omg cute.

I totally love it.



(I really want to make another one. Someone stop me.)

getting there . . .

Check that out, y'all. I bought some buttons. FINALLY. I was clever enough to mention to my mom that I needed buttons, and she's like, "Oh hey, there's this button store we can go to." Button STORE, think I? AWESOME. I was just planning to go to JoAnn's.

But no, there's a lovely store (it used to be just buttons, but now it also does a lot of bridal stuff) with lots and lots of cute buttons, and, of course, my mom spotted the right ones right off the bat, way quicker than I would have.

It helps to shop with someone who's been sewing clothes for approximately 45 years.

Now I just have to sew in some ends and sew on some buttons, and YAY I HAVE A SWEATER.

the attention span of a chicken on crack.

Yeah, so I couldn't figure out a pattern I liked for Mr Black Shawl, so it's on the back burner. And by 'the back burner' I mean there's a ball of recycled merino sitting on my desk staring at me. I'll probably turn it into a Percy Shawl, skipping the middle chart. I like the first one ok, I just don't love it madly.

Anyway, I have instead turned to making a (sort of) Astrid tunic-thing. It's 'sort of' because I'm not making the bottom that wide, and I will probably not do the bell-ish cuffs. I cast on the 70 stitches I wanted for the bust and am just knitting straight up.

As for the yarn, I'm using another recycled sweater. It's a beige (mostly) silk and wool blend that has been through the washer and dryer a lot (originally from Fashion Bug) and is a little bit felted, and has a great sort of distressed look to it. I was a little pissed that the front halves of it had been cut for the zipper, not knit up separately, but it had cables in its last incarnation and was quite oversized, so I think the back and sleeves will give me more than enough yarn for a back, sleeves, and a front. And maybe the hood. I don't know: my jury is still out on the hood.

I have been wanting a very loose-knit, baggy, faux-worn sweater for ages, so I'm very excited about this. Even though I kind of feel like I'm knitting the equivalent of those jeans you buy that already have holes in the knees.

running amok

Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear. Y'all, I have been left unsupervised again, and the running amok has begun.

After I finished my lovely green alpaca sweater (which, yes, still needs buttons, big surprise,) I was doing some cleaning, and I dug out and unraveled some old sweaters.

Oh gee, thought I, I could really use a black lace shawl for when I go to the opera next month! Totally useful, because I always get cold. So I trot around Ravelry for a bit, looking for patterns and such, and I find one I like, the Percy Shawl from A Bit Of Knit. Oooh, thought I, what lovely edging!

And then I looked at it some more, and scoped around at some other people's versions, and I really liked this one, so after my extreme amounts of recycled black laceweight had dried (seriously, folks, the bugs did not chew up the sleeves at all on one turtleneck, and I have approximately 3,000 yards of black merino lurking about my room) I cast on and started knitting.

And then, of course, I decided that I really didn't like chart A all that much--it's nice, but not quite as interesting as I would like, though I am still Totally In Love with the edging.

So here I am, the mathematically challenged, attempting to figure out set-up rows and whatnot for another stitch pattern, and how to make it go in triangular shawl style.

Need I say that I'll keep you posted? You know I will.

ta-da! (sort of)

I have finished the knitting on my green sweater! It's pretty cute. I can't tell for sure if I like how it fits quite yet, being without buttons. If I weren't so lazy, I would dig up some safety pins and pretend they're buttons, but I'm lazy.

Actually, I should probably do that while it's still morning and not blazingly hot.

All I know is that this sweater is cute enough that I want one in some sort of cotton or bamboo (ok, I'd take silk or linen) so I can wear it in the summer, and I kind of want one in red or some dark evening-looking color, too. Yeah. It's that cute. I especially like the fact that, since it's knit side-to-side, I could make the back precisely as wide as I wanted. We all know this is a serious problem in my knitwear.

So yay! Best of all, it took not-quite 500 yards of dk weight yarn, so if I do eventually make two more, they won't break the bank. However, if I do make two more, I will be turning into my mother, with her habit of buying several of anything that fits. I don't know if I'm ready to turn into my mother quite yet.

almost there!

I was going to post some progress pictures of my green sweater, but the fact of the matter is that it's a not-very-large garment done all in garter stitch, and it should be finished--except for buttons--by tomorrow at the latest.

I'm still enthralled by the short rows, I think it's going to fit, and the collar still has the potential to be really cute. SO. Very exciting. And since I know I am completely dreadful about finding buttons--remember my Sourwood Mountain Mitts, anyone? They're still buttonless, and it's been months--I have pretty much resolved to get me to the Awesome Fabric Store for Awesome Buttons. I only need three, so hopefully they won't break the bank.

Not like I'm going to need the sweater for a while, no matter how wee it might be. It's gone and gotten hot again here.

So. Hopefully there will be Finished Sweater Pictures tomorrow or Monday. Yay!

ETA:

Ok, I uploaded the half-finished pictures, so here's one:



I now have both sleeves finished and am starting on the right front. I tried it on, and holy crap, it's cute. And it seems to fit beautifully. As long as the alpaca doesn't stretch too much or do anything weird, we are totally in business.

just a bit scattered

I've cast on for another sweater. Yeah. Because it was only a good 90 degrees yesterday, and I don't have air conditioning, so CLEARLY it is Sweater Time. This one's another Drops pattern, number 117-43. It's rather adorably adorable, isn't it?

I'm using some light green Plymouth Baby Alpaca that I bought last year:



It's actually much more green and less grey than in that picture. Funny story about this yarn: I bought it to make a short-sleeved sweatery kind of thing to wear over a dress at a wedding last spring. And then I got it home and realized that the bridesmaids would be wearing sage green. Since I didn't want to look like I was trying to be part of the bridal party, I made something else.

However, I'm totally glad I didn't knit this up last year, because I think it's going to be quite perfect for this wee sweater, and I am so entertained by the short rows that I can't believe it. I should have this finished and ready for viewing by this time next week! (I hope it fits.)

As for the Wreck of the Old 97, it carries on, but let's face it, dk weight alpaca is a hell of a lot more pleasant to knit with than big ol' bristly SWS. And I know I'll be able to wear the alpaca sweater as soon as it's finished, because I always get cold in restaurants and stuff, whereas the Old 97 will have to wait for cooler weather to be worn.

I've got no train lyrics this morning.

However, I got the berry stitch and the decreases to behave themselves! Yay! Good Lord, I should have been finished with the back piece of this jumper DAYS ago. I guess the train isn't running on time. (There. Dreadful train allusion. We may all rest easy.)

In between fights with berry stitch, I've been trying to decide what I want to do with my random former-sweater black merino. Do I want to make it into a lacy sweater? Do I want it to be a shawl? Do I want it to be a shawl with beads? The idea of a shawl with beads is enticing, but I'm not sure I'd enjoy knitting one. I also can't find my teeny tiny crochet hook. I wanted to see if it'll fit through beads. I think it will, it's that teeny. It's apparently so teeny that it can't be seen with the naked eye right now, though.

I really need a better system for storing my needles and hooks. Right now everything straight is in a mug, and everything with a cable is hung over a dowel that is actually part of an embroidery frame. It's not very efficient.

this is IT.

I'm gonna make one more go at that freakin' berry stitch + armholes, and if I can't get it to work, Drastic Steps will be taken. I'm not sure what they'll be, since the cuteness of the berry stitch is the whole reason I'm making this jumper, but there will be Drastic Steps.

I'm so irritated. I can't remember the last time I had a knitting problem I couldn't solve myself. It's making me feel like an idiot.

Gah.

a moment of bitchiness.

Or possibly just my inner teacher making herself known.

Anyway, I know everyone does things their own way, and really, whatever works for you is the best way for you, clearly, but it still drives me a little bit nuts when people who knit lacy things have to put stitch markers between every pattern repeat. How are you ever going to learn to read the knitting and really learn how that lace works if you always use that crutch? You're not going to GROW.

Besides, it's really cool when you can figure out just what the pattern is doing.

Anyway. That's just me being bitchy and judgmental for the morning. I'm sure my slapdash, haphazard ways of doing many things would drive many people up the wall. And I'm not going to change.

On a happier note, my mum was getting rid of a sweater and gave it to me to unravel, and now I have a good 1,400 yards of black laceweight to make something out of. Yay! Epic Dramatic Shawl, anyone?

like getting hit by a train

Dammit. The Wreck is not amusing me anymore. I am apparently incapable of getting two armholes to decrease at the same rate while doing berry stitch. I've pulled it out twice already, and I simply can't figure out what's going wrong. I've got one lovely curved armhole, and one crappy straight one.

What the hell? I can't remember the last time I ran into a knitting problem I couldn't solve. The other issue is that since I'm using Patons SWS, I can't really undo it too often before the yarn starts looking like I paid $1.50 per skein.

Gah. I'm done with it for tonight. Maybe inspiration will strike tomorrow. If not, I may do something rash. I might have to MAKE that armhole look like I want it to.

Dammit. I was having such fun.

hum it like a train disaster song.

I'd like to introduce you all to the sweater that shall henceforth be known as the Wreck of the Old 97. (It's on Ravelry as a Trainwreck Jumper, but I may change that.





I am honestly finding this expected catastrophe to be almost more fun to knit than some of my good stuff. Maybe because I'm not expecting much? Oh, but I am. If it's not GHASTLY, I might actually be disappointed. :)