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Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Studying SucksOne final down, 3 to go. Technically, I should be studying for my Law in Cyberspace exam, but as I have all day tomorrow to study, I'm feeling entitled to a day off. I plan to take the dog for a walk, hopefully talk to S before he goes to bed (poor baby has a few days in Paris before he heads to Baku), and then head to the Happy Place. Gathering Intentions Pattern: Gathering Intentions from Inspired Cable Knits Yarn: Tess' Silk/Merino, 4 skeins (2 leftover skeins for sale) Notes: I am in mad crazy stay-out-all-night-and-do-the-walk-of-shame love with this sweater. Of course, in a perfect world, it might be just a teeny smidge longer - but I'm thinking we'll both compromise - I'll learn to love the slightly cropped fit, and it'll learn to stretch ever-so-slightly. If you've seen the pattern from the book (which I HIGHLY recommend!), you'll notice that I made a few 'minor' changes. First, I opted for raglan sleeves instead of the set-in sleeves in the original. I just like the way raglans fit me. Second, I ditched the mock-t-neck of the original entirely and instead chose a relaxed scoopneck with a small rolled edge. Third, I made the i-cord details at the waist and wrist shorter so I wouldn't drag them through whatever my hand happened to get near. I would definitely recommend both this pattern and the book, however, and plan on knitting a few of the other projects in it in the near future. And in other knitting news.... I'm chugging right along on my roommate's scarf, knit out of the Shades of Autumn blue-faced leicester I dyed a few weeks ago. Wow - can I just say how amazing this yarn is? It is so soft and has a beautiful sheen to it that just makes it unbelievably gorgeous. It's billed as a sock yarn, but it almost seems like a waste to use it on your feet...   It might not look like I've made much progress on this in the last week. However, if you look carefully, you'll notice that I've wound up quite a lot of my already-completed scarf so it would be less of a pain to lug around. I'm thinking I'll finish it today.  And in cute pet news, Cricket helped us decorate our Christmas tree last week by making sure we got all of the decorations out of the storage bag. What a helpful kitty!  Abby, meanwhile, is suffering tremendously since S is gone - here she is suffering through a nap in the middle of my bed...  ... and here she is suffering through having to wait until I finish this entry to go on a walk. POOR DOGGY!  And one last note before I run out the door on a dog walk? Our apartment smelled a bit like garlic, so I made some simmer potpourri: 2 cups water 3 tsp ground cinnamon 2 tsp ground cloves 1 tsp ground nutmeg simmer and enjoy! and keep adding water if it gets too low. It smells so amazing! Labels: Abby, Cricket, Dyeing, Gathering Intentions, R's Scarf 0 comments || # Friday, September 29, 2006 RandomnessThe theme for this post is "pictures I found on my camera." It's a common theme here Chez-Musing, but if I waited until I had a truly well-thought-out post, I might never update. So Random Pictures it is.Last weekend, I finally succumbed to the beautiful orchids at Trader Joe's (I love Trader Joe's. Pumpkin Beer is beyond amazing.) BUT ANYWAY, here's my new "little friend"...  Since I took this photo, the last bud has opened. It's beautiful!  Cricket has been enjoying the mild weather - we open the front door, stick on her little collar, and let her explore the great outdoors. She likes to pretend she's a fierce jungle panther.  Oh, look - knitting! I've "finished" both sleeves of the I-Cord Cables sweater, and I blocked one to make sure my swatch had mostly told the truth about the amazing growing powers of the silk-wool blend. The unblocked sleeve is in the front... and it looks like my "1.12% growth" was about right. I'm making some fairly major changes to the pattern (I know - the shock!) - basically, I'm switching the sleeves to raglans, and I'm modifying the neck. I haven't had the time to sit down and do the math for the raglan shaping yet, so I've been stopping every piece at the armpits. I've "finished" both sleeves and the front, and just cast on for the back.  And finally - Cricket helped me put together the Ikea mini-wardrobe thing that I bought to hold all of my sweaters. (Note - I have a LOT of sweaters. A LOT. I may have to rethink the size of this wardrobe.) See, Mom? I'm helping.  Labels: Gathering Intentions, Random 0 comments || # Saturday, September 16, 2006 Photographs!!!I promise - I finally got off my lazy butt and took some photographs. But first, before I forget, here's the results of my latest attempt to get gauge...The yarn is from Tess' Designer yarns, and was purchased at MDS&W 2 years ago. The color in the "after" pictures is much truer. The yarn is a silk/merino blend, which means, in my experience, that it GROWS. So after I knit a bit on my "swatch" (aka a sleeve), I took it off the (size 7) needles, slipped it on waste yarn, and gave it a nice bath. Before - about 8.5 inches wide.  After - about 9.5 inches wide.  Before - about 4.5 inches long.  After - about 5" long.  So I'm going to try again with size 5 needles and see if I'm happier with the results. Right. So that's taken care of - so without further ado, here's finished object number 1 -   Beara Island Penninsula Vest Pattern: my own; colorwork based on the Hillswick Lumber Pattern from the Art of Fair Isle. Yarn: 100% Pure Shetland Wool, 2 ply jumper weight Notes: Latest in the series of "Dad's Christmas Vests." Love making them, love designing them, love steeking them ... don't love picking up and knitting, but managed to get through it with a few beers and a lot of determination. And... Some of you may remember that back in January, I bought a couple of XL cashmere sweaters on sale. I proceeded to rip them apart...  Much better now, don't you think?    Elizabeth I Pattern: from Tudor Roses Yarn: Recycled 3-ply cashmere Notes: I can't wait for winter. I loved knitting this, even though it was on size 2!! needles... The pattern was entertaining, clever, and well-done. I made only the most minor of changes - I didn't widen the sleeves at the upper arm. Otherwise, just about exactly as written. And a cashmere sweater for under $50, with plenty of recycled yarn leftover? Sweeeeeeeeeeeeet. Labels: Dad's Vest, Elizabeth I, Gathering Intentions 0 comments || # |
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