half WIP (alternatively, half FO)

sort of like "glass half empty, glass half full", right?

i am so the "glass half empty" girl. not as bad as a debbie downer, or cathy, but still pessimistic in my own right.

this mitten, however, might make me a more optimistic knitter. since technically it's one of two mittens, it's not a finished knit, but it's off the needles, with the ends woven*, and free to be put on, admired, taken off, and repeated as necessary.

amidst what is already a crazy busy week, i'll find some time to cast on the mate. (that's optimism for you!)

*i carried the yarn up the inside of the mitten. there were very few ends to be woven.

floating through space and time

floats. my new challenge.

i'm still working on the chevron love mittens. it's a good thing i'm head over heels in love with the pattern and the yarn, or this first mitten would have ended up thrown in a corner and left to become a den for dust bunnies...

i had to frog the first attempt, as i was pulling much too tightly on the floats during that first go round.

natural neutrals chevron love mitten kit

things are going more smoothly now, though i haven't had a whole lot of time to knit lately, much to my chagrin.

i can, however, share a finished knit with you. not surprisingly, it's another mitten set, and again, not a shocker, the pattern is nothing short of perfection.

i've now knit two pair of phenomenon. the first pair was to test knit the pattern for it's designer. i thought it was pretty great at that point, but after additional tweaking, the newest version of phenomenon is absolutely phenomenal.

cascade 220 superwash in grey (816), held double throughout

it's a free pattern, but one you must have a ravelry account to access. a previously released pattern will do the job, but phenomenon mimics the patterned palm featured on the mittens used in the movie.

what challenges you as a knitter? colorwork? cables? finishing work? carving out time to devote to your craft?

round and round we go

circulars. dpn's. when knitting in the round, what is your preferential tool?

i've mentioned the wanted to learn magic loop before. as always, someone in the knitting blogosphere was willing to share. the generous leslie sent me her unused booklet. she bought it thinking she'd teach herself... sometime. well, sometime turned into "not yet, and it's been a while!" so it made its postal journey across the country.

i tried. i tried really hard. and i discussed it here. not in depth, but discuss it i did. but i failed. in the end, i ripped the sock off the circular, threw it on dpn's and went to work. of course i thought of old dogs and new tricks, and decided that whatever method was successful for me was the method i was going to stick with. (and let's be honest: if a fabulous knitter like leslie doesn't feel the call to learn the magic loop, why should i?)

fast forward 18 months. last week, while on a chartered bus, i learned that there is a serious benefit to knitting socks (or whatever) on circulars: you cannot drop your needle and lose it when it rolls to the very front, very back, or in the crack of a 60-seat bus filled with fourth and fifth grade students who will gawk and point if you crawl around on the floor.

thankfully, i had brought a few extra dpn's, as i planned to knit the cuffs of both Mystery Sock '09 socks, and complete the first clue for the month. Mystery Sock KAL is my favorite. i participated last year and really loved the socks i ended up with at the end of it all. this year, i dug through the stash, hoping that kirsten will again provide a great pattern that looks divine in a semi-solid.

dream in color smooshy, gothic rose

on a whim, i bought a 12" addi turbo in a US 9 to work the sleeves of my february lady sweater. i had size 9 dpn's but i was really loving the ease of a circular throughout the body of the sweater, and although at the time i didn't know i'd use it again so soon, i'm glad to have it. i am using it to knit laurel a pair of phenomenon mittens (ravelry link) for halloween, when she dresses up as bella from twilight.

cascade 220 superwash, gray

so am i a circular convert? i don't know that yet; however, i do know that i'm going to give the magic loop another whirl.

if for nothing else, it will keep me off my hands and knees on the floor of a bus.

the call of fall

so the weather here in sunny california isn't exactly fall-like, but there is nothing but cozy autumnal knits on my mind.

is there anything better than a finished project that you can actually wear and like? the february lady sweater (which i loving call my "finally, a lady sweater") is finished, buttons sewn, and blocked. there is not much that i can say about the sweater that others haven't already. it's a simple knit, which makes it easy to pick up and knit whenever you've a free moment; it's a lovely raglan design so there is no finishing work on the sleeves; and it's been knit so many times, there are a multitude of tips available and tons of inspiration regarding yarn substitutions.

my fls required only 3.5 skeins of dream in color classy "cocoa kiss". knit at gauge on size 9 needles, there are 22 repeats in the body and 17 in the sleeves. now that it's done, i would have knit one more repeat in the sleeves; however, i did wet block the sweater, stretching the sleeves that extra inch. the large, wonky buttons are plastic, and a completely different color than that of the yarn, but complementary. and here it is, modeled:

if i'm not the last person on the planet to knit this, and you, dear reader, are thinking of casting on your own fls, you might find these links helpful: the buttonhole tutorial listed in the pattern is a great one; for the eyelet increase in the yoke, go to this great calculator (though lots of great looking february lady sweaters don't even have the eyelet row); and of course, the ravelry pattern page is a great place to start.

and because the fls is officially finished, chevron love mittens is replacing it on the works-in-progress list. (i have a rule of three. three projects are always on the wip list. one is always a sock, one is a no-brainer project, and one is an involved project.) i can't wait to have the mittens ready for winter wear with my new charcoal pea coat.

chevron love mittens (natural neutrals kit)

non-creative convalescence

thanks to a great live-in nurse (the husband), I have been able to thoroughly rest and begin to recover this week.

as desirable a week off from household duties, kid carting, and general responsibility might seem, I can't say that I made great use of the time. most activity made my already aching head pound that much more. I know I couldn't have done anything more than I was able to accomplish.

yesterday, I finished the first of my "just another sock" pair. this is the project that sits in my purse, ready for action when I'm sitting and waiting for the kids to finish school, sports, or art classes. the sock couldn't be more simple, planned that way so I don't need to have a pattern nearby, and it was that easy, second nature design that made this an appealing project yesterday.

sKNITches syncopation yarn in "Collegiate". 2x2 rib cuff, heel flap and stockinette foot.

I did polish off the remaining books in my Young Adult queue. the five book Jessica Darling series (sloppy firsts, second helpings, etc.) kept me busy for a couple of days. I was impressed with the first and second books: the voice is witty and sardonic, and I befriended the main characters quickly. as with most episodic designs -- movies, television series, books -- I was disappointed as the saga continued. the next book on the nightstand was the curious incident of the dog at night-time. a quick read, I found what I enjoyed most was the perspective that the high-functioning autistic narrator provided. less of a mystery than a coming-of-age story, the curious incident kept me turning the pages.

so this week, I plan to take on the real world slowly. hopefully I don't burn up upon re-entry.

letdown

so of course I said I would update every Monday.
and here I am, sitting in bed, knitting very far from my mind, without energy to pick up the sticks.
I have been diagnosed with the h1n1 virus. I know that it's not terribly serious, that more people are negatively affected by the regular seasonal flu, but I can't help from feeling as though I've invited a predator to dinner.
maybe once these medications kick in, I'll be able to take advantage the quarantine time to knit. until then, friends.

a labor of love

phew! it's been a while, hasn't it? at my last blog entry, spring was on its way out, and i was busy knitting socks. now, autumn has almost arrived and i'm in a sweater knitting frenzy!

february lady sweater, dream in color classy "cocoa kiss"

i've spent some quality time with my february lady sweater lately. seeing this grow, row by row, repeat by repeat has been so fun, and the prospect of a completely wearable sweater is captivating. i've knit sweaters before, but either they went unfinished or were not worn for more than a photo op. this one will be different!

most of the knitting projects that have kept me up until well into the early summer mornings of were socks. the crosshatch lace socks were completed. audrey's sweetpeas were finished. 40 summers long are now ready for wear. just cast off were the "and they call it poppy love" socks. if you follow my flickr stream or are a friend on ravelry, you've maybe already seen them. if you haven't, here's an index:


i also made two felted berets for a school project, worked heartily on my february lady sweater, began a "simple sock" for when i'm in the car waiting for the kids to get out of school (or dance or art...), and test knit a fabulous mitten pattern.

phenomenon (based on bella's mittens) in cascade 220 superwash

so many thanks to those friends who took the time to e-mail me or re-post to a previous blog entry throughout the summer. the idea that you missed my ramblings here in this little space made my days even brighter. no major life changes kept me from blogging; simply put, writing became difficult to prioritize when the kids were on break -- and underfoot! -- and while a bounty of delicious vegetables was growing in the backyard.

cooler weather lured me out yesterday, and i spent the morning and early afternoon pulling out the spring-planted crops to make room for the fall crops i intend to plant in just a couple of weeks. but don't worry: that endeavor won't keep me from blogging through the busiest of knitting seasons. it's my hope to blog every monday, between loads of laundry and occupying the last kidlet at home. we celebrated gavin's fourth birthday just yesterday. it's quite possible that this is his last year at home with me all day... i can hardly believe it.