Eleven Stitches

A Bit of Indulgence

The plan of late has been to complete a second sock for every new sock I knit.  I dutifully cast on for my second Evening Stocking For A Young Lady as soon as I finished up my Jeweled Steps.  Unfortunately (for the sock), I had just gotten my third Yarn Pirate Booty Club shipment, and the new yarn was sitting ever so temptingly on my futon.  It was soft.  It was fall colors. 

As I continued to knit my boring stupid probably scratchy Evening Stocking, I started to reflect on the choices I make. I go to work when I want to sleep in.  I don't eat all of the chocolate I can find.  I don't reply in kind when I get a mean e-mail.  I go to the gym.  I try to keep my single sock count low.

Suddenly, the single sock thing didn't seem quite as important.  If I can't be self-indulgent with my knitting, when can I be?

Yarn: Yarn Pirate Merino/Tencel in Butternut (YP Booty Club for September)
Pattern: Woven Ridge Socks by Cat Bordhi

Blue Gable

Where did this sweater come from?

Pattern: Loosely based on Green Gable from Zephyr Style
Yarn: Brooks Farm Harmony
Needles: US6 circulars
Time to Knit: Sometime in November 2006 - Sometime in August 2007

This was one of my oldest WIPs.  Simply put, it doesn't fit.  Well, it fits, but it doesn't flatter.  I noticed this quite a while ago, and I ripped it back to add some bust shaping and increase the size a little.  It only helped a little bit, and the horizontal striping hurt the cause.

So it sat in limbo for a long time, and then I had my younger (and skinnier) sister try it on.  It really looked great on her!  I only had to finish up a few things, and now it's ready to wear. 

I made a lot of modifications to this pattern.  I was originally inspired by Fricknit's version of this sweater, and I also wanted to knit long sleeves.  I just knitted them straight (no shaping) which gave me kind of a bell effect.  I also repeated the lace detail at the cuff and finished with seed stitch.  I added some seed-stitch short rows to the back neckline because it was curling so badly.  I also added some short row bust shaping.  I think I also did some waist shaping and hip shaping, but I don't really remember anymore!

I'm glad I have it finished up in time for my sister to wear it this fall!

Lessons Learned

My Back to School U-Neck Vest has taught me a lot of things.  This is what I've learned.

Math Size US9 and US7 needles, a little over 2 skeins of Malabrigo Worsted in Rhodesian, most of one skein of Malabrigo Worsted in Pagoda.  I knew I wouldn't have enough of just the orange yarn, so I added in the red along the edges.  I like the effect!  I added an inch to the ribbing section because I thought I would like the vest to be a little bit longer.

Reading Comprehension The pattern was well written, but be sure to check the errata.  Also, I think Ms. Japel must be a very loose knitter.  I always have to go up a few needles sizes to get gauge on her patterns.  I've read about some confusion about what type of increase to use when making the bust darts.  I just did a M1L and M1R and didn't worry about it.

Home Ec This vest was a bit big on me when I finished it.  I was a little depressed about knitting something that didn't fit, so it took me several days to block it.  Once I did, though, I liked the fit much better. 

PE This is a self portrait, taken on a timer.  Lots of wind sprints (of a sort) were done to get the best shot.

Social Studies A significant amount of knitting was accomplished while meeting with knitting friends.

Computers I finally started using a photo editor for this picture.  Since the camera's aperture was decided based on the door instead of me, all my pictures came out quite dark. I'm happy with the updated photo, and look forward to correcting color/brightness problems in my future pics.

History Time to Knit: September 5 - 15  Very quick!

Art I knitted a vest!  Isn't it pretty?

Things You Just Can't Learn in School Yay for this pattern, which is the Back to School U-Neck Vest from Fitted Knits by Stephanie Japel.  I think next time around I might knit a smaller size, but I'm happy with how this came out. 

Jeweled Steps

Another sock!  This is my second sock from Cat Bordhi's new book, and I'm having a lot of fun knitting through the various architectures.  This pattern, Jeweled Steps, is an example of the Sidestream architecture.

The increases are all on one side of the foot.  They are mirrored on the second sock, so you'll have a very nice set when it's all done.

This was a very simple pattern.  The new architecture and the wrapped stitches are the only thing that's going on.  I thought it would be a great fit for my Yarn Pirate Booty Club Yarn, merino sock yarn in Rum Runner.  The colors are so pretty, and they striped very nicely.

This sock was worked toe up, but it has a similar idea to the Ocean Toes sock.  I started out knitting a normal toe, and then I started increasing to create a sort-of funnel.  Once the funnel was long enough, I did a little heel turn (like one does after knitting a heel flap on a standard sock), and then I knitted back and forth across the "heel flap", picking up a stitch from the funnel on either side of the flap. Eventually, all the stitches were joined back up, and I continued around the leg in the regular fashion.

This was a fun and simple knit, and I really loved working with the Yarn Pirate yarn, too.  I'm looking forward to more Cat Bordhi patterns and more Yarn Pirate sock yarn.  Maybe even in combination!

Swatching

What do you get when a gauge-conscious knitter has startitis?  A lot of swatches!

These are the things I want to be working on (clockwise from the top):

1. My most recent yarn acquisition, bulky wool with sari silk threads from Classic Warmth, on size US13 needles in preparation to make the Bulky Cabled Sweater. I  know a lot of you really wanted me to knit the Drops cardigan, but I just don't have the yardage with this yarn.  Another time.  I'm excited about this yarn/pattern combination, though!

2. Green Mountain Spinnery's Green Mountain Green on size US9 needles.  I love this yarn.  It's so squooshy.  It will eventually be a sweater, but I haven't decided yet if I'm going to knit a specific pattern or make up something of my own.

3. Wollmeise Sockenwolle in Granatapfel on size US1 needles.  I'm hoping to write a sock pattern soon!

4 and 5. Brooks Farm Solana on size US8 and US9 needles.  Like the Green Mountain Green, I want to knit a sweater, but I haven't decided on a specific pattern and I might make something up for it.

6. Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool on size US5 needles.  This will be Bloom.  I happened on Christy's link to this version, and I've been obsessed ever since.

I'm off to do some actual project knitting now!

Garden State Sheep & Fiber

As a warm up for Rhinebeck, I attended the Garden State Sheep & Fiber Festival today.  I had heard that it was a small festival, and I talked David into going with me.  I figured this way he could get an idea of what Maryland and Rhinebeck are like without having to deal with the travel time and overwhelmingness of the big ones.  We had a great time, and I was pleasantly surprised to find maybe 20 vendors there.

We saw some of the animals one would expect to see at a fiber festival.  There were sheep (some of the horned variety) and alpacas (sorry, didn't get a good picture of them).

But there were also yaks, turkeys, and porcupines.  The baby porcupine was snuggled up against a Pooh doll. Awww...

I also picked up some yarn.  I've had these two sweaters on my mind recently, and I couldn't resist some beautiful bulky wool handspun.  It has recycled silk sari thread woven in with it, and it's got a great sheen and coloring.

Now I have to decide which sweater I want to make! 

WIP Wednesday

I've been wanting to do a WIP Wednesday post for awhile, but it always occurs to me on a day that's not Wednesday.  Since that's a major part of the theme, I kept deciding to wait until an actual Wednesday to do the post. 

I only have two works in progress at the moment.  This is fairly unusual for me, but it is nice to make a lot of headway because I'm not getting distracted by other things.

My Back To School vest is growing quickly.  I just split the front and back last night.  This has been a quick and enjoyable project so far, and I'm looking forward to wearing it!

I added a second color to this vest because I was worried I wouldn't have enough of the orange to knit the whole vest.  I really like the way it's working out.

This project has been kept safe in my handbag because of my gorgeous new Knitzi. Beth from Good Natured Ribbing has opened a shop with her husband selling these and some other pretty knitting-related items.  You should go check it out!

This is the Jeweled Steps sock from Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters.  I've been so anxious to try the Yarn Pirate yarn, and I think this is turning out to be a great pattern for it.  It's very simple-- mostly stockinette-- but since it's a new architecture and has a little bit of fanciness going on, it's still interesting.

This is a toe-up sock, and the gusset increases gradually start on the foot.  They're also placed on one side of the foot and the other side is worked plain.  The directions are written so that the second sock is a mirror image of the first.  You can see the beginning of the increases on the right side, to the right of my stitch marker.

So there you have it!  I'm sure I'll be soon casting on for more projects, most likely more sweaters and/or vests.  For me, I'm pretty sure that September is for Sweaters (and Vests).

Tweed Striped Sweater

I cast on for this sweater on an unseasonably cool day in August, and I wore it outside on a very warm day in September. When the temperature drops low and stays there, I'll be ready for it.

David wants to make sure you know that he took this excellent picture.

Pattern: More of a recipe, actually, from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Workshop. It's a seamless V-neck sweater with inset sleeves.
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Aran Tweed in 20005, 5 balls and 04, 4 balls.  This yarn is now discontinued.
Needles: Addi Turbos size 7
Time To Knit:  August 11 - September 2
Modifications: I applied an interesting striping idea, "swatched" here.  I started with 1 row of green, 2 rows of purple, 3 rows of green, etc. Since the sleeves are a little longer than the body, they just stripe 1 row of each color until the ribbing begins.  I think this makes for a very flattering look, at least for my body shape.

David also took this picture.  In case you were wondering.

I used a steek to make the neckline.  I decreased one stitch on each side for every other row, got a little worried that this would make the neck too wide, and switched to one stitch on each side every third row.  When I was satisfied that the neck was big enough, I just knit straight for the remainder of the sweater.  The steek was also convenient for hiding the "jog" you get when changing colors while knitting in the round.

A few people asked me how I reinforced my steek. I didn't, actually.  When I got to the time when I had to do it, I was tired.  I didn't want to crochet.  I didn't want to go downstairs to my sewing machine.  The yarn is really grabby, and my test swatch didn't fray at all when I cut it, so I just went for it. It worked out quite well.

I love this sweater.  I'm still quite impressed with myself when I knit a sweater that actually fits me well, and this one certainly does. Now bring on some cooler weather!

Back To School

Given the time of year, this isn't an original title.  But "back to school" hasn't applied to me for several years, and I'm going to take full advantage of it this time around.  As I mentioned a while ago, I want to eventually get a masters degree in Art Therapy. This is completely different from my current field (Computer Science), but it's a move I find extremely exciting (and scary, but mostly exciting).

In working towards this goal, I decided to really work hard on taking prerequisite classes this fall.  I made an arrangement with my employer (thank you, employer!) to only work three days a week, and spend the other two taking art classes at a local community college.  I'm taking Oil Painting, 3D Design, and Ceramics (non-wheel) this semester, and I'm really loving the classes so far.  I think I appreciate college classes more now that I've been out in the "real world" for quite a while.

This new schedule is really doing wonders for me.  I'm happier and more relaxed.  My job was really getting to me of late, and I found myself getting depressed on Sunday nights that the weekend was over and I had to go back to work.  Not a good thing.  Now that I never work two days in a row, it's much easier to go to work and to get a good amount done while I'm there. 

This schedule change also benefits my knitting time.  I have 90 minutes between classes for lunch, and I can divide this up nicely between eating, homework, and knitting.  I've found that sitting on a bench and knitting really helps me prepare creatively for my remaining class.  And hey, I'll eventually get a sock out of the deal, too. 

Another difference to my schedule is that I'm not around a computer at all on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  This puts me behind on blog reading and commenting, but I've found that I'm able to catch up on the remaining days.  I just thought I'd give a warning on why I might not be as quick to respond as I used to be!

All paint items were checked carefully before placing on the knitting.

Another thing that pertains to Back to School: my newest project.  I started the Back to School U-Neck Vest from Stephanie Japel's Fitted Knits.  I've been obsessed with knitting a vest ever since Christy started knitting one, and I think the Back to School Vest is a great choice.  I've been checking out some finished ones on Ravelry, and they all look great on the wearer. I'm kitting it with Malabrigo worsted (Rhodesian for the body, Pagoda for the edging), and it's knitting up fairly quickly on size 9 needles.

Over the next few months, I'll have some art class projects to show you (if you don't mind), as well as even more knitting!

PS. My dad went home from the hospital today!

 

Compare and Contrast

Today's Study: Kittens and Monkey Socks

1. Kittens and Monkey socks can both be found all over knitblogland.

Monkey Socks: Here and here, to name a few
Kittens: Here and here, to name a few

2.  Both are very fast. 

Monkey Socks: Knit June 1-4 and August 25-29
Kitten: Across the living room in 4.8 seconds

3. Both are soft and comforting.
Monkey Sock: 2 skeins of Apple Laine Apple Pie in Pretty in Pink, wool, mohair and silk
Kitten: See here

4. Both are able to raise the ire of a particular orange kitty.

Monkey: See below.
Kitten: Listen for scuffling on any (otherwise) quiet evening at Casa Eleven Stitches.

5. Monkey Socks Only: Knit on Susan Bates DPNs, size US1.

6. Kitten Only: Left oil paint footy prints on my craft table.

7. Both are photogenic.

Monkey Socks: See below
Kitten: See below

8. Monkey Socks Only: Modified with a picot cuff and longer heel flap.

9. Both are very welcome in their new home.