Yarn Wars

So my laptop broke (fortunately it was just Windows, and I was able to reinstall and fix it) and I was sick and filled with snot so I couldn't sleep.  So then I decided to reorganize my yarn.  For the longest time I'd been good about keep everything in gallon zip lock backs in a storage bin so they couldn't mate with each other.

 (This is what happens when you DON'T use such methods.)

However as of late I'd gotten lazy and just started tossing balls of yarn on top of the heap.  So I figured since I was bored and couldn't sleep (snot would drown me) I'd organize the yarns again. 

After I'd pulled things out of the bin, I could truly see how bad it was getting.

As you can see, my cat was trying to help, by jumping on and wrapping around her any skeins I was trying to wrap up again.  In the mean time I did win force the yarn into submission.

Mischief Managed.

Colorwork Bishes!

So I've long been a "color work is for horrible reindeer sweaters" type of person.  However after being guilted into making a whopping pair of four pairs of Tardis Socks (and eventually a fifth, because I'm a glutton for punishment so I offered someone to make yet another pair). 

I girded my loins (ok knitting needles) and gave it a go.  Within an hour I could knit with two hands (eg one hand Continental and the other US style) and had pretty colors!  That didn't look horrid or like a reindeer!  (Also knitting w/ two hands at the same time makes me feel like a rocket scientist.  I'm easily impressed with myself apparently).

Cable On the Side Mittens Review

This is a review of Maggie Menzel's Cable on the Side Mittens.

This is the second pair of mittens I've knitted and I must say these are, in my limited opinion, wonderful.  I'm much more likely to knit a pair of fingerless gloves than mittens, so I was a bit intimidated by the top of the mittens and finishing off the thumb.  The pattern is incredibly clear, and even for a relatively newbie, (to mittens at least) such as myself, after reading the actual pattern I felt much better about it.  The nice thing about these mitts is that they look far more complicated than they are to knit. 

It took me about 5 hours over three days to knit the first mitten (I will admit the mid portion gets tedious because of the relative simplicity and repetition of the pattern. I kept cheating on the mitten with other projects.) but was great for quick cast off gratification. 

Finally publishing patterns

So for every pattern I have on needles written by someone who knows what they're doing (eg not me) I have 2 to 3 that are monsters I'm creating.  A full fifty percent get frogged, or put into back of the closet banishment, but a decent amount turn out cute stuff.  However I generally suck at documenting what I'm doing while knitting, and have several different things going at once.  So I'm making a concerted effort to actually post and share the things I've done. 

On the one hand being honest I've only been knitting about two years, and quite honestly every time I think I know what I'm doing I make some insanely ridiculous mistake that humbles me.  (I suspect I will be knitting for 40 years and still have that happen, but still.)  I tend to lean towards not learning proper ways to do things if they look scary (read : any effort on my part at all) and frankenknitting things to at best, strange result.  On the other hand I find that because I don't know how to do things correctly sometimes I stumble upon pay dirt and a way of doing things that other people either haven't tried, or haven't executed.

The first of these things is may Wavy Crockett Shawl.  It's a crescent shawl that doesn't use short rows and is done from left to right.  I'm honestly still working with the shaping to perfect the curve, but if you want something a little different, but easy as pie, this should work for you.

Wavy Crockett Shawl Pattern

Cast on 15 stitches.  Knit one, place marker. 

There are two parts to this shawl, the part before and after the marker.  The part after the marker will be the chart below.  On rows where there is a * on the chart you will make one before the marker on the second stitch of the row by knitting front and back of the second stitch at the beginning of the row.  (The exception is the first increase will be done in the only stitch before the marker.)  For example, on row 9, after you finish purling across from row eight, you will turn your work, knit one, knit front and back of the second stitch, and knit till the marker, slip the marker and continue the chart.

Once you have increased to 30 stitches before the marker knit 3 chart repeats without increases before the marker. 

Now the * rows will mark decreases rather than increases.  So again, you would purl to the end of your row, turn your work, knit one, knit two together, knit to the marker, slip the marker and continue in chart.  Once you are down to one stitch before the marker you will finish the pattern (should end at the same time the end of the chart repeat) and then knit the next row.  You will bind off loosely the following row. 

Note:  for making 5 stitches (shown on the chart as MMMMM, written as "make 5") you will knit into the bar between the next stitch and your current stitch, yarn over, knit, yarn over and knit.  This will create 5 new stitches.

 UNCHARTED LACE PATTERN
* 1)  k3, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k, yo, k2tog, yo, k2
   2)  yo, p2tog, purl to end
   3)  k3, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, k2tog, yo, k2
   4)  yo, p2tog, purl to end
* 5)  k3, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k2, make 5, k2tog, k, yo, k2tog, yo, k2
   6)  yo, p2tog, purl to end
   7)  k3, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k2, k2tog, k3, k2tog, k2, yo, k2tog, yo, k2
   8)  yo, p2tog, purl to end
* 9)  k3, yo, k2tog, yo, slip slip k psso, k, yo, k2tog, k, k2tog, k, k2tog, k, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k2
   10)  yo, p2tog, purl to end
   11)  k3, yo, k2tog, yo, slip slip k psso, yo, k2tog, k2tog, yo, k2tog, k2tog, yo k2tog, yo, k2tog, k
   12)  yo, p2tog, purl to end
* 13)  k3, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, k, yo, k2tog, k, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, k
   14) yo, p2tog, p3, p2tog, p, p2tog, purl to end
   15)  k3, (yo, k2tog) x6, k1
   16)  yo, p2tog, purl to end
* 17)  k3, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, k
   18)  yo, p2tog, p, p2tog, purl to end

I Hate Nupps Like They Called Me Fat

So I just finished the Echo Flower Shawl.  I was blitzing through it (I did the shawlette version) and then got to the part where the nupps were involved.  And then things ground to a halt. 

According to the interwebs, "A 'nupp' is a small 'bobble' made out of one stitch for a small flower. To make one, you knit a stitch, do not take it off the left hand needle; and then follow the sequence *yo; k1* into the same stitch as many times as desired. On the next row all the nupp stitches are knit or purled together."

According to me nupps are something that was created by the devil.  Bascially you go along and birds are singing and you start the front part of the nupp, no big.  Just a few extra stitches in one stitch.  Then you get to the purl row.  And then the crying starts.  And shortly after that the cursing.  Because those 7 or so extra loops that you've added in that one stitch?  Are smashed together.  And getting a needle through them to purl?  Is nigh impossible. 

I tried w/ a crochet hook.  I tried w/ a smaller needle.  Eventually I was able to get through that purl row (only taking - literally - about 5 times as long as it would w/ out nupps).  So I figured I'd do the loops much looser this time.  Same thing happened somehow.  I manage to mush everything back again.  I finally figured out how to get them to work, using this video but it was too little too late.  They still ended up looking manky and I cursed them every step of the way. 

So nupps?  Can just piss off.

Wool and I have decided to just be friends...

So wool and I just had our first big fight.  You see, I have been knitting shawls and wraps using sock yarn.  And throwing them in the washing machine to loosen up the yarn has been A OK.  I pin them and block them as normal, (I don't put wool in the dryer... I'm not a philistine.) no problem.  However I got some Bamboo and Ewe from the lovely people at Stitch and Bitch Nation and decided to do a shawl in DK weight.  (Idea gotten from 198 Yards of Heaven). 

I finished the shawl rather quickly (yay DK weight!) and threw in to washer as usual.  About 10 minutes later I pulled out a ball of fuzz.  Apparently wool does this thing called "felting" otherwise known as "making me cry."  Having cut my teeth on acrylic (which is totally besties with the washer AND the dryer) this was a rather unexpected result.

I cannot possibly start gifting family in cold climates things made out of ornery and difficult.  And while I personally LOVE wool and am willing to work for it's love, it's going to have to be for things I make for only myself.  I know superwash will resolve this but since I have PILES of supercry wool laying around I cannot justify replacing it all.  So in the mean time, wool and I are still hanging out, but I'm sad to say the love affair is over.