OMG, Y'All, the Mayans May Be Right

Because I finished the fucking pinwheel sweater! AW YEAH, BITCHES!

Nearly four and a half years after I started, it is, indeed, finally done.  I wandered around the house while wearing this for about 20 minutes contemplating the idea of not having this unfinished project looming in the back on my mind somewhere.  It was very bizarre.  I felt like Frodo after the ring was destroyed in Mount Doom.  To put it another way: I cast this on when George Bush was president, m-kay? 

I don't hate it, but I don't love it either.  I think the concept of knitting a giant circle with sleeves was intriguing to me at the time.  I was a much less-experienced knitter then, and this project had no shaping, no seaming and it was knit on large-ish needles (size 9).  Looking back, this really needs some shaping.  Unless you have a perfectly proportioned body---and I don't mean like a gorgeous, photogenic body (though that would help), I mean mathematically perfect---this thing will not fit correctly.  And I have neither of the aforementioned.

The yarn (Lion Brand Cotton-Ease) was great to work with.  It's very soft and the end result is a very comfy sweater.  BUT---there is always a but, isn't there?---it was not the best choice for this project.  Because of the cotton content, and the vast amount of yarn required to make this, AND because there are no seams to help with the structuring of the garment (see, knitting a garment without seaming is truly a double-edged sword) this sweater is very heavy and a little droopy.  I didn't block it because it doesn't need any help stretching out.  Just picking it up from the shoulders I can feel it pulling down and stretching the knitting.

Another problem I have is with the sleeves.  There doesn't seem to be a good, fool-proof method for making the sleeves for this sweater.  I haven't revisited the pattern instructions for this area in years, but whatever method you use for making the sleeves, they are still done in between YOs, which causes giant holes at the shoulders and back of the armpit areas of the sleeves.  I am actually wearing this sweater today.  It was cool enough this morning to warrant something, so I figured, why not?  It looks fine, but I am extremely peeved about the holes.  As the day is progressing, I am noticing that the stockinette around the holes is expanding, probably due to the natural pulling of the garment down from my shoulders (and as I mentioned above, the yarn is helping this right along).

 See?  RAGE.

At first I thought it was because the sleeves were too tight, but they are actually pretty loose up there.  I've got something like 3 inches of extra fabric around my arms.  So that's not it. I don't even know what to do about this.  Do I try to stitch it together somehow?  Mattress stitch, maybe?  Do I care?  Meh.  I'm totally open to your suggestions.

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....

Math + Knitting = Pain

I recently finished a lovely summer sweater with flutter sleeves, called Summer Romance.  I plan on wearing it this week once I get my hands on some clear deodorant!  Here's the finished product:

I am very happy with how this turned out.  The yarn I used is elann's Luna, a DK-weight rayon/cotton blend.  It has beautiful drape and sheen, making this a very luxurious garment.  I barely had to block it at all---only at the top, to keep the curls on the neck and flutter sleeves reasonable (cotton curls like WHOA).  I was nervous when knitting this because the yarn had little give, and it was a wildly different fiber and weight than what the pattern recommended (a sport-weight alpaca).  Also the silky rayon fibers in the yarn split like nobody's business. Casting this on (and I did a tubular cast-on because apparently I am a masochist) nearly killed me.  But...it looks beautiful and fits like a dream.  I must say that I have been very lucky with knitting garments to size, even for other people.  But I have a feeling that my luck is about to run out.

Enter the owls sweater. I've had this pattern in my knitting queue for about 3 years now.  It used to be a free pattern, but due to severe copyright infringements, the designer is no longer offering it free (and I don't blame her after the shit she's had to deal with).  So I cast this on last night.  I'm using this lovely yarn that I got for a steal from Fabric.com called SMC Select Silk Wool.  I got it on clearance for $2.78 a ball, when this yarn normally retailed for about $10 a ball (still does at Jimmy Beans, Yarn Market, and Webs).  Maybe I'm setting myself up for failure at the get-go because this is not the recommended yarn for the pattern, which is Rowan Cocoon, or Rowan Purelife British Chunky.  Once I see the name "Rowan" attached to anything, I know it's too expensive for me.  But my yarn is bulky, as the pattern uses.  I should be ok.  Right?  Yeah.  It's not bulky.  The label says bulky, but the yarn --- though posh and lovely --- is pretty much worsted.  This explains the great yardage in a 50 gm ball (131 yards).  So I have to hold it doubled to get the bizarre pattern gauge, which is 13 stitches and 20 rows to 4 inches.  Believe it or not, I managed to actually get that gauge (yes, I actually knit a gauge swatch)...using 7mm needles, which don't exist in any of the US-made or US-distributed kits I own.  Swell.  I had a set of 7mm straight needles lying around from an epically failed attempt at some British pattern from the Simply Knitting mag called Damson Wine.  But no circulars.  Thank you, Denise Needles, for offering 7mm tips!  For $6.00, I now have a full complement of circular options.  This pattern is supposedly very fitted with negative ease.  I don't usually do negative ease, but versions of this pattern that I've seen that have positive ease look frumpy and lumpy.  Ok, I cast on the 40" size.  Here's me last night:  "Gah! This is too huge! I'm going to go down to the 38" size."  Cast on 38" size. "WTF, this is going to be too small."  Knit ribbing. "No...it looks fine. Wait. Do I have enough yarn?"  Goes to read pattern: "700 yards."  "Ok, I have @780 (using 1570 doubled), so I should be good."  Ribbing done, onto body. "Oh man, I don't know if I have enough yarn...and it still looks too big."  Knit 4 rounds.  "Jeez, now it looks too small."  Yeah.  So this pattern is going to be the death of me.  And I think the problems are largely with the pattern.

Here are the problems with this pattern:

1) the free version I have is about 3-4 tweaks away from the newest, $6.50 version. So the gauge, yardage, shaping, etc. are all a little...well...off, I'm afraid. For example, my version says that the 38" size uses 800 yards. But the pattern notes on Ravelry now say 700.  Mmm-k, which is it?

2) it's knit bottom up instead of top down.  Normally this wouldn't be an issue (I knit that Summer Romance bottom up).  But it's basically a raglan construction and it's really hard to tell how well it will fit when you start knitting it at the waistband. So I have to wait until I get to the owls part to tell if this thing is going to fit or not.

3) over 5500 people have knit some version of this sweater and committed their results to Ravelry. This is a good thing.  I don't think any one of them had the same experience as the other.  This is a bad thing. 

4) the most troubling thing is that nobody seems to be getting the right gauge with the recommended yarn on the recommended needle size.  So it's impossible to tell how much yarn I might actually need.  Another similar frustration is that many people just gave up on knitting this to gauge and just opted to knit something 2-3 sizes bigger (in as varied combinations of yarn, yardage, and needles as could be humanly possible) in order to get a garment that fits them.  This is not an option for me, as a) I could run out of yarn and b) the largest size on my pattern is 42".  The newer, not-free version has 2 sizes above that.  Sigh.

5) the neckline looks really weird on many sweaters.  I don't have the mental strength to look at 5500 projects, but the several hundred that I have looked at seem to have varying degrees of success with the neck.  Sometimes it looks perfect.  More often, it looks WAY too wide, almost like an off-the-shoulder neckline.  I can't do the Flashdance look; I need to wear a bra. So I'm concerned about this.  And there doesn't seem to be any mods or help with adjusting this, unless I knit it from the neck down.

6) this sweater generally does not look great on people with big boobs.  A few have done it and it looks good.  But again, they all seem to have veered wildly from the actual pattern to get it to look that way.

So I have a feeling that I'm going to be "winging" a lot on this sweater.  I toyed (and am still toying) with the idea of re-starting it, but from the neck down. A few people on Ravelry have posted that they adjusted the pattern to knit it this way.  Because for me, the biggest issue is the bust.  If it's too tight across the bust, then it doesn't matter if it fits everywhere else.  Ill-fitting sweaters are a no-no for me.  And knitting it top down will also give me a better idea about the yarn and if I'll have enough of it.  UGH, but that means doing math. I really don't want to have to do math to knit a sweater.

Hmm... decisions, decisions....

The bottom line is that I want to be able to look at a pattern, cast-on, knit it, and get a result that will fit; is that so much to ask?

Deja Deja Vu

Aaaand here's the one for my mother-in-law. The buttons arrived today. This time I just used oval shell buttons that I got from Deramores (an AWESOME store that features knitting products more common to knitters in Great Britain. They offer free shipping with no minimum and the prices are decent too). Anyway, I think these simple buttons look nice with this sweater. They really highlight the rich, French blue color!

The Fastest Sweater Ever

Well, I am happy to report that I completed the February Lady sweater on Monday 8/22, which means I started and finished a sweater in three weeks. I cannot believe I knit an adult-sized sweater in 3 weeks. I am very happy with the results. So much so, that I think I am going to frog the Komon kimono that I started like 76 years ago (ok, 4 --- close enough) for my mom and make one of the February Lady sweaters for her as well.


I have yet to take a halfway flattering photo of myself wearing this sweater. I so wish I was more photogenic. But anyway, I must say it fits me fabulously --- like it was made on me. And you know what? It sort-of was! Love the top-down construction because it lets you try it on as often as you want!

Various and Sundry

Ok, I don't know why, but I kinda LOVE this.

http://stitchmana.com/pattern/spoilt-for-choice/

It's a free pattern called Spoilt for Choice. The designer's little story about how this garment came into being is quite amusing. There are about 15 ways to wear this thing. I just think it's super chic and unique. I might make one for Amy, my friend and colleague here at work who is super fun and funky and appreciates artistic quirkiness. Then I really want to make one for me. Although, I don't know if a very busty chick, like me, could pull this off.









Other things:

The scarf for my boss is done. But he's been all weird lately. My friend Amy (same one I mentioned above) and I tried to take him to lunch at the end of July (for which event I furiously knit away to complete that scarf). And he made some weird, cryptic remark (what a surprise) about how "no lunches will be had until September." What. Ever. Here's the scarf:


















Back at the end of April, my mom and sister got together and ordered a set of "Darn Pretty" Dyakcraft needles for me as a birthday present. Well, given that they were inundated with orders (because their needles are amazing), the folks at Dyakcraft could not manage to get them out to me until around 8-9 weeks later. But I did receive them around July 4, and the needles are pretty freakin' sweet. Pictures to follow.

I got the 3.5" set (sizes 4-10) in Hazelnut wood. The set also came with 4 stoppers and a beautiful, hand-sewn needle case in a brick red color with a chocolate brown grosgrain ribbon closure. Really pretty. I ordered the shorter length cables. Super smooth wood, but not lacquered. So there is no threat of something rubbing or flaking off. Joins for the cables are quite good, as are the cables themselves --- not too thick (like Denise) or thin as fishing lure (like Hiya Hiya). I think they are the right combination of flexible and thin. I will definitely order more cables for my needles. I am also very tempted to order a set of 5" needles. Maybe for Christmas or next year for my 40th birthday (GAH).

Now I see that they have sets of sock-sized DPNs for $40. You get FIVE sets of needles (US 0, 1, 1.5, 2, and 3). That's a REALLY good price for 5 sets of hand-turned needles. I hate being broke. LOL

Anyway here are some pics of the 3.5" Hazlenut set:


































I apologize for the quality of the photos. They looked better on the iPhone.











I am so pleased with the depth and variation of color in this set.













Anyway, I really like these needles a lot! And if you are in the market for a set of quality, interchangeable, wood needles, then these are definitely worth the $140 price tag.


Let's see what else? Oh, the Helix scarf. Done. Here's a picture:



















I also started knitting a February Lady sweater. I know several people who have knit this sweater. And there are over 11000 (yes eleven THOUSAND) knitters who have the February Lady sweater among their projects. I've been tossing around the idea of knitting this sweater for a couple years. I just wasn't sure how good the style would look on me. But, wanting to finally knit a sweater for ME, I decided to just go for it.

I'm using Valley Yarns Colrain. Very lovely, soft merino/tencel blend. The color I chose is called "Gray Teal." This is the most absurd color name for this yarn because it's neither gray NOR teal (which I hate, as you know), or even remotely close to one of those colors. It's more of a Nile green or even a jungle green. I mean seriously, just look at the swatch color. Gray Teal? Nope. Anyway, the label calls it heavy worsted, but it's really regular to light worsted. I'm knitting on size 8, which it what the pattern calls for and I seem to be getting gauge with no problem, albeit, the gull lace pattern seems pretty lacy already and I haven't finished yet (so no blocking yet).

Here's a picture:


Coming along nicely, I think! I'm knitting the 41" size. I tried it on (ah the beauty of top-down raglan construction) and it seems to be fitting pretty well. A little closer around the bust than I maybe like. But again, this is pre-blocked and it's still on the needles, which makes the measurements a little smaller.








I also got the MOST gorgeous buttons for this from etsy. Check THESE out:




The seller is LiDDesignsSupplies in Hoboken, NJ. All her buttons are super nice and unique.








Speaking of etsy, I've encountered some really nice sellers on there (and some freakin' idiots). One super nice person in particular is Rose over at Cakewalk Yarns. I saw this yarn on there the other day and flipped over sideways. HAD to have it:

It's 463 yards of sock yarn and the colorway was called Hero Squad. It got it's name from an episode of Arrested Development, which I thought was just too hilarious.
Here's her description:

Color: HERO SQUAD
Another yarn inspired by my favorite (albeit canceled) TV show, Arrested Development. Buster got distracted by the claw machine game in the bus station & missed his bus to the Army base. Forgetting all about boot camp, he arrived home with an armful of stuffed animal prizes. Buster (suddenly realizing his mistake) explained to the family that these were awards & that the army had assigned him to Hero Squad…mistaking the children’s cartoon for an actual military program. This yarn is inspired by the Buster’s imagination – it is a very bright green, speckled with many, many colors.

It was $21 for the skein plus $2 to ship. Not bad, especially since it's hand-dyed and on etsy (which tends to be uber expensive for sock yarn). So later that day I saw a convo from Rose. She said she re-skeined the yarn so that it didn't look exactly like the picture. But that if I was a yarn "collector" (oh how she knows us knitters!) she'd send me a re-re-skeined one. So I told her that I'd love to have one that looked like the picture, if only to admire (and show off!) for a little while before using it. This just HAS to be knit into something. But here are the rest of our convos:

Rose: Ok-I sent it off this afternoon before I got your note so I will get another one out to you in the morning. Not a problem! --Rose

Me: OH that's ok! Don't worry about it! Since you've already mailed it!
Gina

Rose: I insist! I should have asked you beforehand, I was just in a hurry to get to the post office before they close. You keep both, please. I think you are going to love Hero Squad & that way you can knit someone a gift.
Thanks very much—Rose

Me: Oh my gosh! That is so nice of you!!! Thank you so very much!
Gina

So now I am getting TWO skeins of this incredible yarn. I can't believe how generous and thoughtful some people are. Thank you, Rose from Cakewalk Yarns, for resorting my faith in humanity just a teeny bit!

Resurrection

Hi. How are you? Remember...this?


Yeah...poor, poor, pitiful Pinwheel Sweater. It's been languishing unloved, un-celebrated, and unsung in a knitting bag since June 2008. For some unknown reason I got to thinking about this sweater last night. Maybe it was the yarn (Lion Brand Cotton Ease), which I liked working with, or maybe the colors, which I also think are calming and work well together, or maybe it was the recollection that I was 75% done with the thing, but I suddenly wondered, "Uh...why the frak didn't I ever finish this??" Clearly, I liked the yarn, the colors, and the pattern enough to get it to near completion. There is NO seaming involved at all here. The sleeves are picked-up and knit down to the cuffs. WTF is up with me?

So at 11:45 pm I yanked it out of the bag. The counter I was using for this project was as multi-function plastic sheet of calculations that you could slide little check-points up and down-- much fancier that your plain ol' vanilla row counter. So you could determine what row, what stitch, how many repeats, if you were increasing or decreasing and how many times you needed to do that. Neat when I first got it. But utterly useless to me at this point. It might as well have been in Chinese. I felt a sense of terror come over me. Maybe this is why I stopped? Something went wrong and I have to rip the thing back to the sleeve holes?

I glanced at the project on the needles and it came to me almost instinctively: you're knitting this round and you need to increase 1 in every section (there are 8 sections).

So I did. Then I purled the next round (400 stitches...whimper). But, it wasn't...terrible. I mean when I knit the ruffle scarf (Ooh La La), I had to purl 1600 --- yes 1600 --- stitches PER row for a couple rows and I survived with my sanity (mostly) intact. And I also realized that I only need to knit a few more rounds then bind the thing off! Again, I was bemused by my actively avoiding finishing this sweater for over 2 and half years.

Long story short (too late), I'm finishing the son-of-a-bitch, hopefully by the end of the month.

Famous last words, right?

Just Checkin' In

Happy June, everyone. I absolutely cannot really believe it's JUNE. Where is the year going?

So, I am all signed up and ready for the Summer Dishcloth Swap! I can't wait to get my match so I can get started knitting up the cloths! I am really looking forward to a departure from that blasted pinwheel sweater. Oh it's coming along well enough. I think. It's just that knitting a round of nearly 400 stitches, then purling a round of nearly 400 stitches (and you all KNOW how much I love purling) over and over again is starting to wear on my sanity.

Knitting a quick, cool, funky dishcloth is just what I need right about now. And, of course, a bath mitt is in order! I love knitting them. Fast and the end result looks fantastic.

I've also cast on a new pair of socks. These will end up being sort of tiger-striped. With all the cats in my house, I thought it was fitting. ;-)

Next weekend, Todd and I leave for Virginia for a week. It will be nice to get away. We'll be gone June 14-21. My sister Helene and her family will also be joining us. I can't wait to see them. I haven't seen them since March. I hear that Aubrey is walking now! She's only about 9 months old. They are so cute when they are that little. Let's hope I can get my camera battery situation figured out.

Which reminds me, I gotta call the cat-sitter....