As Time Goes By

Once again time managed to slip by faster in the internet than in real life. Funny how it does that.

How do you know your knitting is appreciated? Well, one way is when you get an apologetic call from a knitting recipient which starts with the words, I don’t know how to tell you this, but… at this point, you know something’s up. It continues, you remember the hat I loved so much because it was perfect and fit just right? Now you know a piece of your knitting has at the very least suffered. When they ask what it will cost to replace it, you know it’s a goner. The hat is lost, but there is a light. The evident contrition points out that recipient at least knows: A, you might be quite upset that they lost your work of art, B, it wasn’t free and a replacement will cost them and C, they loved it so much that they want another exactly the same as the last regardless of the cost. The fact that it was lost also tells that the hat was being worn and was loved and there is no better thing for a knitter to know than that.

Recipient: Aunt
Lost: During Balloon Festival in Albuquerque
Resulted in: about 10 people searching the field for said hat, 7 trips to lost and found, much tears and lamenting, one confession of lost hat, one promise of a Japanese meal as replacement cost, three evenings spent knitting another hat to status perfection.

You know, if this had been a sweater, I might have been upset. However, it was a hat a knit 2 years ago and hats get lost. So I’d say I’d forgiven her, but there’s nothing really to forgive. I’ve always had the suspicion that people who never lose or forget things are either very lucky or must lead a life which is careful to the point of tedium. I couldn’t abide that myself, so I wouldn’t ask it of anyone else. However, I am planning another hat for said aunt so she isn’t out of a hat if something happens to this one.

ETA: Alke pointed out that I hadn't linked to the pattern, so, here's the Ravelry page and here's the direct link to Brooke's pattern.

Since then, I’ve finished a cat blanket out of sock yarn left-overs and a pair of plain, grey cotton socks, which are both so uninteresting I won’t post pictures, my Calendula’s using Zauberball Wolle in Cranberry:


A Half Cable and Lace Scarf for my little cousin for Christmas:


I’m glad to say this concludes my Christmas knitting. I think. I'm pretty sure. Unless something else comes up.

Cold

I haven't posted in a bit, but this time I have a good reason. I had my tonsils out 10 days ago and have been suffering ever since. Call me a wimp if you like, but it really was painful and very not fun. I found myself wondering if anyone who gets a knife stuck in their throat ever survives and if so, how long it takes them to get better and if they get better pain meds than I did. I hope so. Anyway, enough of my wimpetude.

I must be feeling better because I woke up today (after about 10 hours of sleep) to realize that it's just bloody cold outside. We hit freezing last night, which prompted me to get out my hats, gloves, scarves. First thing I noticed is that they all smell of dog. I washed them this evening. Then I noticed that my beloved scarf, my oh so beloved scarf which is practically inseparable from me, really needs replacing or something. It's looking decidedly faded, stretched and over washed (which it is because of said wearage). I also really need to make meself some cotton gloves (wool is too warm when you're walking the dogs). Seriously, I knit all the time and have no knit wear. Silly, isn't it? Still, I need to finish the two pair of socks I have on the needles, one plain cotton and the other Calendula Cable Socks in Cranberries and start my Byzantine Bazic, which I'd really like to wear this winter. Then there's the scarf I'd like to do for my little cousin, who loves pretty things. *sigh* so much knitting, so little time...

Before having my throat ripped out with a dull spoon (aka the tonsillectomy), I finished the Shallow Sharks, which I'm quite pleased with. Grandma should have a happy Christmas this year.

Every Way Wrap

I’m really beginning to think that I may have to consolidate my book and knitting blogs instead of leaving one to languish. Only thing is, I rather like both of them. Hmmm, what to do. Any ideas or opinions?

On the knitting front, I’ve just about got the Every Way Wrap in Drops Paris for my grandmother done. I’ve gotten the ribbed bit up to the first buttonhole finished, so I should get done by tonight. Everyone who’s seen it up until now has found it fabulous in every way but one. The pattern is brilliant, the yarn soft and cushy (I pet this thing at random intervals just because it’s so nice to touch) and the buttons are pretty. The only thing that no one cares for, with the exception of maybe Inkysticks, is the colour. I went with the moss green because my grandmother likes green and I was hoping that I would turn out to like it too. However, I’m afraid I don’t care for it and other people’s reactions are making me sort of desperately hope that I haven’t made a huge mistake in choosing the colour. So, if anyone else likes it, please let me know. I need reassurance because I’m in that flipping out stage where I’m convinced that I’ve totally done the wrong thing and why oh why didn’t I just go with beige even though it’s boring and what was I thinking when I thought I’d branch out to a different colour than I normally would have chosen. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m a little insecure in these matters. But dang it all, she’s got to like it because it needs a home.

I’m also still working on 2 pair of socks and not getting very far. I have decreed, however, that I will finish the Shallow Sharks before moving on to my Byzantine Bazic, which is really what I would prefer to be knitting. Still, I need to get those done because they’re also for my grandmother for Christmas.

What I really, really need to do is check my Knitted for Christmas Box to see what I have for whom and if there’s anyone I’ve left out. I may or may not have to knit another pair of socks or two. Shouldn’t be much left though. I think I’m pretty much ahead on that front.

How’s everyone else doing on Christmas Knitting?

*ducks flying objects*

Next Big Project

Sorry relatives, this one is for me.

http://www.interweavestore.com/Knitting/Patterns/Byzantine-Bazic.html?a=kp090917

Must save up to buy yarn.

The Cardy Saga

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged, but I kept thinking, “oh, I’ll wait until I get the next bit done and I have something more interesting to say”. I think this is called procrastination with a tinge of denial. Although I did book blog in the meantime, so I’m not that bad.

I’ve been working on my Drops Knitted Cardy. All in all, it should have been fairly straight forward, and really it was. After agonizing about the size and gauge, as per usual, I finally picked one, ordered my yarn and started knitting. The back went well, the sleeves went well, the first front went well, then things went down hill. I have to admit not all of it had to do with gauge, knitting ability etc. Unfortunately my older Dane, T, was diagnosed with bone cancer last week. Being upset, I thought I’d go home and knit to calm me down, only I should have chosen to knit a plain sock and not the cardigan. I think I must have knit the same 20 rows about 4 times. It was a complicated bit with decreases in two places, a double knit row at the edge a button hole and cables and I’d either forget one or the other, or then think I forgot one or the other and rip out only to notice I’d done it right the first time. It was a bit of a mess. Never knit complicated stuff when you’re upset. I should have known this. Now I just wonder if I’ve learned my lesson. Maybe I should just knit garter stitch scarves for the next few months and save myself the bother.

Anyway, after finally getting through the second front bit and wondering why all was going so swimmingly, I notice that I forgot to make the stitch before the edge stitches on the other front piece garter stitch. Fortunately I was able to just open up the cast off, frog one row, drop the stitch down to where I should have started the garter and pick them up properly. This went surprisingly well. I still can’t get over not having to frog the whole bit. After that, I sewed the pieces together – again this went deceptively well – only to find that despite having gone that extra mile with my swatch and having chosen a size that should have just barely fit me because I knew the cotton yarn would get wider, it was still too big. Much too big. In the immortal words of a co-worker,

“You could be 35 months pregnant and still fit into this sweater”.

For some reason, my gauge had gotten much tighter as I knit, leaving the bottom quite wide. The middle part of the sweater was roomy, but acceptably so. It looked a bit like a bell bottomed sweater. I’m sure a model would have pulled it off as a fashion statement, but it just made me look like a pregnant hippo with a conical baby.

Funnily enough, I wasn’t devastated (my devastation has all gone into the dog). I just looked for a way to fix it. We discussed this at work - with my boss looking on and shaking his head as four women stared at a sweater and hemmed and hawed for about half an hour - and finally decided I should just try pulling the sides apart and hemming them in a bit (since I can’t do steeks). Sooooo, I went home that night, pulled the sides out – for all of my fear that my ends will come out and the sweater will unravel, it took me three times as long to pull the seams apart as it did to sew them up. I re-sewed them, gradually increasing the intake and thus making the sweater narrower and straighter. The hem looks great outside although a bit wonky inside. However, I’m betting very few people will be asking me to take it off so they can inspect the inside seam. I will probably whip stitch that bit down too, so it doesn’t roll inside the sweater and make it even bulkier, so even if they did, it will at least look tidy.


It’s still quite roomy, but I can live with that. I actually wanted it that way. It was generally agreed by my co-workers and moi-même that it’s really pretty and nice and soft and lovely and now I can’t wait for it to get colder so I can wear it. I love this sweater, despite its roominess. Love it. The only down side is that if I ever manage to loose any weight, I might still have to look for that pregnant hippo to pass it along to.

For those wondering about the dog, T is still fine at the moment. He doesn’t seem to be in any pain at all, he just has a tumour on his leg. I will eventually have to start giving him pain killers, but at the moment, he’s still fine without them. Well enough even to pilfer and devour a half a kilo of dried tripe while I was at work one day this week. The sympathy factor served him well that day. Any other time I would have throttled him.

Quickie

Just so you know I'm not dead and that knitting goes on, I'm still working on my Drops Jacket and am loving it. It's so fun to knit the cables and the yarn (Drops Paris) is nice and lovely and soft and I like to just sit and stroke it ocassionally. That doesn't help my knitting speed of course, but it's still a nice fabric. I can't wait to be able to wear it *insert prayer that it fits when finished here*.

I won't bore you with pictures of the stockinet back and sleeves. These are just the interesting bits:

I'm also still working on the Shallow Sharks, which are nice and lovely, but will be a Christmas pressie (Grandma is cleaning up this year) so they still have time.

My next project (also for Grandma) will be the Every Way Wrap. I don't know what colour it will be, but I'll be using the Drops Paris again. It's a good yarn and I need cotton for California whether or she'll not be able to use it more than once a year. I'm looking forward to knitting this one too. So many cool things to knit, so little time...

New Project

Having finished Grandma's Funky socks and then the really ugly cat blanket, which the cat adores (this is her literally 20 seconds after cast off), I had to decide what to do next, so I came up with this: Drops Knitted Cabled Cardigan Ravelry. It's a simple sweater, but has cables, which is why I like it. It's perfect for me and I'm looking forward to wearing it. I have, however, as per usual, changed things a bit. I'm using Drops Paris 100% cotton wool in colour #48 instead of the Karisma and have changed the hem to a plain hem instead of the ribbing - since cotton doesn't really do well in ribbing - and took out the shaping. It's turning into a fairly boring knit for the moment as I'm working on the nearly all stockinette stitch back, but it's coming along quickly and I like the fabric that's coming out of the knitting. It's soft and purty and that's just what I wanted.

I'm also working on the next pair of socks for Grandma (she's getting 4 pair for Christmas). It's the Shark Infested Waters (Rav Link) pattern done in Spruce KP Essentials Kettle Dyed. I'm quite pleased with the way these look, so hopefully grandma will be too.

Finally, I'd like to apologize for not commenting much lately. Not only have I been busy, but they've now blocked all blogging and forum sites at work, so I can no longer read blogs during my breaks. I'm also not always motivated to turn the computer on at home again after having been on it for 10 hours at work already, thus, fewer posts and fewer comments. Sorry. I do try and get them all read though. Still like reading a lot.

Hope you're all having a nice summer!