Seattle Stash Enhancement

We went to Seattle for a wedding, and the hotel was conveniently located a block from Weaving Works, a large local yarn store. I went in with a list: Buttons for purple Angelica, wool for cabled bag, something in a sweater's worth quantity. The silk was the only impulse purchase. I got it because it was pretty and felt nice and HAUNTED my brain!

Shopping time was at a premium, so along with the list I went in only twice: Once was a scouting mission where I looked for the yarns on the list, felt everything I could, checked the buttons and didn't buy anything! Trip 2 was on our last night there, and I had about half an hour before the store closed.

The store is offering a 3% discount if you bring your own bag, which I did. I left when the store closed with a tote full of yarn. The funny thing was, I then ran into DBF in the lobby with 3 friends, and we all went out for Pho and beer. With my tote full of yarn. On the way home we ran into the bride, and went with her to a local club with live music and more beer. With my tote full of yarn. It is really funny to get up to go the the bar or restroom and scream over a punk band to a friend, "Hey! Will you watch my YARN?!?"

Finished Angelica Sweater!

Pattern: Angelica by Stefanie Japel

Yarn: Bamboo from SWTC: 4 skeins: Purple

Needles: 6s and 8s. Mostly 8s.

Feb 10th to June 2nd. Still needs a button on the neck.

Oh my: Another top-down raglan. Swatched. Swatch lied. Started with too small a size (neck is small and round instead of open) worked increases and short-rows, kept trying it on. Decreased dramatically under-bust and gradually increased over waist and hips. Followed exactly for last 30 rows (the purl row stripes). At one point had a huge peplum from increasing too much and ripped it all the way back to the under-bust.

Is it super-obvious that there is a faded stripe right in the middle 3rd of the sweater? The dye lot was all the same, but this one skein looks faded. From my experience, bamboo on fabric isn't as thirsty as wool, and the color doesn't stay as well. Perhaps it will all even out in the wash?

Overall I like this sweater, finally. The yarn is soft and cool, the length is tunic-long, I like the belled sleeves and the hexagon in the neckline. I would make some changes if doing this pattern again, but this is good for now. 

Cat claws cause this yarn to pull and snag something awful: I had to chase pinot away many times, and the time he slept in the yarn basket was disaster!

Spoilage? And New Skirt Project

Just in case I am NOT the very last one to get my May 08 Blue Moon Socks that Rock Club shipment: Here is your spoiler warning.

New Project!
This is Indigo Ripples Skirt by Kat Coyle as published awhile ago in Interweave Knits. I am making it out of cheap hardware store cotton. I have made 2 gauge swatches, using 3 needle sizes, and of course the swatches LIE. I had to rip out the first cast-on after about 2 inches revealed that it was about 80 stitches too large. The next one seems to be okay, but I had to rip it out as well in order to add back in some increases. We shall see.
I'm worried about cotton shrinkage.


In the meantime: Here is the new kit from STR: The pattern is Cleopatra's Stockings by Yarnissima, and the skein is lightweight STR in The Incredible Shrinking Violet. Besides the mini skein, pattern, and dyer's Notes, we also got a luggage tag, which shall be useful for summer travels. It is a very rich color, and so far the striping looks distracting. 

I fear that maybe I am making too many socks. I don't wear socks too much anymore, since my current job requires bare feet.

Finished: Dishcloth

New Mason-Dixon dishcloth for our house! The white is plain and the rainbow pastels are Easter-eggish, but the pink matches my espresso machine! You know it's serious when I 1)Move the cat, and 2) Move the espresso machine over to DBF's house.

In other news: Finished sleeve and neckline of Angelica (must find good button) and ripped out odd peplum hip all the way up to just below bust-shaping. I don't know who I think I am, thinking I know better than the pattern. I mean, I wanted to expand for the hips, but not THAT much!

Leaflings are Done!

Pattern: Leafling by JC Briar, the pattern from March 2008 Blue Moon Rockin' Sock Club.
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts mediumweight in Lucky
Began: April 16th, Finished May 1st.

I started these in size medium and then switched to small after the heel. They are slightly different because I read the heel wrap directions as "The last stitches are NOT wrapped" when it really was "NOW wrapped". Oops! I also altered the toe as directions on the blog dictated. Pretty! I like the lace pattern, the green color, and the pointy toe pattern.

Nesting

I have been working on a new dishcloth for a new home: Ours. I have moved in with DBF into his house, and while he has plans for construction, I have plans for home-knits. This was a long time coming: Mostly we hung out at my little place, which I love, since his house had tenants for so long. And I needed reassurance of the emotional and organizational nature. Now I need to make dishcloths and curtains.
And here we have the March sock from the Blue Moon Socks that Rock club: I have one done so far and am working on the second. I began them both as size mediums and switched to smalls after the heel. Toe variation published on their site.
Still also working is the bamboo sweater: Sleeves are in progress, and then I will rip and re-knit the bottom half.
Can you believe it is almost May?

Baby Sweaters!

My friend Jenn is having a baby, and her baby shower was yesterday. I made her some Mason-Dixon Baby Kimonos out of machine washable and dryable cotton. 

Pattern: Achingly Cute Baby Kimono from Mason-Dixon Knitting. 

Needles: #6 for the green one and #7 for the natural one.

Yarn: Peaches and Creme. The green one took 2.5 balls and the natural one was off a cone. I only had 2 balls of the green, and put that one on hold and began the white one. Last week I was in Kona and hit up the walmart for another ball of green. Luckily they had the yarn, although not in the same dye lot, of course. It didn't seem to matter too much. I sewed ribbons on the green one, but used a green button on the white one. I think the button will be more practical.

A funny thing: I used some yarn to finger-crochet a ribbon for the wrapping paper. People were ooohing and ahhing over the ribbon. Heh. They were super-impressed when she opened the package and there was hand-knits inside! Jenn was working with me when I made this pattern in wool for my College Roommate's baby, and liked it. Now she has her own in Hawaii-appropriate cotton!

And speaking of Green:

The March Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Shipment, which I received at the very end of March, is very green and bright! I will begin it soon, now that the baby shower is over. I love green, and like the Leafling pattern by JC Briar. I assume it is old news to everybody by the time I get it and spoiler warnings are moot:

I'm Not Quite That Hippy...

I'm working on Angelica by Stephanie Japel out of SWTC Bamboo. My gauge was off so I have been trying it on as I go. However, my needles in the round were cramping my stitches in the hip area. When I took it off the needles I found that I have a droopy, squared-off, saggy peplum-like ruffle on the bottom. No, it doesn't look like a peplum. I will need to rip it out, but until I am up to it, I will work on the sleeves.

I Miss Socks: Do I Have a Problem?

I made some Fetching mitts. They are okay. I think I will wear them alot to keep my hands warm. I think next time they need to be fingerless gloves instead of fingerless mitts (with little fingerlets, like Knucks). DBF says, "But are they done? They don't cover your fingers?" Used size 3s, did them in 2 days, didn't use the whole skein of Jo Sharp Alpaca Kid Lustre. This is a good one-skein project (I had gotten this skein to see if it would work for a cabled sweater, and while I like the Alpaca in general, I don't think it shows off the cables at all!)
But I miss socks. I jammed out the STR club January selection already, and don't expect a new one until late March. I felt I should do something other than socks, because I have a closet full of them and don't wear them too much, but I just like knitting socks so much!
*sigh*
I started something else instead: Angelica by Stephanie Japel. I'm using SWTC Bamboo in a shiny purple color. My guage is way off, so we will see how that turns out. Maybe I will just start another sock?

Finally!

The Tilted duster is finally done! After blocking, a small turn in the dryer (it stretched after washing), and application of buttons and a snap, it is finally complete! I like how the side seam steeks turned out. I guess it was worth the time out!
Pattern: Tilted Duster by Norah Gaughan from Fall 07 Interweave Knits
Needle: #10 Circulars: Used the Denise set.
Yarn: Plymouth Galway Highland Heather in Teal, purchased in Hilo, here on the Big Island!
Began: September 6, 2007
Completed: February 8th 2008
Modifications: Did the 44" chest, but should have maybe done a smaller size back? Knit the sleeves in the round to sleeve caps, and when I re-knit them, I added about an inch to the length, then made the sleeve cap less extreme. Other than that... Oh yes: Sewed, steeked, cut the side seams to fit. Heh.

Some before and after armpit photos:




Now that it is done: I like the yarn, the color, and the design (except, of course, the bat wing underarms that needed trimming). I think the wool is soft and warm. I was unsure if the empire waist would fall from my bust and make me look preggers. And it does. But it is still nice, I just need to be careful about what I wear under it.