hat stress

Ok, now I'm all hat-paranoid. Like, I just made one that's rather nice, kinda funky (it's drying, so no pictures yet) and kind of odd, maybe, and so I don't know if it's a 'good' hat, or not. ARGH! I made it with my mother in mind, but is it good enough? Will she just be pretending she likes it?

This is not cool. I'm anxious enough about people liking things I make them as it is.

Blargh. Say no to hat stress!

Maybe I'll just make another Obama hat. Most of the people I know would like one of those.

huh.

Looks like I'm guilty of Extreme Exclamation Point Overuse lately. I'm really sorry about that.

I'll try to calm down.

yes we can!

So I'm not one of those crazed-from-the-beginning Obama supporters--I only got on the bus after Hillary was out and he started talking more about policy and less about hope--but I am clearly on the bus now, as witness what I made today:



I also have a wee baby prototype, and luckily I know at least two mamas who'd be happy to have it on their baby's head. I may have to make another one for the other baby. We don't want brawling!

oh no! I may have to buy yarn!

And this is funny, because I just wrote posts in other places about A) all the random hats I have lying around, because sometimes you just feel like knitting a hat, and B) the fact that the guys in my family don't seem that excited about the knitwear I make them.

And now, without my bringing the matter up, I have been accused of keeping all the 'good' hats for myself--I usually only keep the ones I make out of scraps!--and my brother was meeping that I haven't made him a hat or socks. So then I was scrounging around in my yarn, and I really don't have many man-friendly colors. I may have to remedy that. Woe! Agony!

waiting . . .

Though I'm starting to think there's a chance this sweater will never dry, the yarn feels much nicer than it did before I dunked it, so I think I made the right choice.

Speaking of choices, am now trying to decide what sort of short cardigan to make out of the pale green Plymouth alpaca that's lurking in my closet. I kind of want to do something with cables . . . but then there's lace . . . and do I want long or elbow-length sleeves? Maybe something fun with cables and ribs? I'm even considering (gasp!) bobbles. BOBBLES? I am not normally a very bobble-y person. Maybe I'm coming down with something.

oh, the suspense!

So I blocked my February Lady Sweater this morning. You know, because I wanted bits of it to be different sizes, like I said, and I wanted the lace to open up a bit. Plus some of the yarn was kinda scraggly from having been so many other things, and it really needed a bath to help it out.

And now I'm afraid the damn thing is going to be enormous. I guess we shall find out tonight--and the damn thing had better dry by tonight, because it's on my bed, which is the only largish flat space I have.

Damn, I wish I could find my #2s so I could make some socks. I find the #1s make a slightly too rough fabric out of Trekking. :( If I were two sets of #2 knitting needles, where would I be?

Oh, hey, I think I've got a picture somewhere . . .



My sweater, being mysterious. (In real life, it's actually teal with some purple heathering.)

almost there!

Only one cuff left! That's right, approximately 12 rows, and then I need to get some buttons, and voila, I will have a new sweater.

Like with the hot pink yarn, I am thrilled that this yarn has finally found itself a home. Cascade 220 in Lapis, in case anyone is wondering.

And since I have no pictures of it yet, and have had no pictures for a while, let me find you something from the ol' desktop . . .



There we go. Some fireworks from last weekend. It was either that or me in a Viking hat, but I think we should save the Viking hat in case times get really dark.

ha ha!

I've finished the first sleeve--a long sleeve, thank you very much--and I'm totally going to have enough yarn. Life is good.

The one small . . . unknown, I guess we'll call it . . . that I have left with the sweater is that I knit the sleeve up so it just hits my wrist. I think it will block out a little longer. It had better. I don't like the dilemma of oh, if I knit it long enough, it'll grow too much when blocked, but then neither do I want to be stuck with an overly short sleeve . . . well, I guess it's not like I won't have enough yarn, so I can always unpick the cuff and do another repeat of the lace.

Blocking will be interesting: I've never blocked anything that wasn't in flat pieces, so we'll see how this goes. (In a few days: I am intending this to be a two-sleeved sweater.) It will be especially interesting--to me, at least--because I want the body to block out wider and the sleeves to be longer. Hopefully I can make this happen.

And yes, I bought yarn today. Some Trekking Handart in Tundra, and some Trekking pro natura in a lovely faded teal sort of shade. And before you think I'm addicted to Trekking, I'm really not, it's just that that store doesn't carry scads of sock yarn, and the Trekking usually has the best colors. I hope the colors in the handart knit up nicely. I would know already, but I can't find my damn size 2 needles. I have two sets, and like a moron, I store them together and now can't find either. Oh wah, my life is so hard. :)

sorry, no pictures yet!

Now I'm at the bit of the sweater, which happens with almost every sweater I make, where I'm all, "Oh crap, will I have enough yarn?" I tend to like my sweaters long. I was really hoping to have enough yarn to do long sleeves, instead of three-quarter, but it looks like that will be right out.

Or I get another skein of yarn and don't give a shit that it's a completely different dye lot. There is a strong chance that I'll do this. Shh, don't tell anyone.

I will also most likely be heading to the yarn store on Friday--I have an audition nearby, so naturally I'll have to stop in. Ok, and I really do need to get some tiny needles so I can finish mending a sweater for my mom. There was collar removal, and now there has to be some new, looser-collar (or really, binding off) attachment. And I need teensy needles. Oh darn. Shopping! You know this means I'm gonna come home with more sock yarn. You know it.

More February Bitching

Ok. I took out the eyelets on the sleeves. Hopefully this will A) make the sleeves not ridiculous, and B) not make the whole top of the sweater look ridiculous.

At this point, only time will tell, because I don't think I'm gonna feel like trying it on today. Putting it back on the needle after it's been on the waste yarn always feels like so much work.

Who knows, though, there's a hockey game for me to knit through today--that's right! It's hockey season! Knit Stanley Cups for everyone!--so maybe I'll get so much of the body done this afternoon that I'll want to try it on.

God, I hope it fits. Because it will A) be super-cute and useful, and B) mean I have knit up a bunch of yarn that's been lying around for a while, so I'll be able to start pondering my next large project for me. Well, ok, the next project is going to be some sort of short cardigan with the pale green alpaca that's lurking on top of my dresser, but after that, I mean. One thing I do know: the post-alpaca sweater is gonna have cables. Lots of 'em. I love me some cables.

(I also need to purchase some man-colored sock yarn, because the boy I was messing around with this summer just sent me a rather excellent--if very late--birthday present, so I think I'll have to knit him some fingerless gloves. If I can find a suitable color. He's picky.)

Le sigh

Besides the not-being-able-to-count problem I'm having this week (it even reared its ugly head when I was baking, leaving me with cookies of a very weird texture) I have also been attacked by a February Lady Sweater with GINORMOUS SLEEVES. It's sad when the rest of the top fits beautifully, but then the sleeves would still fit me if my arms doubled in size.

Once again, I blame it on my shoulders. If they were wider, they'd fill things out a little better. Or I could blame it on my boobs. They could do me a favor and shrink. And seriously, those of you with ACTUAL large bosoms may feel free to laugh at me right now. It's just that I'm disproportionate enough for it to make me want to scream.

So there's been some ripping back on the sweater, and I'm going to take out some of the eyelet increases on the shoulders, and hope that will make it small enough for me to tolerate. Otherwise I'm gonna have to pull the whole thing out and do some finagling with the cast-on numbers, and did I mention I can't do math this week? Like the time I added 21 and 21 and got 52? And then cut fringe to that effect? Hot mess, that's me.

But at least I can name six out of nine Supreme Court Justices. My mom was quizzing me as to things Sarah Palin probably wouldn't be able to answer. I couldn't remember Stevens, Breyer, and Souter. Ah well. I know them now!

pink stuff

Yes, the pink has finally found a home! It's gone out in public, and I felt pretty cute in it, so it's staying with us.



Just your basic top-down raglan madness, with some arrowhead lace thrown in to make it more festive. I would have liked the lace to start higher, but oh well. I ripped it back once, to start it higher, but the yarn is a cotton/wool blend (Cascade Sierra, I believe) and as such, the whole garment tends to stretch downwards when I wear it. C'est la vie, I suppose.

Now I just have to soak it in some salt water for a bit to set the color, and all shall be well.

My latest project is a February Lady Sweater, like everyone else in the knitting world. I can't quite believe I'm making a popular project, but it's so cuuuute. (Never saw the allure of the Clapotis, but the February Lady Sweater is quite stylish.) The only problem with this sweater, so far, is that I can't count. My math skills, which are never very good, have been the pits this week. There was almost screaming last night, and today there will be mistake-fixing. Gah.