Charybdis Blocking Storm

Finished my shawl... but not without teeth gnashing, nail biting, and several shout-outs to fellow Ravelry Charybdis knitters.  Everyone assured me it would be all right!
But first, the bind off:

To bind off, this very neat edging was created.  Five stitches and turn, five stitches back for 2 stitches bound off.  It took several sessions, including knit nite.
Then to the end, and the scary part:  Dropping two stitches along each end.

The six middle stitches get kitchenered together 3x3 to form the point of the shawl.  Then the unraveling:

It looks a mess, and is meant to be a picot-type edging.  But not without a little help...

One hundred zillion loops first pinned with my 20 pins, then transferred to blocking wires, painfully teased out of wherever they tried to hide.  I ignored the inner circle edge--it has loops, too, but I was tired positive that they would disappear when I wrapped it around me after much hard work.
Next... drying... modeling...

Can't wait...

Every day for a week, I think, blog-sojourner-blog-sojourner-blog-sojourner...  Quite consuming!! Yet I have a class to prepare for (four days a week), and rehearsals and laundry and meals and... 

I really WANT to finish my Sojourner Sweater and I really want to show it off in my blog post.

It's SOOOO close now, and I'm running on fumes here, so here it is:  Incomplete.

Decided to block before seaming:

 The sleeves...

 After I seamed the shoulders, I discovered that the back was too long.  I ripped out down to the stitch holder:  !!  Quite a lot, but it fits nicely.

 Next worry:  Will the sleeves fit?  Maybe...

It's a nice dk weight... I'm motivated!  I want to wear it!

Ready for my little girl

In size 4T

All I have to do is keep the cat off of it.  He likes to claw these foam pads - BAD cat.
I think it will be nice, especially if I can find a shirt for under it.

Smocked Sweetheart Dress by Vanessa Ewing from Creative Knitting, January 2011

220 Superwash by Cascade Yarns, Worsted / 10 ply, 100% Wool, 220 yards / 100 grams

Surprise!

Something finished!
Remember my moaning and groaning about the sweater that won't fit, hangs funny, should go back in the stash...?  Well, here it is.
Before blocking:

The Penguin

Needs a pull down

Blocking:

Don't worry, I fixed the jog on the left.

After blocking:

Do I look happy?  Well, yes I am!!!!!  Such a relief after months of angst.  
On top of the worries of how it will fit, I came home last night to my blocked sweater covered by a blanket on the kitchen counter. (!!!)  I knew exactly what had happened.  A few weeks ago, from another room I could hear a popping sound in the kitchen.  After a few moments of deciding it was worth putting down my knitting and going to investigate, I found my yellow cat on top of my pinned shawl, on the same counter where I do all of my blocking.  He was behaving like he was high on catnip and exercising his claws in the plastic blocking pads.  I was furious, of course, and he took off like a shot.  I examined the shawl and found NO pulls.  THAT was totally unexpected.  When the shawl was removed, there were several punctures to the blocks, but no real damage.  Last night, I assumed there had been a repeat performance... and my hub described the same thing, plus there WERE pulls in the sweater.  And I was furious again.  This is one giant snag, plus a second lesser one, and somehow the cat had arranged the wire rod to be poking through...

I assured my hub that I could fix it, and with a pin, I pulled the snag back into stitches, and then... I put it on.  Nice.  (The block underneath have more damage.)
Below was an alternate ending to this story.  I wrote it 2 days ago.  I retract it!   This Dahlia is mine, ALL mine... :D

I have another option:  Giving it up for adoption OR trade!  There is another one of my sweaters out there that I really kind of liked, and I hoped that this one would replace.  Maybe someone (ahem C) would like this one...??

Old, New and Finished!

I was very surprised after yesterday's post to discover I had only 10 rows to do, and though that doesn't really seem like it was close to finished, I knitted a few more rows.  THEN I was seeing the end... The last 8 rows are border lace, with 2 rows of beads (which slows down the knitting), and with each completed row I felt like I shouldn't stop.  And I didn't, until...

There I was, blocking!!  Yippee!  And points, just like I promised myself.  Remember I started this in September, and finished in less than 2 month.  But, my cast-on wouldn't let me pull those points out.  After languishing almost 2 months, unblocked, I knitted gifts and this and that.  Finally, December 30, I started to knit a new one from the old one, and made sure I had a super stretchy cast-on, only to rip that one out and cast-on a bit firmer, but still stretchy.  I've been holding my breath since the beginning of the year, waiting for this day!
It's Spring, and I love it.  Thank you, Susanna IC!

 Polaris by Susanna IC from ArtQualia Designs

Yarn:  Hand Paint Lace by Misti Alpaca, Lace / 2 ply
100% Alpaca, 875 yards / 100 grams

I used 60 grams, and 11 grams of beads. 

Two problems solved:

1. The bind off edge instructions: "*p2tog, return st to left needle; rep from * to end of row; a strong non-stretchy bind off is essential in order for the crescent shape to form during blocking."  It was SO rigid, and restricting that I was sure I'd have a circle when I blocked, so I frogged it, and bound off with a simple k2, pass first stitch over.
2. Again, a repeat of Oslo Walk Shawl, I found a hole.  It was made by a yarn over, which increased the whole thing by one stitch, which I fixed when I got to the lace top border.  This yarn over was close to the top tip of a big diamond... about five rows into the short row section.  This time, I didn't have to rip it all out, but was able to crochet it down to the diamond and fasten it with a little extra yarn.  Hardly noticeable, until you LOOK!  LOL  This sort of thing makes it "handmade". Right?

Other posts: 

Better, this time! Tuesday, Jan 10 2012

Resolutions... As if! Monday, Jan 02 2012

Tale of Two Shawls: Part 2 Saturday, Nov 05 2011
Tale of Two Shawls: Part 1 Friday, Nov 04 2011

Good needles, Bad needles Sunday, Oct 02 2011

?? Wednesday, Sep 14 2011

After the Knitting

There's more to life than knitting... No, I'm just kidding!  After the knitting, is the thinking about knitting.
Just kidding, again!  I think about knitting when I'm knitting, and when I'm not knitting.  OK, I'm obsessive... I'm the first and not the last to be aware of my condition.  So, when I spent from mid August to mid November knitting sporadically on a fair isle project, all the time I was imagining a certain two year old growing out of it.  Then I threw it in a basket and started a new fair isle.  The "knitting" part is finished, and what's left?  Sewing, cutting, blocking, weaving in ends, and ... the thinking about it.
I followed a pattern that was for a pullover with a tab neck opening, and I was only considering a true (crew neck) pullover or a cardigan.  Just didn't decide until two days ago that I indeed was going to follow the instructions and make the tab opening.  It's going to be great!  At the last check of measurements of said two year old, now two and a half, it will fit if I can get it to her in the next 2 months, or by her third birthday.
Here's some of the progress:

Circular bodice, before cutting.  The needles in the center mark the front opening.

Pieces blocked, the bodice has been cut open for sleeves, neck line shaped and

when it's totally dry, ready for construction.
More thinking, and luck is in order!

Tale of Two Shawls: Part 2

OWS completed!  SO happy with it.  No more holes and this is how I've been wearing it:

 Where did all of that work go? (See Part 1)
Meanwhile, stop me if you can... I finished the Polaris Shawl.  Looks great in this picture, but think how great it will look if I block it!

Then again, I sadly realize that there will be NO points, no double points as in the beautiful pattern picture... I obviously don't know how to cast on loosely.  I've accepted it in the OWS but I'm thinking how much MORE I would love this shawl if I frogged the whole thing and REALLY concentrated on a loose cast on.  OR I could try to cast on loosely and even complete the bottom beaded part without frogging.  I probably have enough to make a second shawl...  Let's not be rash.  Knit night is Thursday... advice before then?

FO Shawl

Wow!  Just when I thought it would take forever, I started decreasing.  And suddenly, it's done!
Lovely, Europa Crescent Shawl.

Blankity blank nupps, teeny stitches, 100's of them... Cast on 643 stitches on August 15, and 7-1/2 months later I'm binding off.  All of the tbl (through back loop) stuff and purling 3 at a time, are a distant memory now. I used almost a 1/2 mile of yarn, and the knitting accompanied me across the Pacific and back.  What an adventure!

I'm REALLY happy it's finished.  And the first day I tried to wear it, the temps were in the 70's and everyone thought I was mad...  Well, we'll get a few days this week in the lower 60's, so maybe it will feel good after all.

Pattern:  Europa by Kieran Foley from knit/lab;  Yarn: Cat Mountain (CO), Merino Lace weight 2 ply, 880/100 g purchased at the Pagosa Springs Wool Festival in 2009.  It's light as a feather!

FO #2

Dance, anyone?  This pattern is called "Pas de Valse."
I was trying to knit two projects in parallel universes... with the same deadlines, so I kept going back and forth.  The other one was finished 2 days ago, and now this one (which needed 1/3 of a sleeve and ends woven in) was right on its tail...
My chocolate wonder:

In all of its darkness, it was a bit difficult to photograph.

The edge is crocheted to ruffle just a bit.
And look who it fits?

The only seam to be sewn (kitchener) is at the center back of the collar.

Pattern:  Pas de Valse by Marnie MacLean from twist collective Fall 2009  

Yarn:  Silky Wool by Elsebeth Lavold DK / 8 ply 45% Wool, 35% Silk, 20% Nylon 50g=192 yards (used 6.6 skeins)

Ravelry Link

Drum roll, please...

First off the needles: 2011
The LONG awaited project:  LBD (or Little Black Blue Dress)  Even though I often call it a dress, it's really a pullover/tunic top.  It's just so long at this point, that it seems like I've been knitting a dress.
It's as pretty as I imagined! (IMHO) And not perfect.

I selected this pattern in July 2009 just loving those roses. I was disappointed to find that they are duplicate stitched however I have happily gotten over it.  Duplicate stitch is where it's AT!  They certainly wouldn't be as nice in intarsia. (At least not MY intarsia.) At the time my newborn granddaughter seemed far from wearing the smallest size for this pattern, 1-1/2 years, so I contented myself with other baby projects.  Then I started the lower edge.  It was quite the challenge... in Danish, with a most complicated combination of written and chart instructions, where neither were stand-alone instructions.  It turned out lovely both times.  I frogged the whole thing once and substituted colors and remeasured and gauged blah, blah, blah.  And now it's too big for my 1-1/2 year old so it will wait patiently for her to grow into it.
In my other posts I voiced concerns.
Concern #1:  I picked up a dropped stitch.  Would it even out in blocking?  The answer:

No.  It still looks like this after 2 blockings. So, it's an "original"!
Concern #2:  I used kinky yarn (from the frogged mis-start) and first time yarn.  They looked way different when knitted up.  Would it even out in blocking?  The answer:

Almost.  It's looking much better, and especially with big ol' roses to draw the eye away from the perfect "new yarn" stitching.
Concern #3:  Not previously voiced in a post, but at a meeting of knitters I asked what was I going to do with a garment that twisted.  And I'm still asking all of you, why has it twisted so badly, and how do I get it to straighten out?  Is it because of the circular one-piece body? Will it come out in blocking?  The answer:
(See above pictures.)
Not really.  It's an illusion.  I blocked it with wonderful straight rods down the sides, looked perfect while drying flat, but as soon as I start handling it, it wants to twist.  (What I mean by twist:  the rectangular | | body becomes a parallelogram \ \ .)
It is what it is, and I already have plans to add more trim so a 3 and 4 year old will be able to wear it... until she says, "Gram, would you make me a different tunic?"  And of course, the answer will be:  What color?

Pattern (in Danish): Siksak og Roser by Løve Garn from Løve Garn, Baby og småbørns-strik 2

Yarn: Bomuld 8/4 Merceriseret by Løve Garn Fingering / 4 ply 100% Cotton 180 yards

A piece a day!

That's what it feels like:  One piece of the tunic everyday.  Four pieces (front, back, 2 sleeves) and I'm blocking #3 today along with knitting like a maniac to finish #4 for tomorrow's blocking session.
I'm putting my new lace wires (rods) and blocking mat to good use:

I'll explain: It's a sleeve with the shoulder in the upper left corner. It's all-in-one: left yoke, sleeve and side (which will connect the front and back).  


What really makes me celebrate is that I received a belated Mother's Day gift from Chopped Tomatoes.  My daughter selected the yummiest of lace yarn (100% Mongolian cashmere) in her favorite color! :-)

Hmm.  What can I make with 1420 m of laceweight?  See you later!

Ready for the next step...

I would like to think I've done a lot of things in knitting;  a lot of things well, I mean.  One thing that has me running scared is "lace".  I LOVE to do lace, and I've finished my daughter's projects with no qualms... as long as I don't have to block them.


Lace takes time, talent, and the right physical environment.  I have most of these: Time (ya, sure), talent (OK, perseverance), and physical environment (high desert SW with the driest of atmospheres=quick, thorough drying in half the time compared to either coast).  What I lack is a space with the right surface.  


When I finished off C's lace Icarus shawl, I pretended that wrapping it up for the postal service and unwrapping it 10 or so days later...well, if there was ANY moisture in there, it would be ruined. Right?  Therefore, no blocking on this side of the Atlantic!  It worked...C did a beautiful job of blocking.

It went from this to this:

Delicious!!


Today I graduate (because it is the month of graduations) to a "blocker."
Any moment now the doorbell will ring, and Emily (a fellow norskophile/knitter) from FedEx will have dropped the box at the front door with this:

And this:

and a few other little toys...


I will anxiously be knitting like a fiend on my lace tunic to have it ready for travel by May 25th.


Also, you can all hold your collective breaths while I work through some instructions in the pattern that don't add up stitch-wise.  I'm forging ahead, but I check daily at Vogue for possible corrections.


See you on the other side!

Time for Old and New

I could go another day without comment here, but I should show you that some progress is being made:  Like a few rounds...

Here's the border.  I'm beginning the garter stitch to finish off the edge.  I'm a bit worried that the stockinette part is going to roll, which makes knitters unhappy (especially ME).  In which case, I SHOULD rip it out and do the whole thing in either ribbing or garter.
Here's another shot, showing both the front and back.

I love the look of the Lustra yarn.  It has a lovely sheen!
I guess I'll finish and then decide if I need to redo the border... It really wants to flop forward. Is blocking all it's cracked up to be?

Meanwhile:

Waiting in the wings (today's project: baby Jasmine cardi), and if I have time:

This has surprised me as being really interesting, and hopefully a successful summer cover-up.
This is probably the most practical of anything I'm working on... it WILL be SUMMER soon!

PS: The border/monkey blanket is perfect for multi-tasking at knit night tonight!