WIP: Ella

You're just going to have to believe me when I tell you that Ella is beautiful.  (Sorry for the lack of photos.  I really need to get better about getting photos on my computer.)

This knit is so much fun.  I'm liking the yarn a lot more than I thought I would-it's just Red Heart Classic Cotton Crochet Thread, so I didn't have high expectations.  I run into a lot of trouble with cotton yarn shedding, and it drives me crazy.  This stuff is pretty tightly plied, and so far it's not shedding at all.  It's also got a nice crunch to it that I wasn't quite expecting. And it's shiny-it almost reminds me of pearls.

I love the double seed stitch.  I was a bit worried early on, because it took a couple inches for it to start looking like something and not a pile of tangled string, but now I can see it's going to be absolutely charming.  This stitch pattern plays so well in the light-especially with this yarn.

I just finished the body to the underarms today, and started sleeve one.  Then it's sleeve two, attaching the sleeves to the body, some raglan decreases, and the neckband.  I wish I was a bit further along, but hopefully I'll still be able to get this finished in time for my friend's wedding.  I am trying to remain optimistic and not yet develop a backup plan for what to wear.

(I am however struggling with the fact that Heartmate needs to be done before the wedding, too, and that it technically ranks higher on the list than Ella.)

The Week in Review

Happy Sunday!  It's been a bit of a crazy week, but I still have some things to share with you.  Not enough for numbers, though.

My community theatre play rehearsals start this afternoon, which means I'm about to get even busier.  But I think I'll have some decent backstage knitting time, which is probably my favorite part of community theatre.

I've been working steadily on Ella and I am in love with her.  She's such a fun knit.  I want to try to get her done in time to wear to my friend's wedding next month, since I don't have too many nice warm-weather clothes and I love giving myself deadlines.

I also have the sample for a new pattern finished.  I did most of the knitting several weeks ago, and got most of the way through the bind off before abandoning it on my desk.  I finished it yesterday, in a startling fit of productivity, and it's blocking now.  Hopefully it'll stop thunder-storming here soon and I can get some pictures taken.  The pattern will be my summer freebie and should go live in the next couple of weeks, depending on the weather.

Summer always gets crazy busy for me, but I'm hoping things will start to calm down soon. I think some of the worst of it is over, and my fngers are crossed for a quiet couple of months. 

WIP: Heartmate

This is so much fun to knit.  I have such a fondness for white lace, as you all know, and this has been coming along so perfectly:

I'm enjoying myself so much, that I already have one side complete.  The middle took about a week, and the completed side took only three days or so!  I'm pushing this one to the back burner for a little bit, because I don't want it to end too soon!

WIP: Sockhead

I fell in love with this pattern soon after I started knitting, but I always held off because I wasn't sure of which yarn to use.  I found this yarn at my LYS a few years ago, and picked up two balls because it was so much fun, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it would be good for.

Fast forward a couple years, and I rediscovered it while organizing my stash.  I remembered Sockhead, and decided they were meant to be.  I added it to the queue and decided it would be a fun, easy, and quick project at the end of summer, once I'd taken care of my knitting obligations.

And then Anemone came to visit, and we decided to go see the new X-Men, and I had nothing that I could knit in a cinema.  I cast on half an hour before we left, and got half the brim done during the movie.  Then on my mum's birthday we were watching another movie, and I didn't feel like knitting Heartmate, so I got most of the rest of the brim done on this.  I've slowed down now, because I know I'm going to want to go to the cinema several more times before the summer is done, and I need something like this that I can knit without looking at all.

The yarn is technically DK, but it feels closer to sport or fingering to me.  It's knitting up fine, though, and if the hat's a little big that's okay.  I have a big head and big hair, and I live where the winters get abhorrently cold, so I'll always have need for a good hat.

There and Back Again

I've driven for about 18 hours the past three days.  I lost track of how much coffee I was drinking after cup 3 on day one.  I know I drank coffee at 11:00PM both nights I was away, I know I fell asleep by midnight anyway.  But it was a good trip. And now I'm back home, in my room, with my dog.

I decided to bring Mottled Daydream with me, for those of you who were wondering, but it didn't get knit on at all.  Instead I was tempted by the lovely Ella, just published a few days ago by Hannah Fettig, who's been one of my favorite designers since I started knitting.  I'm knitting it in Red Heart cotton crochet thread (that for some reason I have 3000 yards of, what was I thinking?!) and I'm liking it so far.  I've had bad luck, historically, with knitting cotton sweaters, and I really wonder if this will work in cotton, but I need something summery and easy.

So far it's a really fun knit. I haven't had a whole lot of knitting time the past couple of days, but my knitting load has lightened up just a little right now, and this is a nice break.  I want to try to be the kind of knitter that knits before bed every night, and I think this will be a good bedtime project. 

Also I am a terrible planner and it was 25 degrees cooler where I was going than I planned, so I had to get up crazy early on Saturday to try and find some kind of wrap before I had to be at work.  (I am so disappointed in myself: I went back and forth for three days debating whether or not to bring a shawl, and I decided not to because, "there's no way I'll need one, it's summer!"  Stupid Kat.)  I found this at the third place I tried, and paid a ridiculous amount for it, but it kind of saved my sanity.  And I'm a sucker for florals.

Decisions, Decisions

I leave for a short business trip tomorrow (just three days-I'll be back Sunday night) and I still haven't figured out what knitting to bring!  It's hard, because I'll be working a lot, and driving for most of two days, but I still want something for the hotel room and for slow periods on Saturday.  But here are my options:

1. A baby blanket-probably not a real option.  I have the yarn for one blanket, but the stitch patterns I wanted to use don't work out the way I hoped they would, so I have to re-think the whole thing.  Plus the size factor.

2. Sockhead-potential, but it's pretty small and right now is my go-to cinema knitting, and I don't have anything else in the queue right now that can replace it once it's done, so I want to make it last as long as possible.

3: Neville-strong potential, except I'm still feeling all socked-out.  I don't even want to look at another sock right now, even if it's a sock as charming as Neville.  Plus, these have languished long enough that I'm starting to feel guilty.  I'm not quite ready to face up to my negligence and apologize to them yet.

4. Mottled Daydream-definitely a possibility, but I still haven't finished frogging it.  And I'd have to re-print the pattern and write down all my planned changes.  But it would be an excuse to start working on it again.

5. Cotton lace-weight pullover-if I was farther along in the planning process, maybe.  But I haven't even finished swatching for it, and I have no planned measurements or schematic drawn up.  So right now, that's a bit laughable.

6. Heartmate-I would, but it's more than half-complete already, and it's such a pleasure to knit that I want to stretch it out a little bit longer. 

7. Something Top Sekrit-it would be a good chance to get some Top Sekrit knitting done, especially since cell reception is spotty where I'm going.  But I don't really have something planned out enough where I can take it with me right now.  Plus I'd have to take notes, if it was a new design, which is the antithesis of portable, and most o my dedicated Top-Sekrit yarn hasn't been wound into balls yet.

8. Darjeeling-laughable.  I haven't touched these in over a year, and they're my first toe-up socks ever.  When I finally go back to these, I will be GLUED to the book.

9. Snowdrop-I know Ravelry says that this has been on the needles since 2012, and that it's 5% done, but the reality is, it's totally frogged.  I messed up, and I was only two repeats in, and I needed the needles for something else, so I just took it off and haven't restarted it yet.

Looking at all my options listed out, it seems like my best choice is probably going to be Mottled Daydream, as long as I can forget that I've already knit the whole thing once before.  But it is a fun knit, the yarn is nice, and there's only a tiny bit left to frog.  And since I've knit it once before, I know the pattern well enough to be able to pick it up and set it down as necessary.

FO: Midsummer Night's Dream

Ta-da!  I finished these with time to spare, which almost never happens!  I kitchenered the second toe on Sunday evening and gifted them on Tuesday.  The first time I saw this pattern, I knew that I had to knit them for my mum since she loves gardening so much.

The yarn is Malabrigo Yarn Sock, colorway Lettuce.  I bought three skeins of this stuff from my "local" yarn store (it's an hour away, but it was my LYS when I was a student, and I go back every time I'm in the city) last summer.  I have big plans for the other two skeins, but I figured I could spare a pair of socks' worth for these.  This isn't the fist time I've knit with this yarn, but it's the first time I've made socks with it, and the result is divine.  These are so buttery and soft that I almost had to keep them for myself!

My mum loves them, and she's actually looking forward to autumn so she can wear them.  I reworked the chart to knit from the top-down, and I'm pretty pleased with how they came out.  I love the leaf motif, and I think the pattern works really well with this yarn.  They were a ton of fun to knit, and pretty easy, once I had the chart figured out. 

Sunday Numbers

1. First things first, my blog is up to 500 pageviews!  Yay blog!!

2. If you've been paying attention, you'll already know that I have a new pattern out.  Please share with me any feedback you have-I want to keep improving both as a designer and as a vendor.

3. It's officially summer here in South Dakota.  I've got two fans going and haven't worn my hair down in a week.

4. That doesn't mean I'm not knitting:  I've got just one toe left on Midsummer Night's Dream.  They'll definitely be done tonight, in plenty of time for their Tuesday due date.

5.  I also have visible progress on Heartmate, which is such a refreshing knit after nothing but socks the past couple of months.

6. I have a craving for lace-weight sweaters.  I got some discount cotton crochet thread that I want to make into a pullover with a wide neck and dolman sleeves and a high-low hem.  (I accidentally bought 3000 yards of the stuff, so I'll probably have a matching cardigan.)  I also pulled out some Zen Yarn Garden Serenity Lace that's been in the stash for about a year.  I think that wants to become something like Featherweight. 

7. I still need to order yarn for my brother's birthday present, and for the blanket for the August baby. And yarn for another pair of Mum Socks.  (And maybe yarn for a Top-Sekrit Project.  Shh.)

8. I have to travel for work again this weekend, and I need to figure out what knitting I'll bring with me this time.  Almost definitely Heartmate, depending on how much gets done this week, and probably Sockhead, and maybe Mottled Daydream if it gets its act together and finishes frogging itself.  But at this point, pretty much all bets are off.  I've even been known to cast on new knitting for a trip ten minutes before I leave.

Epidemic: The Backstory

The concept for Epidemic was born a couple months ago, after Anemone got news that she would be able to work in her field this summer.  (Fun Fact: her field is epidemiology, and since the vest was designed for her, it also got named for her new job!)  I knew that she loved sweater vests, so I asked her if I could make one for her, and she not only accepted, but she gave me free reign over the entire design.

(My sister does not usually display such faith in me.  I think that the idea of free knitting that was not for her birthday or Xmas went to her head and made her throw caution to the wind.)

I've been intrigued by the idea of framing waist shaping with cables for an hourglass effect for several months, so that was the first thing I put on the list.  I also knew that I wanted to name it Epidemic, so I wanted a design feature that I felt hearkened to microbes and/or diseases.  I love knitting lace, and I didn't want a totally solid vest since it was intended to be appropriate for summer.  I came up with a simple lace pattern that I thought would be super fun, and once it was knit up I thought it looked a lot like little microbes or something.

(Side Note: I haven't taken biology since high school and I barely passed both my college science classes.  I have no clue what microbes look like.  Anemone does not think they look like microbes.  But if you squint the lace kind of looks like little bugs, and bugs carry diseases, right?)

So I had the cables, and the lace.  I decided that Knit Picks Comfy Worsted would probably be the best yarn for our purposes, and told Anemone to pick a color.  I had a lot of fun working on this vest, and I'm really pleased with the end result.

Pattern: Epidemic

 My new pattern, Epidemic, is live on Ravelry.  Please go check it out.  Backstory post (and what is it with that name?) coming tomorrow :) 

I hope you all enjoy it, comments are love, and feedback is the bomb-diggety.

WIP: Heartmate

My go-to wedding present is a white lace table runner.  Everyone can always use one, if you already have a few you can always find a spot for one more, it has automatic heirloom status, and if you knit it you can really tailor it to the personalities of the couple.

I looked through several lace patterns before finally deciding what I wanted.  Currently I'm working on the center panel, which is these elongated diamonds.  After that, I'll change to a smaller diamond, and at the edge the pattern will change again to even tinier diamonds.  Then I'll pick up the stitches from that provisional cast on and do the same thing on the other side.

I'm very happy with it so far.  I absolutely love white lace, and I'm super excited for how this will turn out.  It's utterly charming, and so much fun to knit.  And the wedding's not for a couple of months still, so I don't have to feel too rushed to get it done.  Just a fun little repeat here or there in the evenings.  So in between everything else I have to get done this summer, be prepared for periodic updates on this one.

Ravelry Link

FO: Mother's Day Socks

Ta-Da!  These babies were done just in time for Mother's Day and what looks like is going to be a week-long cold spell, so Mum was very glad for them.

These socks went all over the place, too.  They came to Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier, two band concerts, and several evenings at the bar.

These are my go-to sock pattern: the Yarn Harlot's Sock Recipe for top-down, with my favorite heel flap (garter-edged eye of partridge-I think it's so charming, and in hand-painted yarn it has an almost mosaic effect).  

Ravelry Link

Sunday By the Numbers

1. Hello again!  Sorry you only got two posts last week, but I promise I'll have some pretty cool stuff to show you this week.

2. Got to spend the first half of yesterday reading A Storm of Swords and then the second half just working on knitting stuff:

    2a: I started writing up the pattern for Epidemic.  That's still on schedule to come out the end of the month.  More details as it gets closer.

    2b: I started a new sample.

    2c: I went diving into Deep Stash for a big new Super Duper Totally Top Sekrit project.  And that's probably the last thing I should say about that one for a while.

    2d: I got to knit a little bit on the Heartmate table runner for my friends' wedding in OHMYGOODNESSNINEWEEKS.  (So the timing's not a problem.  I just have a crazy amount of knitting to do.  And did you see the provisional cast on there?  I'm not looking forward to picking that up.  And honestly, I think that nothing is so charming as white lace.  This thing just radiates happiness.)

3. I finished Mum's Mother's Day Socks and gave them to her this morning.  We did discuss the peculiarity of getting socks in May, but I told her they'd wait in her sock drawer. 

4. Suddenly realized that it took me a month to knit the Mother's Day Socks and I have less than a month until I need another pair of socks done for Mum's birthday.  So those need to get started ASAP.  I plan to make Midsummer Night's Dream, and I have yarn and needles and everything ready, but just realized yesterday that the pattern is written for toe-up.  (I am not going to try to learn how to knit toe-up socks in less than a month.  That's too crazy even for me.)  So I need to rework the chart to go top-down in the next couple of days so those can start.

5. Mottled Daydream is still sitting on my desk, half frogged.  He's still in trouble. 

6. Poor Neville is still on my desk as well.  I should be able to see him again after Midsummer Night's Dream is done.

7. I have auditions today for my town's summer community theatre.  Last year was my first year participating and it was a ton of fun.  It makes the summer just a little bit busier, but at least I can knit whenever I'm not onstage :)

8. I'll leave you for today with a picture of my tulips, enjoying the tiny glimpse of sun we got today:

The Last Day

Well, the time is coming for me to return to the real world.  It was so nice to have a few days away from things, and I'm ready to get back to work, but I also finally appreciate how important it is to take time off.  (I am notorious for not taking vacations.  Since I started working after graduation, I have taken a total of 3 non-sick days off until this past week.)  There was a list of things that I planned to get done the past few days, but it didn't all happen.

I picked out fabric for some upcoming sewing projects, but I haven't sewn anything yet (I swear I'm not procrastinating, it's a tactical delay).  I didn't get as caught up on tv shows and movies as I wanted, and I didn't get as much reading done as I'd hoped.  But I feel so rested.

It's been so nice to not have any sort of plan for the day.  Beyond feeding the dogs, I have no real obligations.  I also got some awesome finds at a couple of my favorite thrift stores:

And knitting!  Lots of knitting:

 

Some real good progress made on my blanket, and Anemone's sweater vest, and my mum's socks.  All in all, it's been a very satisfying vacation.

FO: Firmaments

Wow.  This thing really is gorgeous.  There are a couple of weak spots, but overall I am thrilled with it.  It is a soft squishy alpaca cloud.  I was a bit worried about the shape, and how difficult it might be to wear, but it turns out that I like circle shawls a lot.  

It's deceptively warm too, thanks to the alpaca.  I'm pleasantly surprised with how quickly the last part of this went.  The Starlight Lace chart took me over a month last summer, but I did the whole Elongated Fountain Lace and Diamond Edging in just about the same amount of time.  So that was nice. 

I usually do my blocking on a futon in the basement, but it was covered in stuff, so this time I pulled out the sleeper sofa.  It took about an hour to pin it out all the way, and I actually ran out of pins!  I started by pinning each of the diamonds in the center, then I put a pin in the center opening, tied a string to it, and worked my way around the final border, pinning at each diamond. 

I could have pinned it more aggressively, but the alpaca doesn't hold it's shape as well as wool would have, so I'm pleased with it.  It's still got a generous stretch, which is perfect for wrapping around my shoulders.

Now onto the imperfections.  There are only two things I'm less than pleased with, but they're not too bad and they reflect my abilities.  Above you'll see some laddering that didn't block out as much as I'd hoped.  I had to do that whole first section on DPNs, way back when I was still in college and a relatively new knitter.  It's a reflection of how I knit at that time, and you can see my progress as a knitter as you move out from the center.  I think that's really cool.

I honestly don't know why I'm drawing attention to this one, since even I can't find it most of the time.  But you can see where I grafted the ends of the lace border together.  This was my first time grafting lace, and I had a pretty terrible provisional cast-on that I didn't take the time to fix up.  I like seeing how I progress as a knitter, so these two rough spots join such classics in my knitting history as the inside-out kitchener stitch in my first few pairs of socks.