Knitting Musings

Cleaning Up the Sidebar

I was noticing that my sidebar has been getting a little cluttered recently, what with all of the finished objects that haven't been properly written up - so over the next few days, I'll try to work my way through all of them!

Debbie Bliss Silk Shrug

Pattern: from Debbie Bliss Pure Silk Collection
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Pure Silk in Black
Notes: I had quite the challenge with knitting this, as the lace patterning and the decreases/shaping made for a serious challenge. I ultimately charted every single row on excel and crossed off as I went. This project marinated in an almost-complete stage for AGES because I couldn't face the prospect of sewing black silk without an Ott light... and then I just couldn't face the seaming period! But once I finally finished everything, I've found it is the perfect jacket to go with fancy dresses that just need a little something!

Tangled Yoke
Yarn: acrylic/merino from School Products - dyed by me!
Pattern: Tangled Yoke Cardigan from Interweave Knits, F2007
Notes: LOVE this sweater! I modified it slightly - I knit the sleeves flat and seamed, and I knit the body in 3 pieces to the yoke, and then joined. I prefer the extra structure of the seams to keep everything together. My gauge was not 100% right, but everything seemed to work out in the end with only a few small adjustments.

Labels: Silk Shrug, tangled yoke

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Going to the Chapel....

Last post before the big day... everything is going well (fingers crossing), and I'm sure it'll all go great. In the meantime, I'm going to spend a last few days knitting and relaxing before the craziness starts.

Luckily, I have a crack crew to help me. Cricket helped me measure Tangled Yoke so I could design the sweater I just started. Ok, so maybe "help" is a little bit inaccurate - but maybe attacking the measuring tape was a vital step in the process!

Cricket has also shouldered the heavy burden of soaking up all of the extra sunlight that streams through the windows. She's such a team player.

And how could I forget? She also spends a great deal of her time supervising the bird-TV channel. Sometimes she goes outside to make sure the birds don't eat the food too quickly!

And in knitting news, for some reason I felt the need to start designing an Aran sweater in the two weeks before my wedding. My inspiration?

Duncan, from the BBC series Monarch of the Glen.

I swatched, did some math, and poof! There were a couple of sleeves and the start of the back!

But wait... I didn't like the braided cable on either side of the center panel. Rather than rip out 29 rows of the body, I did a little cable-surgery...

Attempt #1 was almost right - but not quite. So I dropped down a second time, and success!

Since this will be a raglan, I'm following my usual method and I'm knitting each piece to the armhole, and then I'll do another round of math to figure out the armhole and raglan shaping, and the neckline, and continue from there.

And finally - check out how much Abby loves brocolli... what a funny little doggy!

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Labels: Monarch of the Glen, tangled yoke

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Tangled Love

Tangled Yoke... she is done!!! I blocked her yesterday/last night... and I stretched her sleeves and body as much as I could. This yarn (School Products merino/acrylic) is a bit strange - I had blocked the sleeves to 18" before joining them to the yoke... and then, when I went to sew them up, they were a nice 17.25". Huh? So right now the sleeves are the smallest touch too long, but I'm thinking they'll snug back up to hopefully between 18 and 19".

I love this sweater. LOVE LOVE LOVE. I love the color that I ended up with, even though it wasn't what I had in mind when I poured in the dye, and I love that I finally managed to dye MORE yarn than I needed to finish a project. I think I'll use the extra for a little girl baby gift... maybe I'll knit a little sweater or something!

I went with plain buttons since the cables are what should stand out - the buttons are kind of pink/white swirly, but blend in quite well.

I'll try to take some proper pictures later today!

And on a totally unrelated topic, last night S and I took Abbers on a field trip... just a few minutes up the road. It was a nice reminder of how beautiful DC can be...

Of course, Abby is WAY TOO COOL to sit by us when we took a break. She is exactly like that teenager whose mom insists on coming with her to the mall, so she tries to pretend that she is NOT WITH MOM.

Apparently, though, she's totally happy to be snuggled when she's at home... here's a random sampling of pictures I've taken after S comes home from work...

It's a good thing Abby likes me, or else S might have to re-think this whole wedding thing... boys and their doggies are pretty adorable!

Labels: tangled yoke

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Oh What a Tangled Yoke We Weave...

I have been terrible about updating. I'd like to pretend that I've been busy doing all sorts of important things, but mostly I've been sitting on my tush and knitting, with a few breaks to finalize wedding details.

I've long since finished (and blocked) both sleeves of Tangled Yoke...

Cricket, as you can see, is my Executive Vice President in charge of Blocking Board Supervision. She takes her job extremely seriously.

She also moonlights as a knitting-bag weight (you know, in case high winds threaten to blow away the knitting). This strategic position also allowed her to bite both strands of yarn (I'm alternating balls), and also to effectively prevent me from knitting anything. What a good kitty!

Abby, meanwhile, is on a Doggy-Diet. She went to the holistic vet for a chiropractic adjustment, and she said that our sweetie needs to slim down. It's especially important since her weight is only being distributed over 3 legs. So Abby is currently getting between 300 and 400 calories each day, and all of her food is being strictly measured so we don't cheat. We even had to bring the scale to the Doggy-Menu restaurant... she actually got an extra gram of chicken!

And finally, I'm just about finished with Tangled Yoke... I worked on it at an Orioles game (made possible by S' undergrad alumni association - we had one of those cool "party suites"!)

All I have to do is sew down the neckline, sew up the seams, and add the button bands. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Labels: tangled yoke

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Madison Avenue, Anyone?

Let me preface the stunning background (and crappy lighting) in these pics by pointing out that the temps were in the upper 90s, and there was some pretty unbelievable humidity. So stepping outside in a wool blend sweater-coat was NOT an option. So, in a move that I'm sure will sweep the advertising agencies, I set up the shot in my (not cleaned-up) kitchen, with terrible lighting.

But look... SWEATER!!!

Tilted Duster

Pattern: Tilted Duster from Interweave Knits (Fall 2007)

Yarn: GGH Solitaire, 9 balls

Notes: I love this sweater. The yarn was 50% off, and, even with the extra ball I ended up needing, I still made the sweater for under $50. I actually think I prefer the sweater unbuttoned! The only thing I changed? I made the sleeves a smidge longer.

Speaking of sleeves, I may have already finished the sleeves for the Tangled Yoke...

Labels: tangled yoke, Tilted Duster

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So... Hot....

I have several finished objects to photograph, but it was 102 degrees today, with a heat index of 2,345 degrees. It was so hot that even Abby wouldn't go outside... poor doggy! So consequently, the idea of wrapping myself in knitted objects for creative photographs just really didn't do it for me.

Henry, for example, categorically refused to come out of his bag until the "infernal furnace" cooled off. I personally think he's still sulking because his marriage proposals keep getting refused, but he insists that he'll feel much better once he has a turkey leg or two. (Is it wrong that I imagine old Henry VIII as Cartman?)

See, Henry has gotten to his, ummmm, "more meaty" stage.

All steeked up and nowhere to go!!

Henry gets a taste of the ~~executioner's axe~~ scissors...

So Henry is fully steeked, and is ready for the final finishing. I've done one of his arms, but it was WAY TOO HOT to work on, so I'm letting him hang out for a bit.

Speaking of hanging out, Elspeth came over on Monday for a dyeing day, and helped me pin out my newly-dyed Print O' The Wave.... I am in mad love with this stole. The dyeing came out perfectly - navy with the turquoise peeking through and making the whole thing shimmer. As soon as the temperature dips below inferno, I'll try to take some proper pictures!

Cricket, as you can see, was extremely helpful with the whole blocking process...

She promised to let us know as soon as it was dry.

I also dyed up a mess of sportweight merino-acrylic for the Tangled Yoke cardigan from the latest Interweave... as soon as I finish the Tilted Duster (also from Interweave) that I started on Saturday, I'm casting on for this puppy. I was aiming for a darker reddish brown, but ended up LOVING the soft coral color that I ended up with. I can't wait to see how this turns out!!

And finally, speaking of "how things turn out," this is a cautionary tale. If you go to Ross, and you buy at least 2 king-sized comforter sets and a whole mess of other things, you should NOT take the convertible sports car.