Busy Weekend.

For such a busy weekend I actually got a bit of stuff done. Well, not "completed" done, but progress nonetheless. I finished up the first ball of Patons SWS for my "My So-Called Scarf". I finished a couple more rows on that Athenian Scarf. I even finished 3 rounds of my star shaped blanket! Sure, that doesn't sound like much, but each of those rounds get progressively bigger and the blanket feels pretty big already.

Here are some pictures of these projects. They aren't the most recent, but better than nothing. :P

"My So-Called Scarf" using Patons SWS


Athenian Scarf in Bernat Alpaca Natural


Star-Shaped Blanket in Lion Brand Homespun


AND, as a bonus, here's a picture of my first lace project (started last year), completed and blocked. I gave it to my mom when I went home over the weekend.

New projects out of old[ish] yarn

It's so sad that as a crafting/knitting/crocheting blog, I have a distinct lack of photos. I even have a digital camera now....what can I say? Call me lazy, I guess. :P

Anyway, as my star blanket reached critical mass and became too large/bulky to carry around with me in my [new] purse, I started thinking about how to use up the yarn in my stash. Actually, I started out by looking at the patterns in my Queue and thought about what I could make with the yarns already in my stash.

Athenian Scarf in broomstick lace

I've been wanting to make something in broomstick lace, and even if I couldn't start the Hourglass Jacket, there was an Athenian Scarf that looked very nice and basic. To figure out a yarn for this scarf, I thought about the qualities of the original scarf that I liked. What was it that drew me to the scarf?

• Bold stitch definition
• The way the broomstick part crosses
• Solid coloring

With this I could determine what yarns in my stash would be able to fulfill these qualities. I wouldn't use any of my laceweight yarn. I wouldn't use any variegated yarns either. I wouldn't use the fuzzy yarns. I also had to make sure I had enough to make a scarf with. In the end I decided to use my Bernat Alpaca Natural Blends in Peony (pink). I had 2 balls of this, in case I needed that much. Each ball is rather large to begin with, and the yarn is a bulky 2-ply. Although slightly fuzzy because the plies are loosely spun, it's got a very nice luster to it and has nice definition. The effect is slightly different from the original Athenian Scarf in which an 8-ply yarn was used (Debbie Bliss Cathay).

My only issue with the way it's turning out so far is that I would prefer the broomstick loop part to be a little more open. The holes seem a little too small right now, but I don't have a knitting needle large enough to achieve this. I may stop by Michael's today to pick one up. Alternatively, I could create my own "broomstick", loop holder thingy out of paper taped together to be stiff. I do have plenty of that lying around on my desk.

My So-Called Scarf, a slip-stitch pattern

I've wanted to create something that utilizes a slip-stitch based pattern. Slip-stitches show off variegated yarns beautifully, and they add texture and stitch definition while still looking refined. I could be pulling all of that out of my ass, but it sounds better than saying "slip-stitch purty!" It's actually a stitch pattern from a pattern book, repeated in scarf shape, but distributed by the people at the store, Imaginknit, in San Francisco. The pattern can now be found on their website at here.

Looking over everyone else's photos of this scarf on Ravelry, I came up with a few guidelines for myself regarding the yarn for this scarf.

• Single ply
• Shine factor (from silk, soy, bamboo, etc.)
• Multi-colored (striping or variegated)
  

I decided on using my Paton SWS. Since I only have 1 ball of Natural Crimson left, I may turn that into a skinnier scarf. People seemed to typically use 2-3 balls of Paton SWS for their scarves. I may use my Natural Pink with this pattern as well, alternating the rows to create a sort of mixed up striping pattern.

Other Photos

Ok, I guess it just felt like I had a lot of pictures. There aren't really that many new finished projects.

Mommy Duck from Anapaulaoli's Mommy Duck & Baby Duck pattern
Lily's Sugar'n Cream cotton yarn - yellow & orange
polyester filling, black snap on eyes


Saartje's Bootees
Bernat Satin Sport Solids in Aran and Wine, buttons from JoAnn's
- nice spare booties for last minute baby gifts, probably going to my erhu teacher, Karen Han


Ela's Scarf (finished at last)
Vanna's Choice in chocolate, olive, & honey
- doesn't look that much different from the last picture of it I put up. There's more brown...but it IS done and being shipped to its recipient this week.

gimme teh slouchies!

That Pretty Puffs Slouchy Hat is so cute, quick, and easy...I see myself making lots of them for people this Christmas. I'm keeping my Tweedle Dee one, but the light blue Dolcetto is going to Ally. I'm currently making one in light yellow Dolcetto for JoJo. I want more Dolcetto! I now really regret not buying them when I saw them on sale at JoAnn's. :( :( So much for being good and not splurging on yarn I don't have an immediate need for....this is why we need to follow our instincts and buy yarn when we feel the urge to! :D I now need another cheap option for these hats, something that will give me a wider choice of colors. Actually it probably doesn't even need to be that cheap since I'll only need one ball and maybe just a bit over 100 yards. I suppose this is where Ravelry's stash feature comes in real handy.

When I saw my aunt this weekend she said that she wouldn't really wear scarves, but she really liked the Garden Scarf I made and would wear that if I made it, because it's more of an accessory than a scarf. That means...I'm frogging that cat's paw scarf. It's funny how knitters say sometimes you knit something and it just doesn't feel right so you can't finish it. In the case of this scarf, it's so true! There's just 2 things I don't like about it....the garter stitch for one. Secondly, it's not very symmetrical - in the pattern at least. I don't think you can tell so much by looking at it, but I couldn't get into the groove of it. It just didn't make sense to me on a logical level. That's okay tho. The cashmere probably would have been wasted as a lace scarf. I think the yarn would rather be a pair of wristwarmers. :) Perhaps I'll make a Fetching out of it, or just use that pattern for the WoW wristwarmers - arctic gloves of the wolf or something. That'd be cute, with some beads in it for added sparklies. :D

Finishing

I think I have a problem with finishing my projects. Or maybe it's just that I'm starting so many.

On Thanksgiving I went to my parents' place and I made a Pretty Puffs Slouchy Hat using the "Bellezza Collection Dolcetto" yarn I got for $1.97 at Jo-Ann's. I had to modify the pattern by not doing one of the increase rows because the yarn I'm using is chunky and it would have been way too big. Yesterday I made one out of my Tweedle Dee in Blackberry, following the instructions except for one sc round. It is wayyy too big. I'm going to have to frog it back and remove the last increase round. x_x That means doing 3 rounds of puff stitch over again. GAH.

The party lace scarf & clapotis are now on repeat status...repeat until desired length. I don't have the cat's paw pattern memorized yet so that one is reserved for periods where I can devote undivided attention. Ela's scarf still needs one more row of brown I think. Today I'm going to go visit my grandpa in the hospital so I suppose I'll have some time to work on finishing these things.

Busy at work

Work, as in "pays for my yarn" work. I haven't had a chance to write up about the spinning class, but I will say very briefly that it was awesome!

I worked on my Party Lace Scarf in on the bus that day, in continental, and I messed up at the end of a row. I didn't realize until I was 2 rows past the point, because there's a purl row in between the pattern rows. I tinked back, but I had no idea how the loops were supposed to go together because it was on the edge, and all the loops kind of pull in tighter there so there's no clear pattern. It made me put off working on the thing until today. I took a look at it at lunch and figured out a satisfactory solution without having to just knit two stitches together. I think I fixed it correctly. I was so worried that I'd end up with a mistake in the lace that would ruin the scarf and all the time I spent would have been wasted! There's still so much yarn left to go through, I might not use up the entire skein.

I'm almost at the end of my first ball of Tweedle Dee for my Clapotis. After the second ball, it should be just about the perfect size. I wonder if blocking will work. The yarn is 80% acrylic and only 16% wool.

I've started on Saartje's Bootees. At lunch today I finished up the sole in a dark red soft cotton yarn. I left the cream colored yarn at home, but doh, I totally did not think to start the second bootie! That will probably be my walking project.

Last night I worked on Ela's scarf and I have one more row to finish. Then I'll give it a wash and I can ship it off. I also need to send Sly his scarf.

Well! That it's been a rather productive first half of the week! Tonight is knitting night at Zephyr Cafe on Colorado Ave. (come join us 7:30-10pm if you're near the Pasadena area). Tonight needs to be very productive as well. :D

Urgh, I may need to stop by Jo-Ann's beforehand for some fabric. My brother's b-day is on the 28th and I need to make his birthday present. I have to give it to him on Thursday because we're all going to be at my parents' house for Thanksgiving that day.

Clapotis pics

Here's a pic of my clapotis taken yesterday morning. I actually have 1 more repeat of the straight section done. I don't think it's as boring to knit as some of the people on Ravelry make it out to be. For me, the thrill of every repeat is enough to get me to knit 12 rows at a time. It's very satisfying to be able to drop those stitches! I really love the color variation from the Tweedle Dee yarn: rich reds to purples to oranges and back to reds again.


Here's a picture of my improvised stitch markers. The only downside is that they're not as easy to transfer as the plastic stitch markers because they wind themselves close to the needle. At least that makes them less likely to accidentally fall off. The one on the left I made using one strand of red and one strand of black.


Here's a closeup shot. So basically the what you do is take a length of yarn (you could tie 2 pieces to get one length long enough) and fold it in half. Stick something in the folded end (crochet hook, pencil, etc.) and twist the loose ends on the other side. Keep on twisting until the whole thing starts to twist on itself when you bring the two ends together. Let it twist on itself, and guide it so the ends are even. Remove your hook/pencil/whatever from the folded end and stick the loose end through (pretty much like how skeins of yarn are made). Knot the loose end, and voila! You've got a little twisty-tie stitch marker that stick on a needle.

Finished my Garden Scarf

Here it is! :D This is the Garden Scarf from The Happy Hooker. I made a 2-leaf chain using instructions I found here. To keep the scarf in place, I merely cross the ends and stick one of the leaves through 2 overlapping holes. Instant wearable cuteness! :D

Yarn-made Stitch Markers and the Clap

The other day on Ravelry there was a thread on why the Clapotis was so popular (from the latest figures on Ravelry: 2,240 finished and 576 in progress). I didn't like it when I first saw it and I too wondered why it was so popular. But, after a while it really grew on me - especially after seeing other peoples' claps. I think it has to do with the way it's worn in the photos on Knitty. Someone in the thread mentioned that the model is wearing it purl-side out. That makes the dropped stitches bump out and thus you get the weird (to me at least) lumpy silhouette. In the photos on Ravelry however, it seems that most people are wearing it knit-side out, making the dropped stitches dip and the fabric drape more flatly.

Fast forward to 2 nights ago when I went to Michael's and saw the Moda Dea Tweedle Dee yarn. It was on sale, it's SO soft, and the colors are SO beautiful I wanted to buy balls in every color (see the pretty shades on Yarndex here)! But...I couldn't justify it to myself when I already had 2 balls sitting at home with absolutely no project in mind for them and tons of other projects on the needles/hooks. At some point I made the connection: Clapotis....Tweedle Dee. Tweedle Dee...Clapotis! Soft, fuzzy, reddish-orangey-brown variegated bulky yarn...dropped stitch and thus not too heavy scarf knit in bias! I've wanted to try drop stitch. Apparently Clapotis is good for showing off variegated yarns. I need to go back to Michael's tonight to buy all their Tweedle Dee. Good thing Lawrence isn't coming home till late tonight. Bleh, unfortunately that also means I might not get pictures up today. The camera is in his car.

Since I'm using a bulky yarn I didn't want to make this full-sized. The pattern only calls for a worsted weight yarn. The directions on Knitty include instructions for adapting the pattern to accommodate size preferences. After the Set-up rows, I did the increase rows once instead of the 6 times required by the pattern. So far I've done the one repeat of the straight row section. It was very satisfying to drop those stitches! :) I didn't realize how much the dropped stitches would cause the fabric to open up! It's going to turn out larger than I first thought, but it's okay because the dropped stitches scrunchy up nicely too.

I almost forgot my original idea for this post...the stitch markers! The pattern calls for 18 stitch markers. I've never even used 1 in my knitting before, but I have several from an eBay purchase a few years ago. Since I'm using size 11 needles, I need larger stitch markers. I originally bought these cheap wire jewelry findings that bend open. I was thinking I could use my wire beads to decorate them and make my own cool stitch markers. Well, they're not big enough for the size 11 needles. Ok, no cool stitch markers...so I go to the regular round plastic things. Luckily the largest ones fit. BUT, I only have 4 of them and I need 6 total even with just 1 pattern increase. This is where those little yarn bits I've been saving come in handy! I keep them in a little baggy on my desk. So, I took a couple strands, tied one end together, and twisted it in until it twisted back onto itself. This is the way the ties inside the Butterfly Wrap are made. The part where the yarn twists back onto itself leaves me with a loop of potentially large sizes. Because of the twist, it will naturally twist itself down as much as it can so it's not prone to falling off the needles. Eh, it's hard to explain but it's intuitive awesomeness will be apparent once I get a picture up!

Tomorrow is the Spinning class, 10am-4pm, at the Urban Craft Center! w00t! I have a feeling I will need to go buy myself a drop spindle afterwards.

I'm starting to get confused over whether I've already posted on something here or in my Ravelry project pages. Eeps!

Funny bunnies

I should have called the wonky slipper a "she". They're analogous to Lawrence and me...he's more of the serious, lost-in-his-own-thoughts type while I'm the weirdo. haha.

I went to Michael's last night because I read on a forum that ALL their yarn was on sale. Well...they had no more Vanna's Choice in chocolate. :( I needed 1 more ball for Ela's scarf. GAHHH. However, I did pick up other yarn...specifically some cotton because I wanted to try making Saartje's Bootees (under free patterns on the right). They are SO cute, and I figure it can't hurt to have a few lying around for the next time I need a baby gift!

Yesterday morning I started a Garden Scarf (from The Happy Hooker). It's basically a bunch of big open flowers crocheted together. It's perfect for walking because I'm only holding 1 flower at a time until I have to join it to the scarf. I'm making this one for myself so I don't get burnt out making gifts for others! :) I've already 7 flowers (over 2 feet) done. I'm using the left over Vanna's Choice yarn in Brick and Honey from Ela's scarf.

After getting more involved in the knitting community, I'm just finding more and more things I want to make! :D Like the slouchy hat on Happy2Knit's blog. That led me to go look for patterns and I found the Pretty Puff Slouchy Hat.

Scarf Pictures

3 scarves, with pictures!

Sly's scarf - I designed it myself, although it was more *ahem* improvised than designed.


Ela's scarf - I need another ball of the brown to finish this up. This is the Stars (and Stripes) Forever scarf from The Happy Hooker, but modified for 3 colors instead of 4. Lawrence said adding in the red would be overkill.


Mom's scarf - This is the Party Lace Scarf, without beads.

While (yarn<infinity) { yarn+=100; project+=1;}

The yarn I ordered from Knit Picks arrived last week! I picked it up yesterday because I didn't realize it would ship SO quickly! I made my order on Sunday, Oct. 28th, and apparently the package arrived at the end of the week. I didn't even check the mail because I thought it would take 2 weeks minimum. Then Lawrence told me yesterday that when he checked the mail, there was a package notification slip...which must have been my package of yarn!

I bought several skeins of lace weight yarn in colorways that were on sale. In fact, I think they still have more of it that's on sale because they're making room for more colors. Of course, I ordered $47-worth of yarn because orders over $45 get free shipping.

Shadow
100% merino wool
440 yards
$1.99/hank

Gossamer
100% merino wool
440 yards
$2.99/hank

Alpaca Cloud
100% baby alpaca
440 yards
$3.99/hank

Then yesterday when we went to Arcadia to buy Chinese newspapers, we stopped by the JoAnn's there and I bought $27 more in yarn. I bought some Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn for amigurumi, some JoAnn Sensations yarn that was on sale (omg that stuff is so soft!), and some Patons worsted weight classic wool in Aran so that I can try dyeing and maybe felting.

.._.._.._.._.._.._..

Last night I finished weaving in the random ends that were sticking out of the bunny slippers. So that project is completed.

On Sunday, I finished up the lace cuff of the butterfly wrap and wove the ends in. I didn't have time to properly finish the ribbon ties, so I will need to do that. I didn't end up wearing it to the Nightwish concert...and truthfully I probably would have been very cold if I wore it. It still needs to be blocked, and I hope I find another occasion to wear it.

Being a productive weekend, I also finished up Sly's scarf last night. I don't know what the hell is up with my row counting, but it turns out that after "fixing" the red stripe, I ended up with an extra row. However, it's okay because I just made sure that the horizontal red stripe connecting the two pieces had the same number of stitches on both pieces so when I sewed it together, it would just kind of...line itself up. It doesn't look so bad, and will probably be better after I block it. If I can block it. I just realized the Vanna's Choice yarn is acrylic.

I frogged the beginning of Ela's scarf and restarted it to go along with the striped self-fringing scarf pattern in The Happy Hooker. I made it slightly shorter so it's 250 stitches-long instead of 300.

I sewed the body to the head of the amigurumi elephant. I ran out of yarn in the ball I was using, so I'm using the other balls of random blue yarn I had. I thought they were all the same color, but it looks like the other balls are slightly darker. This elephant is going to be kind of weird looking. I also sewed on two of the legs, but I think I sewed them in the wrong place. Maybe it will still be cute in a sort of deformed way... :/

This morning on my way to work, I wound one of the hanks of Knit Picks Shadow into a yarn cocoon so I can start knitting (w00t, knitting!) a lace scarf for my mom's Christmas present. The pattern looks insanely easy...it's just 4 rows of alternating knit increases/decreases & purls, repeated to the desired length or until your yarn runs out. It's the Party Lace Scarf from MagKnits, but without the beads. I'm just doing knit stitches where the beads would have been.

One step forward, two steps backwards

...and then perhaps another 2 steps forward.

The other night I was finishing up Sly's scarf. The one that's black with a red stripe. The one that I didn't make long enough so I thought, it's ok I'll just crochet some more and attach it one way or another. I wove the ends in, I crocheted two rows to the correct ends of each piece and rejoiced that I would soon have another Finished Object! I was in the process of sewing them together when I realized the two pieces weren't aligned properly. I re-seamed several times before I [stupidly] realized I was one row short on the extension piece. . . one row of the red stripe. Of course, that means the majority of the piece will have to be frogged and re-crocheted. Thankfully it shouldn't take too long. Now my only problem is getting around to un-weaving the ends.

The Nightwish concert is Sunday! I still have half the lace cuff to finish. The piece still needs to be blocked. Lawrence and I spent all of tonight cleaning out the closet. That's just fine and peachy and normally I would love to get the apartment cleaned but I've got a damn wrap to finish by Sunday and I don't want to stay up all night doing it! Tomorrow I've got to go to my parents' place because it's my deceased grandmother's birthday. We're going to go visit her grave site, maybe have lunch. They might play mah-jong in the afternoon. Maybe I'll have time to finish this wrap and maybe I won't. Even if I have time to finish the crocheting I won't be able to block it there. I'll bring a few other projects to work on, maybe the amigurumi or the scarves.

Sunday is also the Weaving and Fiber Festival, hosted by the Southern California Handweavers' Guild. The ladies in the Los Angeles group on Ravelry have been saying it's worth going so I've convinced Lawrence to drive me all the way down to Torrance for it. If I block the wrap on Saturday night, it should be finished in time for Sunday night, eh? Hopefully.