Bangle House

Back on Track

Okay, I took a little vacation from knitting and blogging because I just wasn't feeling it, but now I'm back.  To try to get myself a little more enthusiastic about my knitting, I cast on a number of projects, hoping that one of them would grab me. Here's what I've got going.

Plain ol' 3x1 ribbed socks using Zitron Life Style.

Meh.

A Debbie Bliss baby dress using DB Rialto, which I fear I'll have to frog because the bottom garter-stitch hem is curling up, and I don't think that can be blocked out. 

Yarn substitutions--not always all they're cracked up to be.

Simple stole, the Heartland Shawl, from Folk Shawls, using a bunch of Koigu I bought on sale years ago. 

This will be quite a long-term project and is inspired by all the baby blankets I've made of Koigu for other people which, upon feeling the slinkiness after blocking, I always wish I could keep for myself.  It's kind of a big baby blanket for the big baby of this house--me.

And, finally, another long-term project:  a girly log-cabin blanket made of Rowan Summer Tweed.  I've loved the colors and texture of this yarn for years but could never figure out what I wanted to do with it.  Then the idea of a log cabin blanket hit me, and I think it's going to turn out great.

My only concern is that the two shades of medium-dark purple are so similar.  The problem is that the three shades tht I've used are the only shades of purple in the ST palette, so I think I'm stuck.  I could ditch one of them and go for a neutral on the outer purple edge, but I'm not too crazy about that idea.  There's also a red berry shade that I might be able use in the middle, bumping the middle winey square to the purple side and going from there, but I think that would upset the pink/purple balance.  I'll probably just stick with the similar purples, which look more distinct up close than they do from a distance.

Opinions, anyone?

I had a feeling it would go something like this

I just had to know whether I was right about the brocade pattern anchoring the seed-stitch border, so I ripped back to the border and knit another eight rows.  Turns out I was right.  As you can see, the border is lying flat without any assistance from me.

The problem is that the pattern is incompatible with this busy yarn.  The pattern is very difficult to read in the fabric as I knit along, so I'm unable to follow it and knit by sight.  That being the case, I made more mistakes on these eight rows than I've probably made in my last dozen projects.  More important than that, I don't think it looks very good, and that makes the whole project not worth the bother.

I ripped out the baby sweater completely, and now the yarn and I are having a little time out.

So I've retreated into another pair of brightly colored stockinette socks. 

And that's probably for the best since it's late February and my mind has turned to thoughts of tomatoes.  In fact, I'm going to the nursery to pick out some plants tomorrow.

Should I start over?

So I got it into my head that the next challenge in my year of stash busting would be figuring out what to do with this yarn.

There are a few more skeins, so I'm dealing with seven skeins of highly variegated Koigu KPPPM.  Having no idea what to do with it, I decided on a baby sweater, and maybe a coordinating little blanket, if there's enough yarn left over.  Why not?  Kids look cute in anything, and I really like them in bright colors.

I settled on the Diamond-Seed Baby Jacket from Interweave Knits, Winter 2004, only I decided to cut out the diamond seed stitches since you wouldn't really be able to distinguish it with al that variegation going on.  Now I'm beginning to wonder whether I made a mistake.

Here's a picture of what I've done thus far, without my holding down the bottom edge.

As you can see, the bottom edge is curling up.  Here's what it looks like when I add a little weight to the bottom edges -- just outside the picture.

I looked at examples of the sweater on Ravelry, and none of them had bottom edges that curled.  While it might be the case that things can be evened out in blocking, my guess is that the diamond seed stitches anchor the bottom seed stitch border, keeping it straight.  I probably shouldn't have eliminated it.

What do you think?  Should I go rip back to the border and start over, following the pattern?  Or should I press on and see what's going to happen?

I'm thinking I should cut my losses now and start over.  I may not finish the sweater by the begining of next month when I'll be starting my three monthly pairs of socks, but at least I'll end up with a nice finished product once its done.

Veering off the beaten path

Sometimes it works out; sometimes it doesn't.

Let's take, for instance, trying a new yarn -- getting out of one's comfort zone of using the same small group of yarns for the same projects.  In my case, merino and merino blends for baby clothes.

My latest endeavor involved making the Sirdar pattern below using dark-gray heathered Berocco Ultra Alpaca Fine.

Yes, I know that making a sweater -- even a baby's sweater -- out of fingering weight is crazy, and selecting a dark shade won't make the task any more pleasant; but I was up for the job.

After a few hours of knitting, here's what I ended up with.

I hate it.  Absolutely hate it.  Just about everything about it. 

You may be thinking that it looks fine, if a bit dark, but what you can't see in the picture is the sporadic hairiness of the fabric.  Even though there's no mohair in the yarn, the feel of the sweater reminds me of vintage mohair-blend sweaters from the 60's that my husband used to pick up at thrift stores in the early 80's.  Not soft and furry, which might be okay -- but kind of stiff and hairy.  It surprised me because it felt soft enough both as a skein and wound into a ball.

Part of that problem may be that it's new wool as opposed to merino.  I'm not sure what exactly new wool is, but I think I'll take a pass on it when knitting for babies or working on projects that will lie next to the skin.

It's possible that the fabric eases and softens up a bit after washing -- I didn't swatch -- but I doubt that the hairiness changes much.  I'd imagine that all these loose fibers could prove annoying or irritating to a very young child.

I'd still like to make this sweater because it's just too cute.  After an afternoon of brainstorming as to what yarn to use, the obvious finally popped into my mind.  Well, not too obvious since it's not the yarn the pattern was written for, but still. . .Lorna's Laces Shepherd's Sock in a solid colorway.  How perfect will that be?

The Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport worked so well with the last sweater I made that I should have thought of it right away.  I'm thinking either denim or powder blue.  If you've got an opinion on either, I'd be glad to hear it.

Finished objects

Progress has been made the past week and a half!

First, the Ostrich Plume baby blanket using Smooshy is completed, and it looks and feels great.

A close-up of the stitch pattern:

Kiki likes it!

Folded up and ready to go.

I also wrapped up the first pair of this month's orange socks.  It's a hybrid of the Gentleman's Fancy Sock (stitch pattern) and Mim's Simple Trekking socks (heels and toes).

They're ever-so-slightly loose, so I'll give them a good machine wash so that they'll felt slightly and get a bit snugger.  Trekking's good for that.

One more thing -- if our current economic crisis worries and confuses you, I recommend reading this entry from the Freakonomics blog on the New York Times website.  It's a little dense in places, but by the time you're done reading, you'll have a pretty good idea of what's going.  It will also guide you to supplemental reading, should you need a little knowledge boost when it comes to certain topics.

Tomorrow, an update on a few longstanding WIPs.

Plodding Along

As summer is wrapping up, not much is happening over here.  I've made progress on the baby blanket and am about two-thirds done.

And I've managed to complete one of the Gentleman's Fancy socks, which more or less morphed into the Simple Trekking socks when it came time to make the heel and the toe.

Other than that, I'm reading The Millionaire Next Door, which was published about 12 years ago.  Even so, there's plenty to be gained as far as wealth building (investing, budgeting, and decreasing consumption) is concerned; and I could always use help in those areas.  It's a quick read and can be picked up in libraries or very cheaply as a used copy online; so if you think you this book might benefit you, go for it.  I wish I'd had some of this advice about 15 years ago.

Hey, just got back from looking at the new Knitty, and it might be the best issue ever.  All four pairs of socks are fantastic; I can't wait to make the baby blanket, although I might make a large one for myself first; and there are even a couple of sweaters I'd think about making.  Go take a look now!

Not much but knittin'

That's about all I've been doing.

First up is the second of the two baby blankets I'd assigned myself for the summer.  It's the Ostrich Plume Lace Throw from Vogue Knitting on the Go:  Baby Blankets, knit using Dream in Color Smooshy "Some Summer Sky."  I'm almost halfway done.

I love this pattern.  I've made it once before using Dale's Baby Ull, and it looks so beautiful and so impressive when it's done.  What you might not guess is that it's the easiest baby blanket I've made.  By the second lace repeat, I've memorized the 4-row pattern, probably because the lace pattern itself is so intuitive.  It's so nice that I don't need a row counter and can pick it up and put it down without even thinking about where I am.  I love knitting this blanket, and I'm sure it will be done in no time.  One day I'll have to make a larger version in a slightly heavier yarn for myself.

Look at this!

It shouldn't surprise you that I'm also knitting socks.  I've joined two sock-along groups on Ravelry, Sock Knitters Anonymous and Solid Socks, and both are knitting orange socks this month.  This is my first sock of the month, the Gentleman's Fancy Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks. 

I've modified it in that I cast on 72 stitches and will not be making the sock as long as the pattern suggests.  Because of this, I'll be foregoing the decreases.  I'll probably make the sock again someday using sock yarn with more yardage, knitting it as directed by the pattern so that I can check out the decreases.  In the meantime, these socks will be just fine as they're quite similar to the pattern I usually use with Trekking ombre.

Catchin' up

It's been a while since I've been able to stop by here to post, and now I've got lots to show you.

First of all, I've finished up the Estonian Lullaby Baby Blanket.

The Dream in Color worked perfectly.  There was no pooling, and the blanket blocked out very well, even on the points.

Now she's all folded up and ready to be shipped out with the sweater later today.

Speaking of pooling, check out these socks I quickly cranked out.

Why so fast?  Well, this yarn was a complete impulse buy, inspired by the fact that in skein form, it looked just like a bag of foil-wrapped Hershey's Easter Eggs.  I just couldn't resist.  I decided that if I knit it up right away, I'd feel a little less guilty about buying yarn I clearly didn't need.  I knew it would pool (and you all know how I feel about pooling), but I was ready to accept that and I still don't mind. 

The yarn is Colinette's Jitterbug in "Sweet Dreams," and I really like it.  It's a little thicker than the fingering weights I'm used to using, or perhaps it just seems that way since it's spun very tightly, almost like a cord.  My only complaint echoes that of most others who have used the yarn:  At 320 yards, the yardage is a little short for most patterns. 

I made the ballband socks because I didn't want to put a lot of effort into socks that would pool.  It worked out well since I enjoyed watching the colors change.  I bought another skein -- this one a semisolid -- and have more ambitious plans for that.

Oh,  yes, one final thing.  I finished up the Simple Trekking Socks, and as always, they turned out perfectly. 

They look good and fit well.  You just can't miss with this pattern.

The finish line is in sight

Blocking,

blocking,

and more blocking.

Baby blanket as far as the eye can see.

Bee-on-bee violence

Anyone got any idea of what's going on here?

In the mini insect wilderness that is my front yard, I was startled to see a large, slightly hirsute bee taking out one of the yard's treasured honey bees. 

Tempted as I was to put a stop to this murder, I didn't interfere because, one, the honey bee appears to have already cashed in his chips; two, I prefer to leave the natural world alone whenever possible in the hopes that the natural world will return the favor to me; and, three, when I know absolutely nothing about the nature of a predatory animal, even an insect, I prefer not to antagonize it.

I've been all over the Internet and can't find anything about what covert wars may be going on in my yard when bees kill bees.  I have to go to the garden center this weekend to see if there's anything to be done about a stink bug infestation (manifesting itself in the form of a stink bug orgy) going on elsewhere in the yard; so I'll ask them about this too.

I hope this has nothing to do with the fact that a swarm of honey bees is set on building a hive in one of my small trees.  I've been trying to discourage this by cutting the branches they've starting making combs on, and so far it's worked.  I'm more than happy to have the bees visit the yard during the day, taking whatever pollen they need, but I can't have them nesting in this tree as it's right next to two pathways that are frequented by parents pushing strollers and people walking dogs.  Sorry, bees, but I'd advise you to nest a few block away by the river and just stop by my place for a snack.

In other news, I finally finished the baby sweater. 

 
I'm really happy with the way it turned out, and -- guess what? -- I even enjoyed seaming the sides.  Stockinette to stockinette seaming = fun.  Seaming the undersides of the sleeves -- not so much. 

At least it's all done now.  I've also completed knitting the baby blanket.  Here's the crumpled mess that it is today.

Look!  No pooling, streaking or flashing.  Thank you, Dream in Color!

I'll start the blocking as soon as I'm done with this post. 

All of this baby knitting has made me crazy for some relaxing, quick sock knitting; so I started these a few days ago.

Mim's Simple Trekking Socks using a nice, dark denimy shade of ombre Trekking.  Love the pattern, LOVE the yarn -- these will be worn often.

Will return to the WIP-down once these guys are done.