Are You Prepared for Fall?

I am. I realized that I now have 4 knitted garments to wear in the fall and even winter.  I never got the opportunity to wear my Channel sweater, having finished it just as the weather started warming up in early May. I have the Owls sweater just waiting in the wings for a cool October day. Plus, I have last year's good ol' February Lady at the ready too.  And now I also have the B.O.B., which stands for "Button On Blanket."

I had gotten seven hanks of a very coarse and itchy rustic locally-produced, bulky-weight, 100% wool yarn when I was on vacation on Vermont this year.  I fell in love with the color: a lovely marl of the natural gray of the wool and red, resulting in an overall mauve-ish look with some red flecks.  Here's a close-up shot of the front cabling that shows the coloration really well:

My friend, Marsha, knit one of these about 3.5 years ago.  It's a great pattern for using up that not-so-soft, bulky-weight wool because it's meant to be worn as an over-sized, bundle-up cozy thing over clothes, rather than as a delicate, next-to-the-skin cardigan.  The pattern lives in our shared Dropbox of patterns, so I figured I'd give it a go.  The B.O.B. comes in three size instructions (33", 39", and 46").  None of those sizes really works for me.  Although, in retrospect, the 39" would have been fine.  So I decided to split the difference between the 39" and 46" and make a 42".  The end result is more like a little coat or jacket.  It's well over-sized (even for Busty McBooberson, like me), but I think that's a good thing. Someday, I will get pictures of myself wearing these things for reference. I swear.

I don't think I've ever knit a project that didn't pose SOME problem (except maybe for the February Lady) and for the BOB it was the yarn's overall texture.  This yarn is scratchy. It is itchy. It is coarse like sandpaper. What to do? I researched ways to soften up wool.  I don't know why this never occurred to me before, but my research turned up several recommendations to use generic shampoo and conditioner.  After all, wool IS a form of mammal hair, and that is what shampoos and conditioners are made to clean and manage!

So I spent a whopping $.89 each on freesia-scented VO5 shampoo and conditioner for normal hair.  I gave the B.O.B. a gentle bath in the shampoo after it was all done (sans buttons).  And boy howdy did it need it.  My fingers would get filthy after a few hours of knitting this.  I thought it might have been dye, but it was just dirt.  Maybe the yarn was on the shelf for a long time and it was dust?

Then I let it sit submerged in cool water with about 1/4 cup of the conditioner mixed in for a half hour.  I did a quick rinse, as best I could --- this thing was HEAVY, laden with water.  Then I had to hold it it my arms and let it drain off as much as possible.  No wringing or twisting, as this would felt if I breathed on it wrong. I got soaking wet in the process. Then I laid it on towels on the bathroom floor and pressed out as much water as I could.  Then I laid it on more towels on blocking mats on the dining-room table. It didn't need much shaping or stretching or pinning.  I only used about 6 pins to hold the button plackets into place.  That's it.  It took about 6 days to dry and then I sewed on the buttons.

It is MUCH softer.  I can still feel that it would be a little itchy if worn right against the skin, but practically all of the coarseness is gone.  So I am quite happy with the result.  My one complaint is the scent.  It smelled great when I was using it.  But it seems a little over-powering now.  I'm hoping that wearing it out in the open air a couple times will diminish the fragrance a little.  I would have gotten traditional-scented VO5 (you know, the golden stuff, which is a scent that is really nice, to me anyway) but the grocery store didn't have it! So, if you ever get some wool yarn or wool with mohair (a real "bastid" for itchiness), I recommend shampooing and conditioning! 

Hindsight is always 20/20, of course.  So what I SHOULD have done was shampoo and condition the yarn BEFORE I knit it.  It would have been infinitely easier to manage the open hanks of yarn.  But I didn't even think about it until I got 1/2 way through knitting the B.O.B. 

Now I'm knitting a pair of Tardis socks (yes, I'm a Doctor Who fan).  I'll blog about those after I am done.  And also I am trying my hand at real lace knitting with lace-weight yarn.  I've done plenty of lace patterns before on dishcloths, scarves, hats, baby items---even the February Lady is a lace pattern---but never with true lace-weight yarn. I'll blog about this experience soon too (preview of coming attractions: OY VEY).

The Owls Have Landed

And, thankfully, it wasn't as painful as I anticipated.

But, there is a Tale of Two Necklines to be told...

Ostensibly, I finished knitting this while I was on vacation in Vermont last week.  So this sweater really does take only about a week to knit. I tried it on and it fit.  It's positively squishy and cozy.  Hooray.

When I returned home, I actually wove in the ends and tweaked the seaming under the arms, then I started the Great Button Sewing Extravaganza of 2012 on the eyes.  Yeah, if I never sew another button onto anything for 50 years, it will still be too soon.  But, I think they look great.  I didn't block it because, well, it doesn't really need it.  So I tried it on again and noticed that while the sweater "fit," I felt that the neckline was, indeed, too wide.  Since I have narrow shoulders and stupid, big boobs, garments tend to pull off my shoulders very easily.  So this sweater was no exception.  I would have been fussing with my bra straps constantly whenever wearing this, which would compel me NOT to wear it at all.  And thus it would become a dreaded "waste-of-time knitting project."  I am trying to avoid those.  COUGH COUGH --- pinwheel sweater --- COUGH COUGH.  (I WILL finish that mother-humper, then burn it in effigy, I swear).

Since I didn't block it, I was able to tink back to just before the ribbing and reduce the neckline.  Here's what I did:
round 1:  reduce stitches by 4
round 2:  knit
round 3:  reduce by another 4
round 4:  knit 34, place marker, wrap and turn, purl back, wrap and turn, knit to end of round (adding a little more height to the back --- remember my boobs are evil dumbbell weights)
round 5:  knit
round 6:  begin 2 x 2 ribbing to end.

So you can probably see in the photos above that the neckline on the left is wider than the one on the right.  It looks so much better now and it is truly comfortable to wear --- on all levels --- as it should be (no self-consciousness about the bra straps). Seriously, this sweater looks 1000 times better ON than it does on the hanger.  Todd is a lousy photographer, so I never get any decent photos of me wearing anything.  Someday...someday....

The Thrilling Conclusion to the Blanket Saga

Much like the original Star Wars trilogy goes the story of the smocked diamond baby blanket.

First, there was Episode IV: I introduced the blanket, explained where the pattern came from and how interesting and lovely it was. (Incidentally, I DID win that old Paton's pattern booklet where the pattern came from. There are some really neat patterns in there, particularly the bed jackets, which were oh so popular in the 1930s and 1940s.) But...these aren't the droids you're looking for....















Then there was Episode V: the dramatic and tense episode, where the joy of the finished product was quickly dashed by the blocking horrors caused by the evil Darth Wires; I lost a hand and then Orson got frozen in Carbonite.... Ok, not really.

Um, MOM! I am NOT frozen in Carbonite!

Now I give you Episode VI: good wins over the evil blocking wires and there will be a mega Ewok dance party at my house this weekend. Bring snacks and a panflute! \m/ \m/ (throws up the horns!)

So, it finished blocking and I removed the wires. It looked like I dragged the corners and one edge through the La Brea Tar Pits. I didn't know what to do to fix this. Spot cleaning didn't seem ideal. So...I tossed it in the wash. Now, it was superwash merino. And I used the most gentle cycle possible --- "hand wash"--- on the washer and gave it a double rinse to make sure all the detergent residue was gone. I'm not sure what I was so hesitant about because it washed up beautifully.

BUT

It also stretched out a lot. So a 29 x 29 blanket was now 38 x 38. It looked like a lace kerchief. Not so great.

I tried to hand shape back into a square, as you can see in the pictures. It looked ok; it was mostly square. So I left it there to dry and started another little project (which I will talk about later on). After about 40 minutes or so I started to think that I didn't like how the blanket was going to turn out. So I went back to it, picked it up and then tossed it into the dryer and prayed that the Force would be with me.


DUN DUN DUN!




I used the "angels-blowing-swan-feathers-around" intensity on the dryer (actual setting: delicates) for about 20-25 minutes. I waited on pins & needles to see if I totally ruined this thing or it would come out looking like a washcloth. I mean, I've heard that superwash doesn't necessarily mean superdry. My socks take a beating in both the washer & dryer because Todd launders them. And he puts everything on the "construction-worker-concrete-and-mud-encrusted" industrial setting. But, the socks that I've made are with a wool and nylon blend, so I imagine that helps. This yarn was 100% merino wool.


DING! Dryer cycle over. Did Han & Leia get the shield generator down???

Why, yes, they did!

I am amazed, pleased, and extremely lucky that the blanket turned out as nicely as it did:








The yarn totally blossomed out and the pattern just pops right off the surface. The stitches seemed to tighten where they needed to and to spread out where necessary. The yarn overs around the diamond parts look especially good and even now. It's soft as a cloud and the size is just about what the original blocking was. I don't know whether to credit the yarn or the decency of the washer/dryer (probably a little of both). The yarn is Queensland Super Aussie. I HIGHLY recommend it. I got mine from Webs.















I have to say, I was a little worried about the diamond parts. While I was knitting them and even during the first blocking, they looked very lumpy and irregular. Plus each diamond's tip was a p5, which looked strange and loose no matter how tightly I pulled the yarn. Looks great now. I can't believe it.

Just FYI

Here's an informational update on what's been going on!

1)
I finished knitting the newsboy cap about a week ago. Overall, I am pleased with how it turned out. I'm not in love with how the pattern works in the peak part of the cap. It looks a little lumpy. Basically, you knit a piece shaped like a squatty hourglass ---so that, when folded in half, it forms a half-moon shape. Then you sew around the edges. Meh. Not great, but using 100% wool yarn really helped. Wool is very forgiving and malleable for seams. And I lurve the color. Here's a photo:
















Now I have to give it a vinegar bath to set the dye. Any good recipes for how to do this? And will it smell like vinegar for the rest of its life?

2)
Thanksgiving was pretty nice. On the Friday after, though, I came down with a cold. A bad one. I think it was (is) a sinus infection. I had a god-awful sore throat and was tired and achy. I learned from my good friend Jen that honey was anti-bacterial. Another reason for me to adore honey! So I sucked down several tablespoons of honey over the course of the weekend, which really did help with the sore throat. Then my sinuses went ape shit. I called my shitty doctor's office first thing Monday morning and explained my situation. They refused to prescribe an antibiotic for me. Their reason? I hadn't been in for a check-up in a long time. Apparently, the doctor needs me to bring my horrendous germs into his office, let me sit there and wait for 2 hours, to make certain that I spread them around effectively, and examine parts of me that in no way have anything to do with the condition I currently have before prescribing me some Zithromax. Mmm hmm. All an excuse for them to bill my insurance company. And people say that public option health care will be a bad thing?? Don't even get me started.

By Wednesday, my face hurt so bad that I couldn't even touch my cheekbones or eyebrows. Pain relievers, like ibuprofen, only marginally helped. I was taking a decongestant all week, but it would make me terribly jittery and wake me up at like 4:00 in the morning and did almost nothing for the pain. I hardly slept all week. By Friday, I was at my wits end. That morning, I went on the internet to see if there was any viable "home remedy" option to make this sinus infection more tolerable. There was an overwhelming number of recommendations for apple-cider vinegar (also, apparently, anti-bacterial). What the hell, I thought. I'll try it.

There were about 5711 options for what was the most successful concoction to brew up. But I settled on a combination of 2 or 3 that I saw, which was:

8 oz of hot water (like you would use for tea)
3 tbs of apple-cider vinegar
1 tbs honey

This doesn't taste as bad as you might think. It's sort of like sweet n' sour sauce or the duck sauce that you use on egg rolls (minus the MSG, of course). In fact, I kind of like it. How weird am I? :-P

Twenty minutes later, and the excruciating sinus pain was down by about 80%. I kid you not. Moreover, I could breathe without taking any decongestants. Over the weekend, I did this twice a day and today I have nearly zero sinus pain. They only medication I've been using is a nasal spray at night. I think I'll drink it again tonight. Believe me, nobody could be more surprised than I am that this actually works. So sinus sufferers, make a note!

3)
A colleague of mine (Shumin) is having a baby. She's due in January sometime; she's having a girl. on Thursday afternoon, I received an e-mail from one of her co-workers that they are having a little baby shower get-together for her on Tuesday 12/8. Yes. Tomorrow. ACK. The e-mail stated, "if you'd like to bring something small to open, that's always fun, but again, not necessary." Well, I like Shumin. She's very sweet. Buying something isn't a great option for me because, well, at the this time of year, I am BROKE. Which left me 4 days to knit something up. Knitting booties makes me want to stab things. Washcloths? Meh. I decided to do the baby kimono from the Mason Dixon book.

I've made one of these before, for Aubrey about 2.5 years ago. I had a lot of Bernat Cottontots left over in my stash from an epically failed baby blanket project. The color is a light lilac. I went to Joann's over the weekend and bought some ribbon for the ties. Yikes, it was $5.39 for the roll. But I had one of those 50%-off-one-item coupons, so I got it for $2.70ish. Not bad. I finished all the knitting last night and decided to block it. I try to avoid blocking whenever possible because it's such a pain in the patootie. Well it used to be. Then I bought KnitPicks' blocking mats, which I used for the first time last night. And the heavens opened and the angels sang. AMAZING. Worth every penny.

I took a picture of it on the blocking mats:














I hope to get a picture of it too when it's all done. You know, the authors of the book say something like, "It'll cost you more to wrap it than it costs to knit it." And HOW. Today I went to the bookstore to buy a small gift bag, tissue paper, and a card. I get an employee discount of 15% too. Total? $8.29. SIGH.

4)
Next week, I am going to North Carolina with my parents to visit my sister and her family. We leave on Tuesday (12/15). It will be nice to see them all again. I think the last time I saw them was maybe May sometime? I don't even remember. Hopefully it will help put me into the holiday spirit, as I haven't felt very festive so far. I'm not even decorating this year. I just don't feel it. Also, I won't be home for most of December anyway. I'll be at Helene's for nearly a week. Then Todd and I are going to the River on Dec. 22, staying there through Christmas, then going to Manassas to visit Josh & Jen, coming home on Dec. 29.

Hope 2010 will be better. Didn't I say this LAST YEAR about 2009?!?!