the arm holes are almost to my waist and my lack of curves "up top" mean the top stretches to mid-thigh when i wear it.

the effect is that of a chainmail dress.
yeah.
awesome.

in sock tie news, i have completed the length that hangs down from the tie knot and the decreases for the neck portion. i am now knitting the neck and tail. yay!

baby things are also moving along, but i have been on the tie more than the baby things. i'll need to do switch up on those soon!

too much. too much. much too much.

this past weekend my mother came for a visit. it was a long and crazy weekend. we went to two knits shops (where she got yarn for 2 sweaters and 2 pairs of socks), drank martinis, visited with my aunt's family, drank mojitos, visited with one of my college roommates, drank coffee, saw two plays in one day, delighted in avocados, spent 1h, 45m at the MVA, had the worst waiter ever, and she met my boyfriend.

it was pretty awesome.

in addition she finished a baby blanket and i finished my sweater, although the sweater and i have not fully made peace. it is currently too big, and after it finishes drying from the good blocking i gave it today, it will probably undergo surgery.

if it cannot be saved, i may give it away to a knitting girlfriend it looks better on or give it to my little cousin. she has more athletic build than me, and it would probably look fantastic on her.

i suppose my third option is eating cream puffs until i fill it out or saving it in case i ever have a baby. ha.

going green

i love the color green, and it is showing up in my knitting a lot. for a long time i knit almost exclusively in back and grey for myself, but green is my favourite "real" color for knitting now. today i have a finished greenie and a work in progress that is coming along nicely.

"Men's" Cashmere Scarf
designed by Joelle Hoverson
published in Last-Minute Knitted Gifts

knit in Karabella Cashmere Elite (4+ balls #13340 Olive, 100% cashmere) received as a gift, on size US 6 birch needles.

started: january 2008.
finished: may 20, 2008.

my boss at the knit shop gave me 5 balls of this cashmere for christmas. i love the color. she did a great job picking out what would be "me" as well as surprising me with something i would not buy for myself (cashmere is a little rich for an artist's budget, even with my discount). i used every little bit between a pair of super-cute baby bootees and the rest going into this scarf.

i used a slightly modified version of Hoverson's pattern to knit my scarf. i cast on 45 stitches to accommodate the DK weight yarn (the pattern calls for a chunky yarn and only 21 stitches), and i guess i made one last modification.... um... i am not a man, and this scarf is for me. so, let's just ignore that title.

i have declared May the month of finishing, and i have made remarkable progress on my Gathered Pullover. after pulling out the first 6+ inches of the body back in February, i was slow to regain ground, but a few trips on the metro and i made it up to the cables this weekend. i manged to work through the entire cable chart and the first side front section. i am getting very close to a finished sweater! i am exceedingly pleased with myself for knitting the sleeves first.

unfortunately, i think this is going to fit my shape poorly. hm. but i am going to finish it and figure out how to fix it if it comes to such drastic measures. keep your fingers crossed for me.

my shame.

this is all knitting blah blah blah. (fyi for my non-kitting readers.)


i currently have an obscene number of UFOs. un. finished. objects. most of them are playing for the 50% team. boo on that.

i have decided that i need to take a few down before i 1. do any more lizard ridge squares. 2. start the other parts of my cousins' baby gifts or 3. start carving out serious shawl time. i like knitting the shawl, and it has a (distant) deadline, but some of these old friends need to come off the books.

i worked on the Gathered Pullover in front of a movie the other night. each round is 152 boring stitches right now and i have not quiet caught up to where i had to tear it all out and start over. reknitting stocking stitch in the round is not as fun as i wish it was. this will get better once i pass the "tear out" mark and even better once i can work the cable motif.

when i got too bored with the sweater, i finished the movie up by knitting on my cashmere scarf. it is also boring, but i wanted something simple to show off the cashmere. so, yeah. dull. dull. dull. BUT! inspired by how quickly it was coming together, i managed to knit through the 3rd of 4 balls of yarn tonight. it was helped by the fact that i switched from metal to birch needles... the metal was almost too slick for my cashmere, and the birch sped me up a bit.

i joined in some cashmere left over from a 5th ball i knit into a tiny project instead of breaking into the 4th intact ball. in is probably only about 30 yards. if i had waited to use my partial at the end, i could see myself deciding to bind off after ball 4 and never use the partial. discipline! let no cashmere go unknit.

this scarf is on my hit list. as well as the 2nd cabled mitten. (i LOVE the mittens. they are fun to knit and the yarn rocks--Dream in Color "Classy") i will feel much less shame about the pullover or sock once these other two re done. i will also stop feeling like the only color i knit with is green.

(it sort of is.)

3 knitting things

1. i knit through the second ball of cashmere for my scarf. i am now halfway there! yay! this is project knitting to the extreme.

i have sorta stopped enjoying the process of the scarf because it is a little too simple... but i will say that i can hit a rhythm with the yarn and knit through yards and yards effortlessly.

2. i went back to my gathered pullover after being shamed this week by a regular customer at the shop who asked me if i had finished it yet. um. no. one sleeve. languishing.

i started the 2nd sleeve.... 4 times. i hadn't knit on this sweater since december, and i had forgotten how tricky the gauge was. the pattern is written to be knit in sport weight yarn on larger needles to get a drapey, slightly sheer fabric. i wanted a sweater i could wear without a cami underneath, so i went up to a DK (ish) yarn.... still knit loosely.

man.
it was tricky. first, i am knitting intentionally a little looser than i normally do (which is already loose). second, the desired gauge is 4.75 stitch = 1 inch. 4.75!?! that is a stupid gauge. i knit a lot of 5 stitches = 1 inch projects, so it is tricky to take a tiny step to the side.
hmph.

long story short, halfway through the 2nd sleeve. finally.

3. Rowan has new knitwear models. just when Interweave Knits stops using more realistic women (yet still small/thin) in favor of modely long and lean, Rowan mixes it up a bit. Rowan 43 has one pretty normal gal. She's a little curvy even. the shocker is their new book All Seasons at the Mill. seriously, these are folks off the street.

maybe my mum is right about february.

my mother hates february. she says it is cold and gey and uninspiring.... and throws you off because it is short month. boo.

i have been working and knitting. and being tired.

that is my excuse. busy and tired. i don't even feel like doing a full project breakdown on this little sweater because it is to much effort.

well, too much effort for a store model. i decided to knit it to take it off my boss' hands. it also gave me a chance to practice my finishing. i will say that i did a nice job sewing it up. the side seams are invisible and i managed to match the self-striping yarn to 99% perfection (there was a defect in the printing of one stripe.).

started it last tuesday and finished it yesterday.... and i didn't even work on it friday-sunday. it claims to be size 6-9 months, but it is about the size of 24 months. and, yes.... i was knitting to gauge.

that is all for now.

oh!
and i forgot.
the superbowl last year was when i taught myself how to knit. so i have officially been knitting for more than a year now! go me.