Slave to the Needles

Long and long it's been...

December marked the end of the production knitting for the bazaar.  All but one of the cowls sold, which was awesome.  I learned that $2-$25 was a good price, and that the bright colors were more popular.  The ornaments didn't do so well, but I think that was largely owing to poor merchandising.  Next year I'll have some sort of tree-like display thingy thing so people can see that they're ornaments, not cat toys or something.  I'm also considering a few other things - washcloth sets, coasters/java jackets, maybe some fingerless mitts...we'll see.  I'm thinking about it now, though so I can build up stock over time rather than all at once.

I'm also trying to finish up some things that have been on my plate - the hat I knit Ma last year was a bit too snug, so I'm about half-way through a do-over on that.  I also want to finish up the cute little dress and get it to Stacey for Sophia.  Just a couple of seams and some ribbon, and that's done. Then it's back to the cashmere sweater vest and the rest of the queue.  Which seems to just get longer.  I should probably re-org it to be "projects I actually have yarn for" first, and then the rest of it in the order I'd like to attack them.

Met another knitter at a party a week or so ago, and she runs a knit-in in the U-district on Mondays.  I'm going to try to remember to get there, because it sounds fun and a bit more...amusing, I guess, than the one at Miro.  Not that I'd know, since I've never gone and it's right down the street, but if her personality is any indication, it should be a good time.

My camera crapped out, so I need to get a replacement so I can take more photos of my stuff.  One thing at a time, though, I guess.  Maybe I'll just borrow Ma's in the interim.

OMG, I'm a bad blogger

Entire civilizations have come and gone in the time since I last posted here.  Lessee...I put off the Mafalda cushion to do...other stuff.  Like...um...stuff.

I knit another Monmouth cap, I think.  And didn't knit anything at all there for a while.  And then I frogged the white sweater and started the body over because I farked it all up.  And I have a little bag on tiny needles, based on an Egyptian pattern I charted out of A History of Knitting. That seems to be going well.  Aside from that, not so much on the knitting front.  I am lame.

Hatz

I got a wild hair and knit up a Monmouth Cap out of Reynolds Lopi.  I loves it (picture soon). I'm cranking out a 3/2 rib baby alpaca beanie for Airplane Guy, too, and then I'm going to start work in earnest on the 13th C. cushion I've been jonesing for.  I'm hoping I can get gauge on the 000 circs I just bought, but I'm not entirely optimistic.  We'll see, though.  A friend said that a lot of people knit smaller when they're stranding colors.

Oh. Thank. God.

Hockey and knitting.  Two great tastes that taste great together.  A game this morning (LA Kings and Anaheim Ducks, live from LONDON!), and a double header tonight, featuring My Sekrit Boifriends, the Detroit Red Wings.  I'm working on a work project today, but tonight?

Me + Hockey + Knitting = Joy!

Follow up post! With photos!

Here's a pic of the purple cowl, in its completed state:

And, as a lovely bonus, here's a pic of a blue cowl I did a while back, ostensibly to teach myself how to knit lace.  It was WAY EASIER than I thought it would be, and managed to make more errors in the stupid rib pattern than in the lace part.  But it seems to have turned out well, regardless:

The hand towel is coming along, albeit slowly (I only knit on it on the bus, or at work during lunch).  If I like it, I'll try it again in linen.  I'm not as enthused about knitting with cotton, as compared with wool, but I'm sure I'll get used to it.

I also tested my theory on the pattern interpretation of the little dress, and was correct.  And I still maintain that it's not clear in the book, so *sticks out tongue*  I'm nearly done with the front piece, and then it's just sleeves, putting it together and finishing.  Woo!

Another FO, and a Dork Moment

Finished the cowl.  I'll get a pic up ere long.

In other news, I was knitting along happily on the dress thingie when I became TOTALLY STUMPED at the pattern directions. It took starting another project (more on that below), a full night's sleep and an entire bus ride in to work pondering the situation before I realized what a MASSIVE DORK I am.  Although, I will continue to maintain that the pattern isn't supremely clear on that particular bit.  So I'll try it when I get home to see if I was correct in my interpretation.

Started the Moss Stitch Grid Hand Towel from Mason Dixon knitting.  Although I may just take the dimensions and make up my own pattern that I don't have to really count or think about, so I can do it on the bus.  Two super skeins of Sugar & Cream should net me a towel and matching wash cloth, if I work it right.  Then I might get me some linen and try it again with THAT.

Further bulletins as events warrant.

Hello, Dr. Frankenstein

The skirt prototype, she is finished!

Spent much of the morning with Ma making sure the straight skirt pattern I wanted to use was, well, useable.  It is.  And now she's just as jazzed as I am to make skirts.  The first one out of the gate will actually be the Moss Green from the kit.  I just need to get thread, lining and zippers for the plaid and the tweedy houndstooth, and those'll be in the hopper too.

The sweater for the plaid, as you know, is done.  The cardigan for the tweedy houndstooth is OTN, and I hope to have it done before I go to Scotland.  I was going to do something out of Rowan Vintage Knits for the pukey green, but have since changed my mind and plan to do this one instead.

My queue on Ravelry.com has 65 patterns on it. If their "add to queue" widget worked in IE, I'd probably have WAY more in there, but I think 65 is a respectable number.

Tonight will be movies of my Sekrit Boifriend (Hello, John Cusack!) and maybe some Black Adder. And, obviously, some knitting.

It's a good day.  :)

An FO! And some WIPs!

I finally finished up one of the baby kimonos.  I'm not going to post a picture on the off chance that R reads this blog - I'd like it to be at least somewhat of a surprise at the shower.  If you're on Ravelry, though, the picture is posted there.  The other one should be finished up in the next couple of days, and I'll post the pic of that later as well.

But, just because I can, I'll put up the three other projects I have on needles at the moment:

Chic Knits - Ariann

Vintage yarn from a skirt/sweater kit

Debbie Bliss - Ribbon-tied Baby Dress

Knit Picks Andean Silk in Cornflower

Cashmerino Cowl (my own pattern...sort of...)

Debbie Bliss Cashmerino in Eggplant

So now, I'm waiting to hear if CR is knocked up, so I can knit something fabulous and gothy for her spawn.  Won't that be lovely?

Change up

So I gave up on Tubey, and switched to Ariann from Chic Knits instead.  And had to start over for probably the fourth or fifth time last night.  The lace pattern isn't hard...I just lost track of the decreasing and bollixed it all up.

I've also determined another bus project - a cowl based on the eyelet pattern from Ariann.  We'll see how that sorts out.

Um...what else.  Oh!  I finished off one of the baby hats I had lying around.  I'll post a picture of that later tonight.  Otherwise, I've been off my knitting groove, lately, but hopefully that will change soon.  Christmas is coming, and all...

Frailty, thy name is woman!

So, here I am, about a third of the way in to Knitty.com's Tubey, when all of a sudden...

I'm not sure I want to finish it.  Well, I should say that I'm not sure I want to finish it with this particular yarn.

Which leaves me with the issue of determining which pattern, exactly, I would like to do with this yarn.

It's DK weight, but seems kind of heavy, somehow. That might be owing to its vintageness - it's lost a bit of elasticity, and seems to still have a fair bit of lanolin left in it. But I know myself well enough to know that if it's too heavy a sweater, I'm not all that likely to wear it inside, and pull-overs are pretty much a "put it on, and it's on all day" sort of proposition.

But the fabric! For the skirt! Is so lovely!

Maybe I can find a sexy little cardigan pattern or something.

::sigh::

I love being a Libra, but this is ridiculous.