Blocking

I just eked out the front pieces with just enough yarn leftover to sew up the seams! Pieces are washed and blocked and I put them outside to dry since it's such a nice day. Although the pieces don't really need stretched, blocking is helpful to make all the stitches look nice and make sure it all lies flat. It probably makes it easier to sew up too. I must admit that when I started out I never blocked anything. It's tedious and time consuming, but it does make everything look nice.

Since this is a slightly lacy pattern and I did it on larger needles (even though the yarn was held double) I did have some stretchiness while I was pinning it out. It's likely that I could have stretched it to a larger size, but whether that would hold after blocking, I really don't know. I didn't want to stretch it (although it did, width-wise, by about an inch) I just wanted it to lay flat and make the edges scallop nicely.

Pattern is still just rough notes, not sure if it'll make any sense to anyone but me, but I will work at typing them up.

yay!

I finally decided to just press on and see how far I got and I managed the get the front piece with a bit left over! So there will be enough yarn to sew up the seams. Now, if the other section works out the same... I might even be able to wear it to the festival. :)

waffling

So, I did weigh that section and if I take that weight and multiply it by how many pattern repeat row I have the final product should weigh more than it does. And so I really don't think I'll have enough to make the front pieces, even though they will be smaller, because I'm doing two less pattern repeats.

So I'm waffling over whether to rip it out and start over and do one less pattern repeat - which because it's knitted sideways will mean it won't be as long - and still run the risk of running out of yarn. And do I do it in two pieces instead of four? I like the idea of less sewing together. I like that it will make the yarn stripes match up better. Not entirely sure how to knit for two pattern row repeats and then add on stitches, 'cos I don't want to do the cable cast on. I suppose I can figure something out.

And the big question is still: Will I have enough yarn?

kimono-ish design

There have been a few minor tweaks so far, but really, it's a rectangle with another rectangle attached for the sleeve, s'not much of a 'design' is it?

Anyway, I have to cast on for the other back piece, knit two pattern repeats and weigh them, then subtract that amount from what the other back piece weighs, to see if I will have enough yarn to finish the front pieces or if I will need to buy another skein.

I know that probably makes little or no sense to anyone who may read this, but it's just notes to myself.

designs

Every so often I get plagued with knitting designs. My inner designer just yammers at me until I try it out.

I don't like the way the sock yarn is striping on the ribbed cardigan thingy but I wouldn't mind it as much if it was vertical instead of horizontal, so, I have in mind a kimono style jacket, with no shaping, in the Pearl barred scallop pattern.

I need to figure out some edging for it, but I think it might work. Maybe.

Started the star blanket. didn't like the fluffy stuff in the centre, so I started with the purple, did 20 rows in that then changed to green.

Hat and stuff and things

I've got as much brim out of the hat as I'm going to get, so I'd say it's done! :) I'm working on typing out something coherent from my pattern scribblings. I do hope it's understandable. Actually, I'm not sure anyone would even want to knit it, but it was in my head and now it's out. I'd still like to try it in Noro or something stripey.

Can't get motivated to start the star blanket, not sure why. I thought I'd like to have the fluffy white/yellow/green in the middle, but I don't think I like it much. I think I'll try the purple in the middle.

Also still have the other sock to do, exchanged the yarn (thanks Glenda! (my Yarn Shop Lady is awesome!)) but I just don't feel like doing a sock.

The blue yarn from the Starflower jacket is in cakes and mocking me. I do have some ideas for that, so maybe I should work on that.

Or maybe I'll work on a new felted purse.

When yarn goes wrong

So, a while ago I finished one sock with the Sausalito yarn, moved on to other projects and last Friday finally decided to start the other sock. It looked a bit odd, it was too green, but I figured it'd work itself out after a while. Tonight I thought I'd pull out until I hit the colour changes. And then I pulled out a centre bit and realised it was all wrong:



The yarn on the left half has a marled effect, two strands of different colours twisted together. Somewhere in the middle it is knotted together with rainbow coloured strands. sigh.

This is particularly annoying because I frequently buy sock yarn for the stash. I sometimes have sock yarn for a year before doing anything with it. The wrong colours were all tucked in the centre and totally not visible when I bought the yarn. And I'm sure my yarn shop lady will exchange it, but it's really not her fault, it's the fault of the company she bought it from.

It's in a bag now and I have other projects to knit.

experimentation

So, the curling edge really annoyed me and I went trawling the project pages for that pattern on Ravelry. Found a few that seemed promising, and added some ideas of my own.

At first I thought that perhaps instead of YO, K2tog I could alternate that with YO, P2tog and then after trawling the project pages I decided that adding some garter stitch rows would be nice too. Only one of them really said anything about adding stitches to keep up with the pattern increases, so I thought about it and came up with this:

Do Row 93 as stated
Purl Row 94 instead of knitting around.
Row 95: (YO, k48)each of the 8 sections
Row 96: Purl tbl of yarnover, purl all other stitches
Row 97: (YO, K1, *YO, P2tog, YO, K2tog* rep ** 12 times)each of the 8 sections
Row 98: Purl
Row 99: (YO, K50) each of the 8 sections
Row 100: Bind off loosely, P2tog, return that stitch to Left Needle, repeat (remember to twist the yarnover stitch before P2tog)


I haven't yet finished a section, but I think it'll work. I like the way it looks too.

ETA: It worked out nicely!

Still no sun

Nom-nom's blankie is done! That was a really quick project. Of course I need to weave in ends - but only the beginning and end because I used the Russian Join throughout the project. Although I wasn't thrilled with the results. It started off looking nice until I knit with that strand and then ends would poke through. I kinda wish I'd used a different method, but it's too late now. :) We shall see what it's like when I wash it. I do hope it doesn't just fall apart!

Also, despite the YO, K2tog edging, it's still curling, I hope that takes care of itself after washing it, too.

Also also, I got chocolate on it. *gasp*

Since it's going to a pregnant lady and I'm not sure how sensitive her nose has gotten, I shall wait until it's a nice day, wash it and air it outside, wait 'til it's dry and package it up outside and ship it off with the instructions that someone else wash it in her favourite detergent before letting her have it.

I remember how sensitive my nose was and I don't want these ladies to dislike something they should adore. :)

Next up: The other Sausalito Sock and I need to get some yarn for the Starghan.

I love finding new techinques

I love this Radiating Star pattern, it's got just enough design elements to not totally bore me, but not so many that I can't read something on the Macbook. Plus in chunky weight yarn it's a fast project.

I made two very minor modifications: I didn't like how huge the centre hole was when I just cast on 8 stitches and started in, so I tried knitting 8 stitches in 1 stitch and tightening it up, that didn't look nice in chunky weight yarn. I settled on casting on 8 stitches and knitting one round, then starting the pattern. Also, I didn't much care for SKP: slip 1, knit 1, pass the slipped stitch over. Don't like how it looks, don't like doing that procedure. So I changed it to SSK, which I do as: slip 1 as if to knit, slip 1 as if to purl, put the left needle through the front and knit both stitches.

I do that last procedure a lot for left leaning decreases, but I notice that on socks it tends to show when I'm wearing them. bluh.

I read a discussion on Ravelry about this problem and it led to many links and descriptions of how to manage it. I like Techknitter's technique best.

However, I'm about halfway through this project right now, so changing now would annoy me. It's unlikely that the recipient would notice without me pointing it out, but I'd know it's there. :)

But now it makes me want to rip it out and start over! I (probably) won't do that, but I will use it for the other sock whenever I get around to starting it and then get to the gusset decreases.

April 2

It looks like we may have actually have a nice sunny day!

I'm a bit bored with the hat, it still needs to be more brim and less hat and so I have to rip it out again.

So I've moved on the the Radiating Star Blanket - a pattern that I found on Ravelry. I don't know if linking to a pattern there will work for anyone who isn't a member of Rav and I truly doubt that anyone is really reading this blog. It's more of a way for me to make notes of what I'm doing, with the focus on yarn projects.

Several online friends are pregnant, so I get to play Auntie Maeve the Yarn Fairy. :) I'm using Berocco's Vintage Chunky which is nice to work with. Their site calls the colour 'Banana' but to me it looks like rich yellow butter.

The pattern is very easy for me and it's reminiscent of the pattern for my Starflower jacket, so maybe doing this will make me more interested in re-doing that pattern. Or I'll be bored with stars and knitting widdershins and move onto something else. :)















Finished one sock in Sausalito - love the colour gradations!




This is the hat that's been driving me batty - it needs more brim and less hat. Again.