Onwards!

Tonite I finished the beaded thingy that goes with Katie's lace stole. It is supposed to have elastic inside, but I couldn't quite figure it out. The elastic loop is so friggin' small, it is not quite as easy as the pattern would suggest.



I'm kind of loving this pattern book. I've already cast on for the lace hanger covers. The pattern is suprisingly easy (when you've had the benefit of private instruction from Mama Bee on how to knit, purl, knit into the same stitch!)



I think I'd better find some padded hangers before this thing gets any longer!

Feeling rather chuffed.

This Sunday I had a rather nice day. I was quite productive. Not only did I do a bunch of laundry, but I made a nice dinner for me and DH (flu-stricken as he is, poor thing), went to the Library, perused the local junk store hoping to find more interesting objet (found none, alas).... and, oh! I made my own blocking board.

How did you do that, you ask? Well, let me tell you!

How to make a Blocking Board, cheaply:

1. Go to Home Depot, enter Lumber Aisle
2. Ask the guy where the sheets of styrofoam are kept.
3. Purchase a 4' x 8' sheet of 1 1/2" thick styrofoam

[3a. Struggle against the wind, trying to get it to your car without it or you snapping in half
3b. Ignore macho construction guy who makes unhelpful and obvious comments as you try to get across parking lot ("Oooo... that's going to snap.")
3c. Try to fit said foam into car.
3d. Break said foam into 2 or 3 smaller ragged chunks.]



4. Measure and cut styrofoam using your art school tools and gadgets (i.e. 36" metal ruler, mat knife)



5. Cover one side of each blocking board with contact paper (from kitchen aisle at Target).
6. Staple the contact paper in securely in place.
7. Commence blocking! Spritz and spray away! There's contact paper on that sucker, so your board won't get soggy.


What you see here is a finished lace stole, that has been gently soaked in a lavender fiber wash, and pinned out to block and dry. Per pattern instructions, I'm also knitting a beaded loop with elastic inside to use as an optional clasp to hold the stole together when worn. I'm too lazy to take a picture of that right now. All in good time.



Here's a closer look at the zig zag pattern



What you see here is something striped, looking for some trouble.

Of things Green, and Spring

Happy Valentine's Day, to one and all. This morning I awoke at dawn to discover my winter blooming jasimine has finally done just that!

What a wonderful smell. The flower buds take a long time to develop and open. They become so long and white they look as though they might fall off, and then one day, they open! DH took a sniff, and said it smells like Florida.



My banana and blood orange trees continue to prosper....


As does "project green" a birthday gift for a fashion-forward friend:

Sci-Fi Monday

Give us the access codes to your tuna and kitty litter! Obey our commands!



Or we will unleash our terrible breath wrath..



HA! That is just Patches yawning. Her incessant napping prevents any cat uprising from being successful.

I have been "multi-tasking" (uh oh). Here's a little peek.

"Project Blue"


"Project Green"

Almost

I can't believe it. I'm almost done with Sweater Number Two. It just needs the ribbon at the top of the neck, and a little final blocking, and it'll be ready to go.

The ripping out of things and frogging was definitely worth it. The seams are much better executed, and I think I got a higher quality result by doing things the "right" way.

The sleeves were pretty tricky. I ended up using a mattress seam to sew them in, as the technique the pattern recommended was a bit tricky.

Despite all my grumbling, I think I might tackle my third consecutive kid silk haze sweater, as my next project. I'm contemplating knitting this in KSH.

Progress

Sorry for my long absence! My blog has definitely been increasingly neglected. However, my plants and sweater have not!

Check out my dwarf banana tree. Yes! It actually produces edible bananas, like the ones you get in the grocery store, only half the size.



My dwarf fern tree lends a tropical feel to the abode:



I've made significant progress with the sweater. After ripping out the shoulder and side seams, and frogging out the neck, things are beginning to look up. I taught myself how to do the the three needle bind off, and the matress stitch seam technique. The difference in the quality of the seams is significant. I have seen the light. I was worried the sweater would be too small, but it seems to fit better now. Although, you can see from this photo that it is desgned to hit very high on the waist.

If its worth doing, its worth doing right...

After much soul searching, and consulting with the knitting expertise of MamaBee, I've decided to rip out the neck AND the shoulder seams, and try this over again. Instead of doing a matress stitch seam for the shoulders, I will do a three needle bind off. And I'm going to alter the neckband instructions a little.

It's not going to be fun. Ripping out stitches in kid silk haze is like pulling yarn off of velcro.

But its the mature thing to do.

Here's some before photos:

Almost done!

I'll try to post some photos tonite, but I am ALMOST done with "sweater number two". I seamed the shoulders, and started working on the neck band. I'm afraid to say I may have to rip the neck out and start over, having already done this once. I'm finding it difficult to cleanly pick up the stitches from the bound off edges around the neckline. It's making the neck look terribly sloppy.


Two frustrating things about knitting sweaters:

1. when they don't fit (I'm still holding my breath on this one - it seems a little small!)

2. when the pieces look nice, but your seaming and finishing doesn't.

sigh.

Sleeve

Ha! See what I'm capable of, when I really apply myself?



I've finished the first sleeve, and may be able to polish off the second one by early next week. Wouldn't tha' be somethin'.

Note to self: all future sweaters shall be short sleeve, not long sleeve!

Sweater Update

So, I HAVE in fact been knitting this summer. Just look! I'm almost done with the front of the sweater. Then its on to the (short) sleeves.



Today the new fall issue of Interweave Knits arrived. Sweet!

Hot in the city...

Hot in the city TONITE!

And yet, I'm contemplating doing a little more work on my knitting. I'm making good progress on the front section of the Maggie Sweater. I've completed the split/divided front opening, and now I work each section of the neck separately.




It was definitely a little cooler here in Salem than in Boston, but the heat finally caught up with us.

Ugh.

Hungry? You might enjoy this photo of the italian feast DH's great aunt prepared for us on our recent jaunt to DC. It was STUPENDOUS!

What have I been doing lately?

Sorry for my absence! I've been very busy at the new job (going well), and taking advantage of the warm weather to get a few things done around the garden.

Last sunday I began Rhonda's crochet class at my LYS. I never learned to crochet, and there have been many times I've chose not to work on a knitting pattern because it had crochet finishing. No more! We are working on a scarf that will have a wave pattern.



Lest you think I've been neglecting my knitting... I'm still plugging away at the
Maggie Sweather, aka "sweater number two". Here's a peek:

Ice Queen e finito

I finally finished it! The picot cast off was a bit of a challenge. But, when you stop and actually follow directions, its not so bad!

Here's a few preliminary pics. I'll eventually put some better ones on ravelry. But for now this is what I have.

First day

Survived my first day at my new job! My new coworkers are really nice, and it was a pretty easy day over all. I'm enjoying it, because I'm sure I'll have a ton of work by the week's end!

I'm almost done with Ice Queen, and also getting back to work on Sweater Number Two

I'll try to post some pics later this week!

Ice Queen and other matters

I'm making real progress on Ice Queen. I've been knitting this at home and on the train. The latter can be a bit difficult, so there have been times I've ended a row and discovered too few or too many stitches, and had to increase or decrease to keep the lace pattern correct. Here's a sneak peak:



And a close up:



And how I keep all my beads together:



Pre-beading the yarn is both convenient and a hassle. It's great, because I don't have to worry about spilling beads on the train. However, constantly having to stop, and push the beads down the yarn on the rows I don't use them is a pain, and has created some tangles here and there.

I haven't been at SnB lately, because work has been incredibly busy. I'm barely keeping up with what I need to do. And, matters are complicated by the fact that I have a new job!! That's right! I just accepted a new position at a non-profit in my very own town of Salem. My last day at MIT will be in two weeks.

Things I'll miss about MIT:
My officemate and office friends
MIT SnB
Danielle, Femiknit, the Wanton Seed Stitch, and Rhonda the Stitching nut
My iMac and PhotoBooth
Having my own office with a door
A great boss

I'm thrilled about my new job, and my new commute (ten minutes anyone?). I'm looking forward to making news friends there and the exciting work that lies ahead. But all the same, I will really really miss MIT. Change is hard!

I think in the future, Rhonda can expect to see me more often at Seed Stitch!

you get the picture

My digital camera at home is out of batteries, and I'm too lazy at the moment to do anything about it. Here's a photo update of Ice Queen courtesy of my on-board computer camera. Not the best quality, but you get the idea.

Ice Queen update

I finished doing the picot cast-on for Ice Queen. Here's a rather sketchy photograph that doesn't do it justice.



It's incredibly soft and fluffy!

I hope to get a few more rounds done, with beads, so I can see how it's going to look.

If I get this done in time (ya RIGHT!) I might give this to a friend who has a b-day coming up, and break the cycle of selfish knitting.

Aimee Sweater - critique

I'm wearing the Aimee Sweater - in public - today. I feel kind of lukewarm about the final product. The douceur et soie brand yarn I used, which is a blend of mohair and silk, is very droopy. Plus, I think I could have gotten away with doing a size smaller. The net result is a sweater that looks/feels kind of baggy to me. I also think its a bit too long. I much prefer things that are fitted.

I might someday try this again, in KSH and a different color. and shoulder pads. HA! just kidding!

The Ice Queen stalleth

Well. I tried to cast on for Ice Queen. But the provincial cast on that Rhonda recommended is proving to be a little challenging. I printed out the directions for the PC that knitty.com linked to, but I'm all thumbs and elbows with this one.

I strung all my beads onto the kidsilk haze, though. This seems to be an acceptable technique. The idea being that everytime the pattern calls for a bead, you just slide one down the yarn, and presto!

We'll see.

Rhonda, if you're out there, and planning on being at SnB this week, I may beg your indulgence for another cast on demo.

Close encounters....

... of the CAT kind!

This weekend, DH and I had a lovely new storm door installed. It was not cheap, but we think it is going to save us big $$ on our heating bill. The front door is old and very pretty, but lets a big draft in. We're also putting in new "sweeps" along the bottom. Hermetically sealed is the effect we're going for.

I was showing DH the features of the new door, when out of nowhere that rough looking orange tabby came running up the steps and nearly squeaked in. Patches happened to be loitering nearby, and they locked eyes.



Let's run that photo again, so folks can get a better look.



Whoaaaa! I guess Monsieur L'Orange isn't quite ready for his close-up. Simmer down, buddy.

Here's a peek at sweater number two not-fully-frogged. I frogged one row, and have five more to go, which I think I'll tackle tonite after dinner: