Jofrog is Knitfrog!
November 30 2005
So, I had dinner last night with the quilt/afghan exchange friend. We clarified that they would not be gifted at the holiday party on December 10th and again, that this was not to be stressful. She was SO RELIEVED! I guess that she's been trying so hard to finish mine, and that it was stressing her out, and that there was no way that she could make that close of a deadline! Pressure off! It's a good thing too. I had enough knitting time last night to do about 16 rows of a baby sleeve. That's it! Certainly not enough time to do one full ball for the afghan! I'm still going to push hard to finish it quickly, but there will be some breaks for other knits in there too. Thanks for your sweet comments yesteday. To answer Emily's question. It is reversible. I wasn't sure if it would work asthetically at first, but I really like it. I'm also happy with the thickness. It will be one cuddleriffic blankie!Phew!
November 29 2005
My Thanksgiving break was SO NICE! It's been a really long time since I've had a few days off in a row with no real obligations. I got to spend a lot of time with family. I got to see a wonderful old friend, and I got very little knitting done in between! Any knitting that I did get to was unscheduled. No Smart Zip Jacket, no Missy Holiday Top, no socks even! My best friend and are doing a blanket swap for the holidays. She is a quilter, I'm a knitter, we are each making one for the other. The catch is, though this is a holiday gift, it was planned to be gifted after the new year, maybe as late as February. I think she's forgotten that part! ...so, if she has mine finished and brings it to our holiday party, I sure have to have something to show, even if it isn't done, right? Good news is, I know how big afghans are, and I got a great deal on some bulky weight wool/alpaca blend yarn at the end of the summer. Bulky, super warm, and soft afghan here we come! If I knit one ball of yarn a day I'll have it done by December 10th (our holiday party). It's a lot, but there is some leaway in there, and I'm doing my best. ...of course I'll be out of the house for the next three nights and I didn't work on it at all last night... maybe it will be a bit late afterall! It just gives me an excuse to drive out to her house to give it to her. Easing Back In
November 23 2005
It's amazing how quickly a small gauge project can go sometimes. My knitting has been very divided over many projects, yet my holiday top, Missy, keeps on flying. I have less than 25in2 to go! That's one striped top half! Wow! I think that it will be staying in Boston, while I travel to CT for Thanksgiving though, so don't expect anything for a while, but just knowing that it's so close is great! Have a happy thanksgiving everyone! I'll probably be away from blogland until Monday. See you then.Less Than 25 In2 to Go!
November 22 2005
...and they called it "Ragalan Love". That's where I'm at people. This ragalan sweater thing, the shaping on every piece, the constant decreases, the ease of assembly. Oooh, I love it! I finished the third piece of the Smart Zip Jacket yesterday and sewed them together... no need to wait, right? I tried to take a good picture of the seams, but that will have to wait for another day that isn't rainy and when my hands are a bit more steady. We just ended up with blurry messes this morning! On to the next sleeve so I can sew it in! Now the question is, do I plan to take this to Thanksgiving with me or not? Hmmmm...Ragalan Love
You get the idea, yes?
November 21 2005
Yesterday morning I finished off the hat and scarf set for my sister. The hat pattern said that it could be completed in under two hours, so I sat down, allocated two hours to it, and got up 58 minutes later with this: ...next!58 Minutes
November 18 2005
One more thing off of my list... Sappho's socks! These are for a nine year old I know who is "obsessed with watermellon colors". She also (a)loves to knit, and (b)loves socks. How could I not knit a pair for her. Originally I was planning on making her a cool pair of DK weight socks, but it's hard to find a good girly pair without them being too baby pink. This yarn was leftover from my Tiptoe Socks and seemed to be perfect for the occasion. I hope she loves them. For any of you looking to make socks for a nine year old:FO Friday!
November 17 2005
Dani gave me the greatest birthday presents yesterday. What a fully unexpected and wonderful surprise. Included was a skein of her "Grapevine" yarn! This yarn was designed with me in mind I'm sure! It's the most beautiful combination of purples and greens, my absolute favorite color combination. Check out the picture, (lifted right off of her site!). She has one more skein left on her etsy site. Go scoop it up and check out her other yarns. They really are incredible. Dani, thanks so much, I'm so excited about this yarn, it actually spent the night on my nightstand next to me and I woke up to its beauty this morning!All the Boys Want to Date Her, All the Girls Want to Dye Like Her
November 16 2005
Let me preface this by saying I've never complained about a Rowan pattern before, I have no problems with them, and especially their more classic pieces, I really like them. So, I swatched for my holiday top, "Missy", got all set to cast on, read the instructions: Um, are those not single stripes, after row 2 are both of my yarns not on the wrong side of the work to do rows 3 and 4? Obviously two choices here. I went with the one that sticks closest to the pattern. Luckilly I do almost everything on circular needles, so I knit rows 1 and 2 as it says, then scooched it all down to work the next two rows from the opposite side and still have them be garder stitch (ie I purled them). It looks good though, and that's all that counts. Here's a little bit for you to enjoy. Mmm, sparkles! Get ready for the holiday cheer! Really Rowan? Really?
Cast on X using yarn A, Knit
Row 1:Using yarn A, knit. Join in yarn B.
Row 2: Using yarn B, Knit.
Rows 3 and 4: As rows 1 and 2
Eh, it's a cloudy day. The real color is a bit less purple, and a bit deeper cranberry, but look at that sparkle!.
November 14 2005
'tis the season, for lots of FOs! There are always a lot of projects around here that are just waiting for a few finishing touches, but without a deadline, I'll go on to the next knitting project, rather than finishing them up. It's always a great feeling when I go back to something I've put down to see that all I needed to do was knit six rows of button band and seam it up. Another FO?
These Bouton d'Or books are hard to find. This one, I know, is out of print. I look for them whenever I go into a yarn store. If they have any of the kid ones I snatch them up. These books have the cutest kid things, many with sizes going up to 10 or 12 years old. The one thing to watch for is every one has some problems in the text. Last one the stated gauge was SO FAR OFF that my sweater would have been totally out of proportion without recalculating. This one the charts were mislabled and the directions for the shoulders, colar, and button bands were sketchy at best. Another woman I know is working on one that between the front and back switched which side the shoulder buttons were. These patterns are not for the faint of heart. Expect to take time reading through, reading through again, and then re-interpreting. If you do, and can, you will be rewarded with the cutest little sweaters that always make me go running back to knit another!
November 12 2005
This is what happens when Mike's away: It's a good thing I'm already married, because otherwise my prospects would be pretty bleak! Thankfully I picked up knitting again after we were already in a committed relationship! PS This picture was in no way posed, really it's how I woke up. PPS Yes, I'm REALLY just reading HP 6 now. I just wasn't ready before, but I'm into it now. Another year or so and I'll make my way through it. After all, I can't cut into my knitting time for it, right? This is What Happens
This is what I woke up to on Mike's side of the bed.
November 11 2005
Ages ago I posted about a Christmas stocking that I was asked to finish for someone. I never shared the finished picture, but tis the season, and to inspire any of you who are thinking of making a stocking this year, here's a little before and after. Get going on your holiday knitting! 'tis the Season
Knitting all done, give me life!
What a difference a few beads and duplicate stitching can make!
November 10 2005
Does it seem like I have a lot of projects going at once? It sure does to me, and this is the wrong time of year for so many things at once! Last night I finished the back of Huxley! This sweater would have been finished weeks ago if it wasn't started in the October rush, so now that I have one sleeve and the back finished, it's being put away until January when it will get full attention. It will come back out soon, because I already love this sweater and I'm sure to wear it a lot! Check out the texture, the waist shaping! Oooh, it's going to be super! It's getting into the holiday season, we already have a few holiday parties and events booked and, other than buying the yarn, I'm nowhere on my holiday top! In case you've forgotten, I'll be wearing this throughout the holiday season, so if I'm coming to your house, please crank up the heat! It's not too big, but it's a lot of little stitches. Swatching soon, really, I only have a month before I need to be wearing it!Refocusing
November 9 2005
I'm in need of all of your expertise please. I finished the cuffs on my Spirt Trail Fiberworks socks a few weeks ago. I've had plenty of other knitting to do, primarilly I haven't touched them because I don't know what type of heel to put on them. A short row heel seems to make sense, but I'd need to do them one at a time, or constantly be transfering stitches. The benefit is that once they are done, they are done, and my stitch count is back to normal to continue down the foot. Part of me would rather do a heel flap, which I could do two at a time, but I'm going to be left with SO MANY STITCHES on one "half" of my needle, and the regular amount on the other half. How many people out there have done two socks at a time, top down, using the magic loop? What have you done? I'm looking forward to your advice!The Expertise of the Internet
November 8 2005
As promised yesterday, I'm here to share my newest project with you! I dove right into the Smart yarn I got at the swap, and started to make this sweater. I'll spare you the details, but the needle size stated on the ball band didn't make sense, so I started swatching with a larger size, then needed to go to a smaller size (but still larger than they were asking for) to get gauge on my swatch. A few inches of stockinette later: I still haven't gotten up enough heart to rip out the back, so I started on one of the fronts, with a smaller needle. This is the first pocket I've knit, I love it! What fun and instant gratification... Okay, so the fishy sweater had a pocket also, but that was picked up and knit, not knit together with it, and... well it was different! Hey Johanna, That's Smart!
It's too big! Darn gauge swatch!
November 7 2005
It's time for the Heart scarf to get it's 15 minutes of fame here: Project Info I was sitting down to start a new project a few nights ago and made myself take the minimal amount of time needed to finish this first. I'm glad that I did! Another holiday present down, and I wasn't even trying! I'm actually very close to being done with everything I planned this year, and it's November 7th! New project woes tomorrow...15 Minutes of Fame
November 3 2005
I believe, although I don't practice it, that swaps are supposed to help you clean out your stash of things you won't knit with, and bring in new things, without the expenditure of money. Both of the last two swaps I've gone to have ended up costing me money... hmmm. First off, Alison gave me her yarn to bring to the swap because she was working. She gave me a huge bag and I told her that I didn't know if I had anything for this swap. Next thing I knew I was going through all of the drawers and bins of stash and came up with this as my offering; not so bad for someone who thought they had nothing to part with! I came home with very little infact. Yarn for two sweaters for two little people. The little boy that I gave the fishy sweater to absolutely loves it. He's learning his letters now and knows that "Y is for yarn, and yarn is for sweatshirts!" Close enough little buddy. For someone so young, with such an appreciation for sweaters made for him by his friend Johanna, how can I not make him another? This yarn is going to be a ragalan jacket for him. The hitch, he's expecting a new little brother to come into the world late this December, and wouldn't matching sweaters be just fabulous? More yarn was bought for a newborn sweater. Same yarn, different dye lot. I figure odd dye lot for the baby sweater will go on his back. No one will see the back on a baby that young anyways! We do go back to the "swaps should not cost me money" thing... but oh well! My other score was this yarn that Thea, our swap hostess donated. I can't wait to swatch it. Check out the obviously faulty gauge information! That concludes this fall's swap. A lot in, little out, but two/three good projects. I'm happy with it! I've Got This Swap Thing All Wrong!
November 1 2005
Many of you know the beautiful chemo cap from last year's Knitty Breast Cancer Special Edition. It's a beautiful hat. I loved it immediately, but hoped I'd never make it for someone I know. Unfortunately that time has come. Mike's best friend's girlfriend is battling breast cancer. She's very young, and has a good prognosis, but is currently undergoing chemo and will be through March. She's a wonderful woman, beautiful, and stylish. She needed something special to help her through this with panache. I used the one leftover skein of Calmer, from my Sirdar cardigan, to make this hat. I had about a ball and a half left, so I wasn't too worried about running out. Because of that, I felt free to alter the pattern in one itty bitty way. I twisted all of my knit stitches. I really like the way that K1tbl, P1 ribbing looks as compared to K1, P1. It's so crisp, and with all of the cabling just being one stitch that moved at a time, I decided to twist my knit stitches always. It turns out that it used less yarn this way, so I was well in the clear for leftovers! ...and I think it looks great. Check out this closeup! Mike's friend is being the most supportive boyfriend he could be and in his own way has started educating friends and collegues and is collecting money to help other people in their situation who don't have the means to get the best care. In addition to this, he has shaved his head to support her hair loss. A guy like this certainly deserves a hat of his own as well, don't you think? His is made out of Royal Tweed, which is such a soft yarn for a tweed. Mmmm, mmm, good! I've been wanting to do a project out of it for a long time and this seemed just right. I used size 9 needles to make it a bit tighter knit and did a K2,Garder rib for the whole hat. Both are being sent off today with wishes of good health.Unfortunately I knit Shedir
