Arwen update

One front half down, one to go...



While on a weekend roadtrip up to Cambria and then Walnut Creek, I had plenty of time to finish the first front half and get a good 12" head start done on the second one. The end is coming into view!

In other news, I bought yarn for the Cable Down Raglan from the Spring 2007 Interweave Knits while in Cambria this past weekend:



The color is almost right in this extremely blurry picture. I can't wait to get started (I love seamless knitting!) but I told myself I HAD to finish Arwen before starting this!

fare thee well

The SKB is no more.

It had been sitting in my study, unworn but for a few minor outings to the grocery store. I knew in my heart of hearts that it just wasn't going to work out, but was unable to let go. A number of things just went wrong about it. First, I messed up the lace in both sleeves -- I was prepared to live with this issue, since I didn't frog them as I was working on them, but it was sort of a final straw. The biggest problems I had with it were that it was just too big, regardless of my attempts to size it as I knit it, and the yarn substitution totally didn't do it for me. I was dreaming of something drapey and the Andean Silk was just too stiff for what I had in mind for this project.

Cat had decided the SKB was her most favorite bed and had been sleeping on it when I was working in the study. Evidence #1:



Can you see the cat fur? If not, no matter. I finally took the wisdom of another knitter on the Knitty Board (name forgotten, sorry, but you were an inspiration!) who once said that when you frog a project, don't despair about the hours of work that went into its initial construction, but just think that you're getting twice the use out of your yarn.



So, much to Cat's unhappiness, I sat down and frogged!



I now have approx. 1200 (supposedly, probably less of it is workable now...maybe 1100-1000) yards of lovely Hollyberry Andean Silk. They need to be washed and blocked, but they will soon be re-useable. The question now is, for what? (Besides a bed for Cat...)

Option #1: Another Hourglass (see pictures below)
Pros: I love that green Hourglass sweater. A lot. Wouldn't mind having another around.
Cons: making another one...hmm...I think I'd like to try something new

Option #2: A Wicked.
Pros: looks easy, I'm digging the cabling right now, could probably make it quickly
Cons: would only use up half the yarn...or is that such a bad thing?

Option #3: Something Red
Pros: Looks pretty, might be able to wear year round, construction looks fun and easy
Cons: a little concerned about it fitting in real life the way it looks in the pictures...

Hmm...well, at least I have the Arwen to work on while I decide...

Stuff in progress

WAY too busy lately. They aren't kidding when they said "when it rains, it pours." (Whoever "they" is...)

Anyhow, the Kitty Pi is done, but I haven't been able to get Cat off of it for long enough to go felt it. So I'm sort of reluctant to mess with something that she obviously likes as it is. I am planning an experiment, however: I will set the unfelted Kitty Pi next to my felted tote bag (which she enjoys, too) and see which one she likes better.

I've cast on for a baby blanket. Haven't made a lot of headway on it yet, but it's there and technically doesn't need to be finished until, like, June. Plenty of time. The Red Heart TLC yarn isn't the sexiest yarn in the world, but it is sturdy and remarkably lightweight. And I love my new Boye Needlemaster needles.

I've made some progress on the Jaywalkers, which I hadn't actually touched since I cast them on. My first real sock...I've done a couple pairs of tube socks, but these will be my first "heeled" ones. Hopefully I won't crash and burn on these socks once I get there...The Knitpicks dpns ROCK, and the Lorna's Laces yarn seems almost decadent to work with -- so expensive but so beautiful *sigh*. I love the whimsical Bee Stripe color...

Ah, and the Arwen. I've put the left front cable stitches on a holder and am finishing up the sleeve. I'm not really cranking along on this as fast as I had hoped; maybe I'll finish the left front by this weekend...

Cat approved

I was working on the wonderful Kitty Pi pattern a bit today. I've been using up remnants from projects that used feltable wool...so there's some purple Lamb's Pride Bulky from the Cleaves, some lime green Patons wool from the Space Invaders tote, and some KP WOTA from my Hourglass.

Anyway, I put it aside to do a little work on the Cardigan for Arwen when Cat decided to demo my progress on the Pi:





So here's some pictures of my progress on Arwen:





I'm using KP Shine Worsted (cotton/modal), because I wanted something that I could wear year-round in Southern California. But I'd forgotten how weird it is to work with cotton. At first I was freaking out that the cables didn't have enough definition, but I think it's turned out okay. The back is finished; I'm now on the first side of the front. I've never really done short rows before, so the concept kind of threw me for a loop at first. And man, the finishing on this is going to be super tedious. But it's coming along...I find the construction to be pretty engaging (but then, I haven't knit a lot of sweaters/cardis). The cables are really fun, and knitting them makes me feel like my skills are leveling up!

An FO!

For the longest time, I had no interest in knitting a Clapotis. Maybe it was its fad status in the knitting world. Maybe I was scared off by the odd name.

But I suppose I have now learned that sometimes, the fads become fads for a reason.

I LOVE IT!



(These photos are sort of an FO-twofer, since the sweater is an Hourglass Sweater from Hoverson's Last Minute Knitted Gifts that I made last summer. You can see Cat in the bottom picture, looking at me with dramatically flashing eyes!)

Anyway, here are its stats:
Name: Clapotis
Yarn: 5 balls Rowan Tapestry (wool/soy blend)
Needles: US8 circs
Notes: I skipped one repeat of the increases since I didn't want it too wide. I was totally worried that I would hate the random bright stripes that appeared in a couple of balls (even though they were all of the same dyelot), but I have to say that I adore the randomness. I also thought that it would end up too Rainbow Brite-y, but the overall effect seems to be fairly subdued.

I finished it last Thursday because I became suddenly determined to wear it out this weekend (two of my husband's students had performances - a play at Crossroads school and an opera at the new postmodern Cathedral downtown).

I LOVE IT!

That is all.

Wow...

I had no idea how quickly one could set up a Blogger account! I now have no idea why I put making one off for so long...

Well, here is my brand new knitting blog! There's plenty of stuff on the needles, so I hope to start getting some pictures up soon.

Let's see, what to do for my first post? I know, let's take stock!

On the Needles:
1. Clapotis: pattern from knitty.com, yarn is Rowan Tapestry (wool/soy)
Can I just say I love the counter-intuitiveness of dropping stitches on purpose?
2. Cardigan for Arwen: pattern from IK Winter 2006, yarn is KP Shine worsted
3. Jaywalkers: pattern from Magknits, yarn Lorna's Laces Bee Stripe!
4. Kitty Pi!
I'm just using whatever random feltable yarn I have around here. It's FUN!
5. vintage gloves that are suffering from "second 'sock' syndrome"

Off the Needles but needing to be finished:
1. Betsey Bag from Spin to Knit: yarn is Lion's Brand wool and my own first handspun!
This needs to be felted before I can cast on the top flap with my interestingly uneven merino...
2. cabled purse: yarn is Naturwolle
Needs lining and handles

In the Queue:
1. baby blanket for friend...she's finding out if it's a boy or girl soon, so I'll choose a pattern and cast on when I know (I like this one best so far: http://www.knitting-and.com/knitting/patterns/baby/lace.htm)
2. cabled throw/afghan
3. Rogue
4. Anemoi mittens (SO gorgeous)
5. some sort of lacework shawl -- never done one and I'd like to give it a go
6. Venezia pullover from Winter 2006 IK (HA! I SO don't have the skills for that yet...)

I'm thinking about joining the Sweater a Month KAL...don't know if I can actually manage a sweater a month, but maybe it'll give me some good motivation to finish up that CforA.