Bit the dust

Well, it's been a while, and projects have... changed. My Branching Out scarf has finally bitten the dust. I kept having to tink back to fix mistakes, and I finally got tired of it. At the rate I was going, it would be done in five years. So, I still have most of my cone of Aurora Baby Alpaca in teal. I still need to figure out what to do with it. It's fingering weight (I think), and I have already ripped it out of a Pi shawl (the one that looks like a sunflower), and then Branching Out. Does anybody have any ideas? I want something that's pretty, but won't drive me crazy...

I'm getting close to finishing up Sonnet. I'm almost done with the 2nd sleeve, then I just need to sew it together. I'm doing it in Lion Wool-Ease Worsted, Blue Mist. I'm doing the smallest size, but I'm noticing it will be a leetle bit ...longer than I had anticipated. When the instructions said to check my gauge in my yarn of choice, I had no idea it would...stretch quite so much, lengthwise. What was 5 st/in in my swatch had turned into 3.5 st/in in the sweater, due to the sideways garter stitch construction. I am duly noting this tendency, so that I can fix it if I make another one. Otherwise, it's turning out nicely. I'd rather it be a little long than a little short...

I'm also close to finishing Tempting, also in Wool-Ease, this time in Cranberry. It's off the needles at the moment, because I am in the process of ripping back to the sleeves, since I attached one wrong, and it is messing up my count for the eyelet row. (Yes, I got that far...sigh.)

And last but not least, my two Patons SWS experiments.

The hat is the Baby Cable Ribbed Hat from a free pattern online. It is super easy and goes really fast. I put a button on top, because the final hole at the top was bigger than I preferred. I only need 5 buttons for my Sonnet, so I used the other button from the set. The bag is the famous Sophie Bag, in its pre-felted condition. We'll see how it turns out. It's my first felting project...

'Til then!

Victorious!

I have vanquished the evil lace monster! HaHA!

How did I do it? Well, let me spin you a tale...

After much deliberating and poring over patterns on the internet and in my Shawls and Scarves: The Best of Knitter's Magazine, I came to the conclusion that the Pi shawl had to go. My frustration with it was too intense for me to fuss with it further, and I needed to maybe start with an easier first lace project.

That being said, I frogged that sucker. Ahhhhhh...you know, sometimes, ripping out a project just feels good. I will eventually revisit this pattern, but right now, rippit rippit.

What I decided on for my new attempt, after much thought, was something small. Something "easy", something in the realm of attainable. I chose "Branching Out". Only 5 pattern rows...looks pretty straightforward...and I have all that Pi experience to draw from. This should be a breeze. I cast on with my lovely laceweight alpaca.

Note to self: Do not watch any Wallace and Gromit while attempting to figure out a new lace pattern, even if it is only over 25 stitches. Even if you think it is "okay" because Gromit even knits in the episode you are watching (The Wrong Trousers), it is Not. It was cute, however, that my DH elbowed me and pointed out that Gromit was knitting. You see, the corruption begins...muhahahahaha!

Back to the lace. You will note on the pattern instructions that this is not only recommended for new knitters, but the motif is described as "easy" and the pattern "fairly simple". Be very sure, my dears, that these descriptions can only apply if you are not A) starting it in a distracted state, B) not exhaustedly knitting into the wee hours in a pathetic game of "chicken" with the lace pattern.

Is it just me, or did anyone else get their okole soundly kicked multiple times by row 7? I would hate to think I am the only one...I must have frogged and reknit up to that point 7 times that night before finally conceding the field to the victor...Lace Monster. (But I'll be back!...)

So, last night, I dragged my stuff with me and grabbed a skein of acrylic worsted to swatch with, when I was summoned to the Fire Station to bring the DH some supplies he needed for working on his truck. I would conquer this pattern, by george...and of course, I had never been able to find any mention of errata or other knitters having this issue online, so I figured it must be the knitter, and not the pattern.

Sally forth!

So, I got out my acrylic and cast on...row 1 good....row 6, 31 stitches, good...row 7, 28 stitches...crap! Rippit...

Tried again...crap!

Had to leave the station, on the way home ordered a petite Chinese Chicken salad & cup of Broccoli cheese soup from Mimi's Cafe for pickup...yum!

Got home, ate and attacked...

Victory!!!!! I have vanquished the evil Lace Monster!!! Of course, the problems were all me, but I discovered and fixed what I was doing wrong all by myself! I feel so smart. I was performing the double decreases incorrectly, or adding an extra YO or something. Whatever I did when I wasn't paying attention, I finally fixed. And to prove it wasn't a fluke...I did it again!!! Yaaaay!

***(band plays "Hooray for the Red, White & Blue" in the background)

Yaaaaay!!! Victory!!!! Now to try it with the alpaca...

Hello

Well, here I go again. Take 2.

What do I mean? Well, I was trying to start a knitting blog on another site, but I was totally lost on how to work it, so I went out searching for an easier place to start. I like this one so far. It has commenting ability. I mean, how can I get help if people can't comment?

So, I'm going to reprise my posting from there on here, and see if I get any suggestions:

My digital camera battery went kaput, so I can only post what I have picture of from a while ago, but hopefully my gallery of FOs will enlarge.

So, who else is in on the Knitting Olympics? I am, but in a different way. I have decided that I am going to try to bust some of my stash to make room for higher quality yarns to move in. So, to that end, so far I have cast on a Basketweave Dishcloth in baby blue Cottontots. That's a nice yarn to work with, much easier on me than Kitchen Cotton tends to be.

What else is on the needles? A pair of Twisted Rib Socks in Magic Stripes Regatta Blue Stripe. This is my second attempt with this yarn. I had first done the basic Magic Stripe sock pattern, but realized almost at the toe that I had dropped a stitch at the beginning of the gusset. I tried to ladder it up, but to no avail, due to the tightness of the knitting. Being somewhat Type A, in my knitting inexperience, I frogged the whole thing, chalked it up to experience, and looked for a more interesting pattern.

I'm also working on my first real cable project, Steam, a lovely reversible cable rib scarf. I'm doing it in the only skein of Fisherman's Wool in my stash which was grabbed up in disbelief out of the clearance bin at Joann's fabric. It was a slightly abused skein, but all mine! It is a gift for a friend who is introducing the DH and I to the wonders of managing your money. I believe anyone who contributes to a lack of guilt when going to the yarn shop definitely deserves a gift of hard-to-find yarn.

I also have a mostly abandoned Pi Shawl (like Wendy's) in gorgeous Mallard Baby Alpaca by Aurora. I got to the part where I was supposed to move the beginning of round marker, etc. I don't know if I was doing it wrong, but I couldn't get the repeats of the lace pattern to work out properly, and being as attached to symmetry as I am; it was buried. Any suggestions? I'm thinking of frogging it completely and using a different shawl pattern altogether...I have many bookmarked, and am still waffling.

Arg. I need to go knit something...