resolute

It's almost half way through the year (yes, really), so a good moment to stop and check up on my new year's resolutions.

Reading - yes, not as much as last year but at least one book each month. I dealt with one of my old projects by frogging it (farewell diamond mittens); the quilt and socks I haven't even thought about yet. Jarrett for Tim is coming along well but I have hit that strange 'almost finished, best stop working on it for a while' hiccough. Stash and recycled crafting are going strong but I have also bought quite a bit of yarn for projects so far this year too.

What's really coming along well is my Faux Russian Stole. This is one of only two projects that I took with me to Australia in order to force myself to work on it, being deprived of any distractions. Last mention of any progress on this was February 2010 and my notes in Ravelry are similarly sparse. So, sometime in April this year I was working on edge repeat number 10; within a month, I have now finished edge repeat 17 which makes me half-way through. Half-way through!! (And a bit further even than in the photo).

What is interesting is how this has become quite easy knitting for me; or rather, it is nowhere near the challenge that it was when I started it. Having to move the stitch markers, pay close attention constantly to the chart, count carefully every other row, alternate between k2tog and ssk decreases all over the place, none of this really bothers me now. I can sit and knit a dozen or so rows of this in one go without too much ill effect. So there we have it, one advantage of leaving a project for so long, ahem, that is, coming back to a long-left project, is that you get to experience your development as a knitter.

broken engagement

Well thank goodness we're actually married because I have admitted defeat and given up on the Second Engagement Diamond Mittens that I was knitting for Tim. The mittens were one of my three projects dating from the year before last and I had chosen them as the first that I would complete. Here it is mid-February and I had knit only a couple of rounds and finally realised that I just did not want to make them anymore.

I have committed instead (and anew) to Tim's Great Garment of 2011 (the one that I was supposed to make last year but just didn't get around to). I'm planning to knit Jarrett by Kim Hargreaves from Rowan's Vintage Knits in Cascade 220, shade Walnut Heather. Lots of soothing stocking stitch, I'm looking forward to the yarn arriving.

Now I just have to work out whether I can face those socks and that stole.

off the perch

Time to confess that, apart from my recently completed Wallingford, the knitting has actually gotten a bit out of control lately, which is why I haven't had much to say about it. It's just slow progress and few finished objects (except for ones I made six months ago) because I have been working on too many things at once. I fell off the perch a bit on sticking to my knit list. My three projects on the go at any one time (thereby ensuring some degree of finished-ness before I can cast on for something else) recently ballooned out to:

Baudelaire (sock knitting) - The most I have to report is that I took them with me to Sock Summit, did indeed knit a couple of rounds, and actually crossed the road at the same time as (albeit in the opposite direction to) Cookie A, designer of the Baudelaire sock, while I was carrying the sock in my handbag. Partially finished sock and designer, like ships in the night.

Knitted veil in Peruvian wool (project knitting) - Ok, the notion of a lovely big lace stole is wonderful, but the same four rows of lace pattern (and that's lace each row) 81 times over? Meh. Although I have overcome one of the annoyances of the pattern by purchasing some split stitch markers. I find it very necessary with lace to count, count, count and stitch markers really help to divide up the lace repeats and keep the stitch count what it should be. On the third row of the lace pattern the repeat is, how can I say, transposed to the left by one stitch, requiring thirteen stitch markers to be removed and replaced as you knit along the row. Ah, but not with a split stitch marker - you can k2tog with the stitch marker still between the stitches and then just rotate it into its new position. This is allowed for, of course, by the miraculous split. Took me three different packets of stitch markers to get the right size/pliability combination but that's ok, they'll come in handy. (Umm, that's the Joy sleeve on the right - bad formatting).

Diamond mittens (practical knitting) - Still in the rough.

Faux prussian stole (technically in hibernation) - I took this one on the Amtrak journey down to Portland with me, thinking that some uninterrupted train travel time may be all that I needed to get back into it. And I was right, until I ran out of yarn. Not completely - thank goodness - but came to the end of the skein that I was working with, and just when I was on a roll. I have to dig out another skein and see if I can get back into it again. And I might try some of those split markers on this project too as there are several occasions where I have to ssk or k2tog across a marker (see, handy!).

Swatch for joy - Well, I do love to swatch, and what better way to start a garment than to swatch for it and suddenly have a sleeve? This is just idle interest swatch knitting, letting my curiosity get the better of me.

Sunrise Circle cardigan - (to the left) This is probably what I am knitting the most at the moment and it's the 'oh-just-an-extra-garment-in-there' project that I have going. Stocking stitch and worsted weight yarn. I allowed myself to cast on for this second garment because I had completed all of the knitting for Wallingford and only had the finishing to go (so practically done in other words) and well, yes, half a garment later ... but anyway, I've completed both of the sleeve/front pieces (need to do some blocking) and about half the back. I think that with a bit of focus I could be wearing this soon - fingers crossed.

ps - I love the expression 'don't fall off the perch'. It's kind of like 'don't drop the ball' but not sporty.

i still knit

Truly I do. Every day in fact, which is probably why I don't have time to read quilting books but anyway ...
this is a random knitting update post:

Baudelaire socks - I cannot remember the last time that I didn't look at these. I know that I got over the trauma of the dropped stitches and started on the leg. Ah, that's right - the dilemma of how do I know when I have enough yarn left to complete twelve rows of ribbing (and a bind-off)? My good friend Heidi (who is merchgirl on Ravelry - check out her astounding Laminaria) suggested test knitting a row of ribbing, then frogging it and measuring how much yarn it required. Measure out twelve times as much yarn from the wrong end of the ball (and some more for the bind-off I imagine) and then just knit to that point. Such a good idea, I'll try it someday.

Faux Prussian Stole - I completed one of the five-and-a-half 81-stitch-by-96-row repeats and collapsed from exhaustion. That in itself was such a feat that I have not yet quite recovered enough to start on the next repeat. I did, however, purchase an Addi Nature circular needle (bamboo tips) which I think will hold the yarn better. It was very slippery knitting on the Addi Turbos that I was using.

Diamond mittens - Going well but haven't picked them up for a while. All I have to go on the left mitten is the individual fingers (which get tucked in underneath the mitten top) and the thumb. On the right mitten I have started the ribbing thereby hoping to avoid second mitten syndrome.

So what have I been knitting everyday?? Wallingford! Which is actually a pattern called Wallington but as I go to a knit night in Wallingford on Mondays it was too much to have two such similar words milling around in my brain. Rather than rename the neighbourhood I thought it easier to rename my project (ah, yeah). Besides, I like the word Wallingford better. This is my first adult-sized garment project and I am knitting it from recycled wool. So far I have completed the two sleeves, the back to just beyond the armhole shaping and one front about as far as the waist. This leaves: the rest of the back, the rest of one front, all of the second front, the collar and front bands, the wrist straps and the belt and the wrist and waist casings.

Hmmm, will I make it? I think so. It won't matter too much if the casings are knit from a different yarn as they are on the inside of the garment and I imagine that even a portion of the wrist straps could be in a different yarn too as that portion will always be concealed inside the casing. The belt is a bit more of a challenge in the potential substitute stakes - where the belt would sit inside the casing depends whether I want to wear it buckled up or tied. This is likely to make it more difficult to conceal a portion knit in a different yarn. Regardless, this is all down the track - I have to complete the garment pieces first before I do the finishing (although I predict that I will be seaming with a different yarn: just. in. case.)

95.6 per cent

Ok, this post is going to be a bit of a Ravelry(-related) rant. Those of you who don't use Ravelry may want to skip it, or may wish to continue for an amusing insight into a meticulous* mind, namely my own.

The particular feature that I take issue with is the little status bar that indicates your progress through a project. Here's a quick screen shot:

So, Ravelry is great and the progress feature is great but it causes me enormous amounts of angst. To begin with, how do you know how far you are through your project? Is it just knitting progress that you're measuring? What about blocking and seaming - how do they factor in? I mean, these things bother me.

The answer to all this is, of course, that you just guesstimate it yourself according to your own rules but, oh people, the lack of structure and boundaries leaves me in such a quandry. Not to mention that you can only measure your progress in intervals of five percentage points. Yes, you're either 25 per cent of the way through or 30 per cent; there's no in between. So how can I express that I am 95.6 per cent of the way through my swallowtail shawl?? 95.6!! Only four rows and the casting off to go. I am really excited.

Ok, on the topic of progress, where are things at around here at the moment?

diamond mittens (the second engagement) - I have started on these mittens again and am about halfway through the first one, according to a mental schema that I have instituted that divides each mitten up into four parts - rib, hand, mitten top, fingers. So half of one glove means about 25 per cent of the way through the project. I'm going to say 27 per cent, just because I can.

Baudelaire socks - I have made some recent progress on these, just a few rows here and there (well, one after the other but you know what I mean). I have finished the heel and am now just working on the leg. I have to work until I have enough yarn left to do twelve rows of ribbing? How will I possibly know when I have twelve rows worth of yarn left? This dilemma alone is enough to put these on the backburner for me.

black velvet floral printed skirt (the second) - Yes, I have two. This one is in much more autumnal tones and is finished (took in the waist, new waistband) but for the want of a hook and eye at the top of the zip. I'd say 97 per cent for this one.

black cotton floral printed skirt - Noticing a trend here? I worked on this one today and sewed in the gathers at the waist. I'll be doing the grosgrain waistband facing again and it will also be wanting a hook and eye at the top of the zip but that will have to wait until Monday. About halfway.

estate sale quilt top - I was fortunate to rummage through the linen cupboard and find a very large, dense cotton sheet that I picked up at another estate sale of sorts (except there was no sale - the bloke was completely renovating the house and wanted it cleared out; everything was free). I have tacked the quilt top to the sheet in order to stabilise it. Progress? I'd say about one per cent because there is a lot of mending to do. Anyway, it's all packed away now so that I can finish the long languishing vintage fabrics quilt instead.

Overall progress? 95.6% x big project + 27% x small project + 30% small project + 97% x sewing project + 50% x sewing project + 1% x huge overwhelming project .... umm, I'd say about 100 per cent crafting satisfaction.

* yes, that is a euphemism for obsessive

eight carat diamond

I've worked the thumb gusset on the mittens and you can see the eight-stitch diamond pattern coming up on the back there. It's a simple knit-purl combination - good and subtle, very manly!

I'm really enjoying knitting with dpns which I hadn't quite expected - magic loop can get a bit tedious with all that pulling through. Although maybe I just really love the feel of the bamboo in my hands.

I think just one more row even to go and then I put the thumb stitches on some spare thread - exciting! That's something that I really like about knitting an item that I haven't done before - learning the ins and outs of its construction.

The recycled yarn is going well. It breaks a bit more easily than commercial yarn. I'm not sure whether that's because it is lambswool but I have to be careful when I give the yarn that extra little tug when changing from one needle to the next. And it's great when someone asks me what I'm knitting with and I can reply, 'J Crew' (which is not a yarn brand at all but a fashion lable).

diamonds are a girl's best ...

So there's a book quite amusingly (in my opinion) titled Never Knit Your Man a Sweater* (unless you've got the ring). It follows through on this amusing concept with 22 projects designed for every level of a relationship. Further, a few of the projects are diamond themed including the Flip Your Lid Diamond Mittens (Ravelry link) - fingerless gloves with an attached mitten cap.

I've cast on for them in a grey lambswool that I recycled from yet another J Crew sweater. Again weight wise I'm guessing a bit. I'd say that what I'm knitting with is possibly finer than the 4ply/fingering weight that the pattern calls for but I'm not sure whether I'm getting gauge - it's hard to tell from the ribbing. The good thing about them is that Tim can try them on as I go.

The diamond element is a knit/purl diamond pattern on the back of the hand which adds a bit of interest to the knitting. The diamond pattern, however, is an eight row repeat and the increases for the gusset are a three row repeat which is not very compatible so there's a bit of keeping track to be done. This is ok while knitting but I find that once you put them down (for instance, in order to go to bed) it can be hard to remember where you got to.

And I'm back using bamboo double-pointed needles because that's all I have in 2.25mm. I'm really enjoying it. Magic loop is a great method but it is nice to change over and do something different every now and then. I particularly like the feel of the bamboo in my hands. Makes me think that I must try some of those Addi Natura bamboo circular needles.

Working with recycled yarn is a great thing to do - I've noticed more people expressing an interest in it recently and I really encourage anyone who is inclined to give it a go. It's cheap enough to go to your local op shop or thrift store and buy a jumper/sweater in a colour or fibre that you like. The undoing of the seams and the actually unravelling can be a bit tedious but I find that destruction, like when you prune roses, can actually be quite relaxing. So although I am trying to use up what I have, in the past few days I have acquired three more garments to unravel - a red lambswool vest from which to make myself another slouchy beret, a red heathered wool/cashmere sweater for another slouchy beret and a taupe silk/cotton cardigan for, oh, something will come up (aka as 'for baby bear' because that's always something that I want to knit).

murasaki

I was going to call this post 'purple reign' but murasaki (Japanese for purple I believe) is such a lovely word. A new year and I have three purple lace(y) knitting projects on my hands:

Swallowtail shawl - damn that shawl percentage calculator! I truly thought that with the 19 budding lace repeats finished that I was halfway through the shawl. Turns out I was wrong. After having been busy with this baby since late November 2008, I have finally worked out how to read the charts for the lily of the valley border. Frankly, in the download currently available, I think that it is badly laid out. Anyway, after having puzzled over how to approach the border it finally clicked when I sat down to start on it today. And with understanding came the realisation that there are 22 rows in the border which is about double what my initial calculations had allowed for. So there are way more rows. So I'm only 30% of the way through! On the bright side (and there usually is one) the shawl will be larger than I had expected which I am happy about. There will be a separate, long and boring post about nupps.

Baudelaire - a bit neglected, poor things. When I last worked on them it was to remedy a whole lot of frogging that occurred after the discovery of a couple of dropped stitches. All very traumatic. I have now completed the heel on the first sock and it's time to just knit right on up the leg but I've still got a bit of a mental block about it (must have moved there from the swallowtail shawl).

Fern glade - had I mentioned this yet? In my ongoing search for something to keep my head warm that is not a beanie I cast on for this a week or so ago. It's going well, almost all of the eight repeats completed. The lace pattern is great - there are yarn-overs and decreases every row and it certainly does make for a more pronounced and textural knit. You can also get sharper angles when you decrease on every row.

I cast on for the slouchy version (120 stitches) but I am using some recycled purple yarn (100% lambswool from a J Crew sweater) and I expect getting a tighter gauge than called for so it is presently pretty snug. I'm hoping that a good blocking will help to slouch it out. This is one of the challenges/adventures of knitting with recycled yarn for me - I'm never quite sure of the gauge and while you certainly can knit with two strands of the yarn together if you need something thicker, what if you need something in between? Sure, you could knit a gauge swatch but really ... Oh well, I guess that you just make do and improvise and learn along the way.

I'm expecting fern glade to be finished pretty quickly and next on my practical knitting list is the Flip Your Lid Diamond Mittens (Ravelry link) for Tim. Recycled yarn - a nice soft grey J Crew sweater (again - their lambswool sweaters fill the thrift stores). It's currently knitting up at 30 stitches to 10cm on 3.5mm needles and the pattern calls for 36 stitches so I might go down to 3mm and see how that goes. No, no, I haven't cast on for them yet, I've done a gauge swatch. See, I said that I'm learning.