Two rights can make a wrong

Sometimes the right yarn and the right pattern. . . make the wrong project.

After a couple weeks of good yet undiscernable progress on socks, wraps and sweaters, I decided last night that I wanted to work on something where I could see and show off a few rows of progress. My Celtic Knot lace wrap was perfect. I had only finished row 7. Two more rows, and my project grew by nearly 30%. That's progress.

Except. . . . that I really started looking at it. When you are knitting intricate lace (and new at it, so you have to factor in the many screw-ups that will inevitably occur and have to be re-done) with itty bitty yarn, you want to make sure you are doing it well. You don't want to waste a thousand hours knitting to end up with something that you stick in the back of your closet and never touch again. (I guess that makes me a project knitter instead of a process knitter.)

I looked at the now-completed 9 rows. I looked at my swatch. I pictured them both a hundred times bigger. And I decided that the needles were too big for the yarn. My lacey holes looked gapey. It just didn't look right to my admittedly untrained lace eye.

I considered just re-starting with smaller needles. Except. . . this stole was already smaller than I really wanted (I was hoping that it would magically block substantially larger), and dropping one or two needles sizes would make the stole, well, really more of a scarf. The design is too intricate for something that will be squisehed around your neck and burined underneath a winter coat. Time to abandon project altogether.

Even though the yarn is labeled lace weight and is 2 ply, it seems more like cobweb weight to me. So I got on Ravelry, and started perusing lacey wraps in cobweb weight or lace weight that could be easily enlarged by adding repeats. (I thought about enlarging the Celtic Knot wrap, but that would have required math, and figuring out how many stitches to cast on without knowing the repeat nunber was too much to tackle at 10 p.m. on a Friday night.)

Choice were considered, drooled over, added to the queue (like I need more things on there), and finally the winner emerged: Seascape. My yarn doesn't have the same halo as Kid Silk, but I would say is about as whispy. And we are kindly given the repeat count to easily increase in size. (I hate a wrap that covers only my shoulders, even a delicate, lacey, whispy one. My arms are usually the part that needs a little extra warmth.)

I was really tempted to cast on last night, but now it was nearing 11, and testing smaller needles, figuring out approximate size desired, and plugging that into "multiples of 36 plus 11" sounded way too complicated. Maybe later today.

And yet, today is sock club. I haven't gone in months, and my sweetie must have been feeling guilty, because he volunteered (or at least didn't protest loudly when I suggested it) to watch the little guy so I could spend 2 hours among sock-minded people. Woo hoo!

Today, it is all about the new project burning a hole in your knitting bag.

Rule 3

Rule 3 of Sock Club: If the sock isn't working. . . frog it. My pretty petticoat socks are no more. Yes, I was halfway done with the SECOND sock. But when I tried to put it in, it was just too stiff and/or small for my feet. I liked the look of the chevroned stripes, but it just wasn't comfy on the tooties, and that is more important that looking good, at least where feet are concerned.



So, I gathered my resolve, and ripped the whole thing out. That makes one less work in progress, at least. Now I just have to decide what to do with the yarn, especially since I realized that while it is very pretty, it doesn't match a single thing in my closet, so maybe socks for me isn't the best use. I am picturing some frilly, dainty little girl socks.

I have firmly entered the second trimester, so finally feel like knitting again. Once in a while at least. So Pomotomus is. . . an inch longer than it was with little discernable change. And my sweetie's hoodie is . . . a couple inches longer than it was with little discernable change. And my Twisted Tweed Socks are . . . an inch or two longer than they were with . . . I am starting to notice a pattern here.

I hate being in the middle of projects. At the beginning, you see your progress. When you had an inch last week, and now have two inches, you have doubled your progress. Two inches on a hoodie that is already 22 inches just doesn't sound all that impressive. I could start something new, but I feel like I already have too many "active" projects.

Today, it is all about the non-discernable progress

Forgotten photos

In reviewing the last few months of blog entries, er, I mean last few blog entries. . . . well, same thing. I realized that I had never posted pictures of my recently finished projects. Oh, the shame. The neglect. Let me remedy.

Finished objects #1 and #2: Car seat baby blankies

A very good friend of my mine was pregnant. (Baby born last week, congrats Cyn!) One of the most used gifts that I received lst year was a tiny little blankie for car seat use. Just a little something to drape over when there is a hint of chill in the air, that doesn't dangle down or get tangled with the base. As it turned out, I had enough yarn to make two, so I get to keep one for myself.

Finished Object #3: Branching Out Scarf, "First Lace"

I ran out of yarn, so called it finished. The scarf is a little shorter than I usually prefer, but may stretch a little longer with blocking. No, I have not done that yet.

Finished Project #4 Cabled fingerless mitts.

I really love the design and the colors in the yarn, but I can't wear them. I made a mistake halfway through the cable on the first mitt. Nothing too big. Muggles can't see it, but a fiber person notices it so fast, you would think it was knit in neon pink. I have enough of the ball to knit another pair, which I am considering doing. (I think. Wouldn't that be irony in itself if I went through all the trouble to knit the whole thing over again, and ran out of yarn a few inches shy?) Would it be terrible of me to donate the ruined pair to charity?

Today, it is all about the showing off.

New home

Bad blogger! Yes, I am aware how long it has been since I have last blogged. There has been a very good reason for that: lack of knitting. There isn't much use to blog about knitting, when you haven't been. A few rows here and there on a shawl and sock that have been previously blogged and pictured seems silly.


There is a very good reason for the lack of knitting, but my little Bugaboo wanted to be the one to tell you. He is going to be a big brother in January. (Pause while everyone comes to the correct conclusion.) So I am 2/3's way through the first trimester, and apparently a baby is all my body has the energy to be creating at the moment. As before, I am exhausted and queasy all the time, and even knitting seems like a waste of valuable energy.


Since I have little new knitting to show off, I will show off my yarn's new home. My sweetie finished (some time ago) modifying his old gun cabinet into my new yarn cabinet. It even has CEDAR shelves. Not cedar-lined, solid cedar. I doubt he really understands the risk that moths pose to my yarn, but he understands enough to know that cedar is good, and went the extra mile on that part. It didn't take long for me to start moving yarn in. I unearthed a few random skeins from their hiding places in the house. (If my husband has noticed that my dirty clothes have been going into his hamper for months, I am sure he hasn't gone the next step and wondered what was in MY hamper. A cubby here, a stuffed skein there. As long as he doesn't have to see it.) Then I came home from the office bearing a plastic container. Then one more trip from my mother's basement.


There is a special shelf dedicated to sock yarn. I had forgotten some of the nice yarns burried deep at the bottom of that plastic container. It makes me want to knit up a storm! If I had the energy to get off the couch, that is.


The ammo and handgun bottom section has been converted nicely to gadgets, widgets and needles. My sweetie may still need to do some tweaking. The center areas is really too big, and could use one more shelf in there.


I had to celebrate a little. A newly converted yarn cabinet deserves some some new yarn. It had been so long since I bought new yarn. I just had to! Besides, I was just doing my little part to help the economy! That's my story and I am sticking to it.



Isn't is pretty? Almost all my yarn is in one place at my own residence. I can look at it and pet it any time I want. I can plan, organize and peruse. I can cast on at a whim. This is life, baby!



Today, it is all about the new storage, for both yarn and babies.

Progress

Voila, my new project. I hesitate to call it "new" because I have been working on it for the past several weeks. The color is a light, heatherly mulberry color, in a thin, mohair blend. I had six balls of this, with six white balls languishing in my stash forever. Finally the right (I hope) project chose the yarn. I saw a dramatic long-tail shawl on Mason-Dixon knitting a few months ago, and it seemed to fit the bill.


I am halfway through the first ball now, and the shawl is large enough. . . .to cover my neck. 165 stitches wide already, so obviously, my yarn is much thinner than the originally intended yarn. Size isn't all that important for a shawl, as long as the relative proportions are preserved, right? Except. . . something is wrong. Is it supposed to be a large semi-circle. That isn't what the picture looks like. Am I doing something wrong? I am following the directions.




Ah-ha! Much better. Now the border part of th directions make more sense too.

My favorite model was awake this morning, so I tried having him model my knitting. "Tried" being the oprative word. This was so much easier when he just laid there.

Bugaboo, don't pull on Mommy's needles.

Can you show the knitting a little better?

Who could resist that smile?

Today, it is all about the model.

In Memoriam

The crafting world lost a devotee last week. My aunt died. After 63 years, her needles and hooks are still. I remember her working on endless Dr. Who scarves in the 80's. She crocheted a Christening gown for my son. I am well stocked with cotton dishcloths and potholders. She crocheted Christening blankets for a church. I just don't ever remember a time when she wasn't knitting or crocheting something.



When she died, sure enough. One last blanket in progress. I told my uncle that I would finish it, and send it to him. I should have looked at how far along she was (and how much there was left to go) before I opened by mouth, but there it is. I have long preferred knitting to crocheting, but I remember how to do it, and I found the instructions in the basket.



Ironically, I gave her the yarn to begin with. A mound of white, gray and blue balls from a long ago abandoned project. This yarn is haunting me, coming back to force me to use it again.

Meanwhile, I hope heaven has yarn stores.

Today, it is all about the honoring.

Swatch you!

Last night was the perfect example of why I hate swatching. I have finished several WIP's recently (pictures to come later, as I am away from my home computer and camera today), so I wanted to celebrate by starting something new.

I have had something in particular perculating in my mind, so I spent a couple days gathering in preparation. I checked out the book at the library. I jotted down the notes from a blog with my desired midification. I pulled the yarn out of my stash, and decided the best color combo. I was ready.

Last night, I sat down to swatch, to determine the best needle size. Three episodes of "Sex and the City" later (from Season six, on DVD from the library), I had finished my swatch, and decided that I liked the size 7 needle the best, 5 and 6 being too tight.

By then, I was too tired to cast on, and just went to bed. Disappointed, and vowing to start this morning.

This is why I hate swatching. I will hate it even more if I cast on, and decide that 7 is too loose.

I refuse to take a picture of the swatch, so I will just have to wait a little longer to talk about the new project in detail.

Today, it is all about the frustration.