Can't wrap this

I'm such a child of the 80's. Now I have samples of Superfreak going through my head and images of a man wearing ginormous pants with a crotch down to THERE side stepping across my television screen. But there's a point here - I can't short row wrap and turn. For example:

My purple rain socks (again, what a nod to one of my lingering favorites artists from the 80's) are just past the heel turn. Being that I found just the right number of stitches to avoid any kind of pooling whatsoever, I wasn't keen on the idea of doing a bunch of increases for the gusset and ruining all that perfect distribution. So short row heel it was. But I've decided that no matter what I do, one side of the short row heel always looks a bit looser, wonkier than the other - in this picture it's on the right foot. Maybe I'm just anal, but I can see it, and it bothers me at least until I'm finished knitting.

Exhibit two: I had a marathon night listening to the Goblet of Fire and I made it through the shirt tail short rows on Sahara. I've always had trouble picking up wraps on the opposite side from when I originally wrapped, but it has never been more evident than on this piece. There's just way more holes than there should be. I may have to go back and rip out the hem and redo this. As it is, I forgot to change needle sizes on the border anyway, so I'm thinking that maybe the border will neaten up on the correct needle size.

Anyway, I leave you then with well wishes for the upcoming weekend (oh, it can't come soon enough... my DH comes home!) and progress pics on my only two remaining WIPs. I got sick of seeing zero progress on the Mason Dixon baby sweater and the Ram's Horn Jacket, so they're officially gone now. I will also go on record saying that I'm hoping that the neckline closes up a bit after putting the border on Sahara...

An actual WIP

It's occurred to me that I've gotten away from showing any progress whatsoever on this blog, as if these projects just materialize out of thin air. Some have even commented on the speediness of these items. I have a very good explanation for that. I've been knitting A LOT. In the past 2.5 weeks, I've been on a plane for over 20 hours and sitting in airports for probably 6-8 more hours and then staying in a hotel room for several nights in a row. Of course I'll have my knitting to keep me busy, and so, yes, I make quite a bit of progress. Plus, DH is out of town, so I can indulge in the knit addiction when he's not around while listening to the Harry Potter audiobooks for the first time. I find them quite enjoyable!

Anyway, so I thought I'd actually show you something in progress. I cast on for Sahara last night in Plymouth Royal Bamboo. This is the first time I've tried bamboo before, and I'm liking it so far. It doesn't seem all that different from knitting with cotton except that it doesn't feel as dry. The shininess and cool to touch properties are quite enjoyable. And boy does this stuff DRAPE.

Of course, I hope that all of these things are good qualities for Sahara. So far, the instructions have been pretty basic. I was sort of surprised that there wasn't more shoulder, neck, and armhole shaping in a garment described as "pinpoint fit." But hey, if it turns out the same, I'm all for eliminating the fussiness! So here I am after joining the fronts to the back after the armhole shaping.


Lastly, thanks everyone for the postive feedback on my Coachella. I'm planning on wearing it later today, so here's hoping it holds up to a few hours of wear.

Coachella

Coachella
Pattern: Coachella by Fathom Harvill in Knitty Summer 2007
Materials: Knit One, Crochet Too Wick(53% Soy, 47% polypropylene. 120yd per 50g ball) 190g in Avocado. Size 7 and 9 Knitpicks Options.
Gauge: About 4.25 spi.
Finished size: 26" chest when laid flat

Started: June 20, 2007
Finished: June 23, 2007

Modifications:
I spaced out the waist increases to every 8 rows instead of every 4. I reversed the armhole shaping on the upper front so that it was k1, ssk, work to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1. I picked up stitches around the armhole (1 for every cast on or bound off st, and 3 for every 4 rows), worked 2 rows in twisted stockinette and bound of.

Discussion:
A quick and easy knit. Well, except if you count that I cast on for this in the next larger size at a smaller gauge (4.75 spi, slightly looser than the labelled gauge as the pattern suggests) and had to rip it out after deciding that it was just way too stiff. I was already at the point where the fronts and backs were rejoined.

The mod about the armhole finishing I thought was necessary because I tried this on without it and ended up feeling like I was a bit too exposed. Putting in a few rounds at the armhole helped to prevent the armholes from stretching out way too much and added a 0.25-0.5 inches extra coverage. So yes, I am wearing a racerback bra in this picture, and it seems to stay relatively put.

My only issue with this top is that in the smallest size, it appears that the front drape is just a little bit too much. I'm not sure how I would modify this at all, but I wonder if one could cast on a touch fewer stitches at the neckline and gradually increase to the correct number of stitches by the time you get part way through the armhole shaping.

I knit this up in Wick mostly because it was already in my stash. I had picked it up at a 75% off sale in Hollywood a couple of months back, so it was the bargain basement price of $8 for all their remaining Avocado balls. I had no idea what I was going to make with this, but I knew because of the polypro content that I wanted it to be a tank for those ridiculously hot days when the Santa Ana winds are blowing.

My thoughts on Wick: well, it's kind of stretchy, and it has a chained construction to it. So it feels like there's a thread or something wrapping the core and I was constantly snagging that thread. It didn't pull back into place, so if you're planning to use this yarn, I might suggest being careful not to stab the yarn, or use your blunter needles. I had a hard time maintaining gauge because of the slight stretchiness of the yarn, but most of it seemed to come out in the blocking. Which, I might add, for a yarn composed of absolutely nothing animal related, it smelled remarkably like a wet dog while taking a bath. Go figure.

Ten years ago...

Ten years ago, I had just graduated from college and was driving cross country to settle in to my first job in what I had affectionately referred to as the armpit of America. I was a synthetic organic chemist way back then, which basically meant that on my performance evaluation, if I hadn't blown anyone up that day, I was meeting expectations. Let's just say that I didn't always meet expectations.

This week, I was back in the armpit, commuting up and down Route 1 and marvelling at just how unwilling New Jersey drivers are at letting you in their lane even when you're signalling. I was struck by how how weird it was to be back in the same place starting a new job once again. Only this time, it was ten years later and Hong Kong wasn't in the midst of being handed back to the Chinese and I'm not in any particular danger of hurtling hot silicon oil and shards of glass at anyone.

Lest you worry, no, I'm not moving to the Garden State... I was just there for the training.

The point being that I started my new job this week! It's going well - or at least as well as one can expect when all you're talking about is the company vision and how to log in to your computer. But oh, how I missed the pizza. As much as I love the food in LA, I still haven't found pizza here that rivals the pizza at D'Italia's. Sigh.

Anyway, having travelled to the east coast two weeks in a row now, I have managed to get in quite a bit of knitting time what with 10 hour airport/airplane wait times each way. So, I cast on for Coachella earlier this week, ripped it out a third of the way through, and then cast on again on Wednesday and finished it today. Here it is blocking and I'll try to get a pic sometime soon when it's dried and I can find a bra to wear underneath it.

And since I haven't posted WIP pictures in about 30 thousand months, here's the texture stitch I had mentioned before for that hank of irresistible STR Purple Rain. Also, you may notice that there's no pooling of any sort at this sock's 68 stitch size... happy dance!

A bit o' pron

So apparently, it IS all about blogging more. As soon as I blogged about how much I really wanted my Ravelry account, I got my invitation to join. So. freaking. psyched. It's amazing of course that I'm actually posting because all I really want to do is surf Ravelry all night long and upload all of my projects and find people to stalk and be a general groupie. Anyway, if you're already on Ravelry, come find me and be my friend! I'm of course, the Knittingspaz.

So DH and I have been partaking of the Santa Monica Farmer's market the past two weekends after listening to a lot of the Good Food podcast. Something about shopping directly from the people who grow your food makes me feel that much better. Anyway, we've discovered Camarosa strawberries, and they are well worth the $2.50 per pint price tag. So YUM.

And after blogging 4 FO last week, I suddenly found myself without anything significant on the needles. So what's a yarn ho to do? Why go and check out the anniversary sale over at A Mano of course! I picked up an obscenely lovely hank of Socks that Rock in the Purple Rain colorway (at 25% off!) and started swatching over the weekend. I think I've found the perfect stitch pattern for variegated socks in the Vogue Stitchionary volume one. I already cast on, but decided to rip out the cuffs and start them toe-up so I can use up as much of this loveliness as I can.

And of course, since I promised to make DH sweat for my craft...

Not Quite Seamless Hybrid Shirt Yoke Sweater
Pattern: Based on recipe by Elizabeth Zimmerman in Knitting Without Tears
Materials: Fare Baruffa Settembre (100% wool. About 130yd per 50g ball) 375g in a navy/English tan heathered color - sorry, I don't have the ball band in front of me. Size 6 and 7 Addi Turbo needles.
Gauge: 5.25 spi on US6 in the round, 5 spi on US7 in the round, 4.75 spi on US7 flat, and 5 spi on US6 flat
Finished size: DH sized! about 42" chest

Started: April 29, 2007
Finished: June 8, 2007

Modifications:
Well, since EZ doesn't exactly see fit to tell you exactly what to do, I say the whole thing is a mod. Maybe even an original pattern!

Discussion:
This one was NOT a labor of love. In fact, I'd say that there was almost no drama at all in the knitting of this sweater. At the time that I purchased this yarn - at the Yarn Lady bag sale eons ago - I had already envisioned a polo shirt style. I then decided to add in the graduated ribbing at the side seams to fake side seam shaping and also emulate DH's favorite variable ribbed Capilene shirts. So before I started knitting, I had already sketched out what I wanted and used EZ's recipe as a guide and voila, a finished object.

The good: I like the shirt yoke back, the easy collar and split neck and the wonderful heathery hue.

The bad: the construction of the shoulders - think turning a heel - leaves a proportion of 2 rows at the saddle to 1 stitch for the front and back. That's way more rows per stitch than one normally would use if say picking up stitches, so the first time I knit the back neck according to EZ's instructions, it puckered like mad. I changed the back neck so that it was just a flap and then seamed this to the held stitches for the back. I know this doesn't really make sense, but if you really want to know, I'll draw you a diagram.

The take-home: Seamless sweaters have definite advantages - like weaving in the ends and calling it done after casting off. But seamed sweaters I find just lay better. If feels like you have more control over how the parts fit together even though I find the seaming process time-consuming and a bit of a pain in the ass. So for now, I like both. I can go either way. I guess that makes me bi-seam-ual.

OMG - sorry for the bad pun. I am most definitely my father's daughter.

FO Catch up part 2

In miscellaneous rants, I tried to sign up for the destash blog because frankly, our apartment is just not large enough to accomodate two people's passions for collecting. His: wine and whiskey. Hers: yarn, yarn, and more yarn. And then soon to be added... fabric! I've on the verge of catching the sewing bug, but as there are two small hurdles in my way, I've managed to resist the urge to start a fabric stash. Those small hurdles being 1. a sewing machine and 2. the ability to sew and actually, 3. the discretionary cash to blow on said stash. Pshah, I say! Small details for those who are truly obsessed. Now, where can I score some nice fabrics in the LA area?

OH yeah, back to the rant. They said that if I increase my posting then I could join because I'm just not a prolific enough blogger. I beg to differ. I just like to save it up and put it all in one big post. Like today's where I'll amaze and shock all of you with how much I have managed to keep as a surprise.

Before that though... I must say, WHERE'S MY RAVELRY ACCOUNT? Kate showed me the Ravelry website a month ago and I was all, holy CRAP this is the place for me. Myspace and the like just don't appeal to me, but a place where everyone talks about knitting, and a site that ORGANIZES all your knitting is right up my alley. But really, a month to wait for something so spectacular? I only wish they'd let non-members peruse, but not post or comment and whatev.

Finally, long overdue FO postings. I've been lazy about picture taking, so forgive the crappy pictures.

Eyelet Blouse by Mari Lynne Patrick
Pattern in Vogue Knitting Winter 2006/7
Materials: RYC Cashcotton DK (35% cotton, 25% nylon, 18% angora, 9% cashmere. 142 yds per 50g ball) 250g in magenta. ??? needles. I'm guessing size 5 since I don't remember swatching. (slap!)
Gauge: 22 sts/4 in
Finished size: 32" bust

Started: March 27, 2007
Finished: April 17, 2007

Modifications:
Narrowed the yoke. Added decreases at the bottom of the V neck edging so that the neck edge would lay flat. Raised the neckline by crocheting the fronts together a bit higher than the pattern indicates. Apparently, the girls just don't fill out the bustline as much as the designer had intended. Knit the edging on the sleeve at the cast on instead of as an afterthought edging.

Discussion:
The backs, fronts, and sleeves flew by without a hitch. It was just the yoke instructions that killed me. Either I didn't read them correctly, or the instructions were wrong. But I ended up taking out a few rows across the back neck so that I could seam the yoke to the back without major poufing. There's still a little bit, but I can at least live with it now. Also, setting in the sleeves was a bit of a challenge and they're a bit uneven at the first stitch of the cast off row, but again, I'm dealing with it.

The one thing I'm having trouble dealing with right now is that I find the sweater slightly itchy. The yarn is soft as can be, but dang it if I think I might be sensitive to angora! Another note about the yarn, it sheds like crazy and I end up with unsightly white tufts coming off under the armpits. Yuk!

But the fit is good and the design is flattering, so this one's a keeper.



Milan Jacket by Louisa Harding
Pattern in Natural Knits for Babies and Moms
Materials: Misti Cotton (83% cotton, 17% silk. 191 yds per 100g) 175g in Olive Khaki (7032). Size US8 Addi Turbo needles.
Gauge: 18 sts and 22 rows/4"
Finished size: 12.5" from shoulder to hem, 23" at chest, 8" sleeve from shoulder seam to cuff.

Started: April 17, 2007
Finished: April 21, 2007

Modifications:
none, except if you count the totally wrong gauge!

Discussion:
Perfect example of playing the gauge game. Jillian did a very nice post a couple of days ago about changing gauge in your knitting, so go check out her post if you haven't already. Whenever I do this, I take it one step further than what Jillian mentions. I'm usually changing whole dimensions with yarn substitutions, so I figure that this should apply to length as well. So I usually calculate out the instructions that say "Knit until piece measures..." and figure out how many rows they mean and just knit that many rows to keep the proportions the same.

Anyway, I cast on for the 6 month size with my larger gauge and ended up with almost the exact measurements for the 12 month size by following the instructions for the smallest size. Worked like a charm.

Okay, so this sweater isn't EXACTLY finished as I'm still in search of buttons, but what the heck, I'm on a roll here.

There would be a posting for the knitting that was done from April 21-28, except that the twist front top from VK Spring/Summer 2005 done in Knitpicks Salishan (red clay if you must know) was too ugly to even picture. It has since been RIPPED! If you do want to knit this pattern, I recommend not only achieving gauge, but doing so with lots of drape at that gauge. Otherwise it looks like crap. I'd also recommend calculating out a different sleeve cap and armscye shaping than the pattern recommends as I've never seen set in sleeves that look like narrow triangles before, and unless you have triangular shaped shoulders and no biceps, it just doesn't work.

Also, somewhere in here, I cast on for DH's hybrid sweater short sleeved polo based on a pattern from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Without Tears. The knitting was finished on this last night, but the ends need to be woven in and a good blocking is in order before an FO picture with DH sweating to death in his wool sweater in June can be taken.

Ripple Weave Socks by Charlene Schurch
Pattern in Vogue Knitting Fall 2006
Materials: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock (100% wool. 420yd per 4oz hank) 3.4 oz in Northern Lights. Size 0(!) Addi Turbos 24 and 32".
Gauge: 10 sts/in
Finished size: 7.2 in circumference and 9 in long

Started: May 4, 2007
Finished: May 20, 2007

Modifications:
Only repeated 2 full charts on leg instead of stated 7. What were they thinking? 5 additional repeats would be obscenely long, given that 2 already measured 5" from the cuff to the top of the heel flap, and I didn't have THAT much yarn left over...

Discussion:
These socks look a lot like the Pomatomus Socks, but I don't think they're quite as pretty. There seem to be a lot of random holes between repeats that I suspect may cause undue wear patterns in the sock. But, the twisted 1x1 rib throughout is quite nice, and even though there's a bit of flashing going on in the sock, I can actually deal with it. If I do go on to make the P socks, I'll probably replicate the twisted rib on the toe of those as well.



Basic Mittens
Pattern in Handy Book of Knitting Patterns by Ann Budd
Materials: Knitpicks Decadence (100% superfine alpaca. 131 yds per 100g ball) 75g in Winter Berry. Size US9 circular needles.
Gauge: 4 sts/in
Finished size: 8" hand circumference and 8" from cuff to finger tip.

Started: June 3, 2007
Finished: June 3, 2007

Discussion:
Talk about instant gratification... these mittens didn't even make it onto the On the Sticks section of the sidebar! One evening of movies later and the leftovers from my MIL scarf became a matching set of mittens. I would have liked to knit these one needle size down so they'd be a bit denser, but I was concerned about how much yarn I had. Turns out I had enough left over that it shouldn't have been a problem. I'd also recommend not using alpaca for mittens (at least not this one anyway) as it seems to shed a lot and it doesn't seem hard wearing enough to be appropriate for something as chunky and utilitarian as mittens. Just my opinion though.

Whew! And if you're still with me, thanks! Another FO posting is apparently due, as if this weren't enough. I'm also thinking 2.5 months worth of FO's is not a good thing to try and tackle all at once. Maybe those Destash blog people have a point...

long belated honeymoon album

I've been blathering on and on about how behind I am in blogging, so here's the latest update:

My honeymoon album is finally up with draft captions. Go check it out.

I will be starting a new job in mid June, so that means that I'll be posting even LESS often (if that's possible) due to the hefty travel load. But it's a good career move for me and it should offer some new challenges. Very excited about that.

My clavinova is a bit dusty... but I can almost play Linus and Lucy now and I'm working on a Joplin piece. I took 12 years of classical piano as a kid, so these kinds of songs just weren't included in my repertoire. I'm even considering dabbling in some Elton John (Your Song in all its cheesiness still works on me).

I've been knitting quite a bit. I've still yet to post a baby sweater for my nephew, the eyelet blouse from VK Winter 2006/7, a twist front blouse that didn't have the drape required and so was ripped out AFTER seaming (hear the groan on this end), a pair of socks that look suspiciously like Pomatomus socks, and I've started a polo shirt for DH of my own design.

So I guess it's been busy on this end... must be a good start to summer!

FO Catch up part 1

Okay, so I've been admittedly absent from the blogosphere, but to make up for the past month, I'm going to show you some stuff that I've been working on. Only a little it for now because I don't seem to have the attention span anymore.


Ebb & Flow Socks
Pattern: by Cat Bordhi in Vogue Knitting Fall 2006
Materials: Knitpicks Essential (75% wool/25% nylon, 231 yds per 50g ball) 50g in Grass, 50g in Fawn. Size US4 Addi Turbo 24, 32".
Gauge: 6.25 sts/in in St st.
Finished Size: to fit women's size US7 feet.

Started: March 12, 2007
Finished: March 15, 2007

Modifications:
None really except for the misguided yarn sub. I did only 3 pattern repeats for the cuff instead of the 7 called for.

Discussion:
There's nothing particularly wrong with these socks except that well, the pattern calls for doubling up fingering weight yarn and using 200g of sock yarn for the whole pattern. I only had this stuff in the stash, and I figured that it could be okay. Well, I think it sort of ended up looking like cat barf, but I needed a whole lot less of it that I thought I would. So now with the leftovers, I'll be able to make some boot socks for my dad. I think it'll be a bit more appropriate for him as he's ex-Army than these were for my great-grandmother. I thanked my stars when I finished these and got a good look at how god-awful they were that my g-grandma is practically blind. But then she went and had her cataracts removed and can see again. Drats! Foiled again!

Anyway, if I were to do it over, I'd have just used one strand of DK weight yarn instead of fingering doubled up. The doubled up yarn made the lace tops (yes, that's supposed to be lace, not crappy textured stuff) way too stiff. And mixing two different colors was a bad idea as the lace pattern was completely lost in the marled look of the sock. The construction of the sock was interesting (putting the gusset on the top of the foot), but I didn't like the way the heel looks, so it's not something I'd repeat. Oh well, knitting fug every now and then isn't a bad thing. I only wish I were a process knitter so that I could be more satisfied with what I've learned instead of wishing it came out prettier.

I also churned out a couple of hats out of leftover yarn. The one on the left is from leftover TLC Cotton Plus (maybe 15g)from my nephew's blanket. The one on the right is 50g of Cascade Pastaza from when I made the Buttonhole bag. Both were churned out in a day.

I'm in this one for you and one for me mode right now. I figured that while I'd like to be a totally selfish knitter, with the number of other events I have to knit for, I can't totally ignore everyone else. So that's why next time, I'm showing you another one for me (the eyelet blouse from VK Winter 2006/2007) and one for you (actually, my nephew - the mandarin collar sweater from Natural Knits for Babies).

Almost famous

Remember a roadtrip a few months ago where I got some random guy to take pictures of me climbing? This, BTW, never happens because, DH is always spotting, so who's gonna wield the camera? Anyway, we're up at Bishop again a few weekends ago, and what do we find? I'm almost famous! Huzzah!



Yup, that's me front and off center and to the left a bit on page 72 in the new Bishop Bouldering Guidebook. The guidebook itself is beautiful and well photographed. Couldn't ask for more. I fully support everyone going out and buying a copy. And of course, bookmarking page 72.

Woo-hoo!

Yup... happy birthday to me again... or at least belatedly.

Surprises

My dad likes surprises. He once unwrapped one of my Christmas presents to take out the real gift and wrap it up in a different box after he figured out that I had taken a peek inside the package. He couldn't stand me not being surprised on Christmas morning. The best part for him though was chronicling the whole humiliating affair for all to see what a bad little 13 yo I was. He'll gladly show you the pictures if you ask.

So when my brother announced that his wife was expecting, he didn't want to know the gender of the baby. I say screw that! I wanna know! Well, the surprise didn't last long because apparently my mother had to just blurt it out. It's a boy! I'm going to have a nephew!

So much for that surprise, but I still like good surprises. Like DH springing a Galen Rowell print on me as a wedding gift (it's the one with 2 emperor penguins greeting each other). But, since this is a knitting blog, I have knitted surprises for you too!


Nephew's Log Cabin Blanket
Pattern: Log Cabin knitting in Mason-Dixon Knitting
Materials: TLC Cotton Plus (51% cotton, 49% acrylic. 168 yards per 100g ball) 1 ball each in spruce, cream, mint, yellow and kiwi. Size 7 Addi Turbos 32"
Gauge: Irrelevant!
Finished size: 25" x 32"

Started: February 19, 2007
Finished: March 10, 2007

Great, mindless knitting. The yellow in there sort of bothers me, but this project was great in that I could control just how much yarn I could use. I used up all of the Spruce and Cream, but I still have a little of the mint, yellow and kiwi left over. I'm okay with that as I'm sort of growing a mini Cotton Plus leftover stash that I think will turn into a crazy striped baby sweater.

Indigo Ripples Skirt
Pattern: by Kat Coyle in Interweave Knits Spring 2007
Materials: Elann.com Sonata (100% mercerized cotton. 116 yards per 50g ball) 6 balls EXACTLY in color Deep Olive. Size US6 Addi Turbo 24" and 32" needles.
Gauge: 22 sts and 30 rows/4"
Finished size: 26" waist, 34" hip and about 23" long

Started: February 24, 2007
Finished: March 6, 2007

Modifications:
Increased in stockinette section every 4 rounds for 3 sets of increases, then every 8 rounds until there were 14 sts fewer than called for. Omitted last purl round on ruffle before binding off. Changed bind off to purl 2, *transfer 2 sts back to left needle, then p2tog, p1* repeat to end. Did not do i-cord tie.

Discussion:
Y'all know how I like to live on the edge. Well, I was stash diving and found that I had almost enough DK weight cotton to make the smallest size in this pattern. I figured that with the tendency of cotton to stretch out as you wear it and with the hip measurement being a few inches larger than I needed it to be, I'd be fine if I just didn't increase as much and eliminated enough stitches to contstitute one repeat in the lace section.

Well, the skirt turned out to be a bit clingier than I think it was intended, but as I wear it, it does seem to stretch out as I predicted and it will be fine. I was happy to get the rush towards the end where I joined in my last ball of yarn as I started the ruffle, and I discovered the ruffles eat up yarn like nobody's business. I had to eliminate the last row before the bind off and I ended up with absolutely no leftovers. I think maybe 5 yards if you count all the excess I trimmed off when joining in new balls at the side.

If I had to do it again, I probably would have eliminated the last 10 rounds of lace to shorten the skirt up a bit as I'm short and it currently falls to just on the knee and I like my skirts a bit shorter than that. I may also have added in a bit more length to the stockinette section as the lace can be a bit revealing and not for the faint of heart. And certainly not for anyone who wants to bend over. If you ever worry about coverage on your rear, definitely lengthen the stockinette section. I'd also skip the waistband instructions and just do a hemmed waist band with elastic inserted. I think that would be a much cleaner finish, though I do like the brown suede ties I used here instead of the i-cord.

I would caution anyone who's thinking of doing this... I think the yarn requirements (at least for the smallest size) are not very generous. If you substitute like I did, give yourself a bit more yardage than they call for in the pattern unless you like to live on the edge like I do. I was smug thinking that I'd have leftover when I didn't have to join in the last ball until I started the ruffle. But just know that the ruffle took the entire 116 yards in that ball! Here's a pic of the lace pattern detail and the ruffle.

Okay, they weren't really knitted surprises, just I hadn't posted about either of these projects and then Pouf! they were finished. Well, no need to go into the gory details on such straightforward projects, right?

BTW, today's walk with a bit of running in it was 5.5 miles and took 1:08:15. Same time as last week's long run. I'm actually pretty pleased with myself here as I was pretty dumb in my selection of time of day to do this. When the Santa Ana winds are blowing in LA making it about 85 out and you're planning on running on concrete with little shade, do you think it's wise to start your run around noon?

Lookee!

Look at what arrived today!

That would be a gently used Yamaha Clavinova CLP-240. And it plays pretty well for it not being an acoustic piano. Well, at least well enough to fool this piano player. The sound is great, and I'm surprised I'm actually blogging instead of playing it.

A few answers to reader's questions: Chrissy - no I haven't found a distance where running starts to feel good. It just seem to hurt less now, but I suspect that might be because I'm walking most of it with only short bouts of slow jogging. Actually, my walking is sometimes faster than my jogging, so wrap your head around that! Steph - I'm training for the Disney half marathon. Supposedly DH's family is going to make a trip of it and DH promises that he'll do a Goofy (marathon plus a half on two consecutive days) if I do the Donald (half). I think he's pretty goofy.

But this post has been long overdue, so I'll just show you quickly the couple of finished objects that have been off the needles for what seems like forever...

Helmet Liner
Pattern: Found at Operation Home front here.
Materials: Cascade 220 (100% wool. 220 yds per 100g) 75g in color 8407. Size US8 needles.
Gauge: approximately 4.5 sts per inch

Started: February 6, 2007
Finished: February 20, 2007

Yes, this is finished, but I unfortunately have no pics of this to share. Maybe after I do another one. I gave this already to the ladies at Compatto, so you'll have to wait for the next. Fortunately, I have some black Cascade 220 in my stash with no particular plans for it. Off it goes to become yet another liner for the troops! Somehow, the charity knitting gives me so much satisfaction that I've dug out some old orphan leftovers from my stash to try to make some preemie hats for Stitches from the Heart. Yay me! Sorry... I'm trying to have a much more positive mental attitude, so you'll have to suffer through all of the sunshine I'm blowing up my own rear end for a while now.


DH's Koigu Socks
Pattern: You're Putting Me On Socks by Judy Gibson
Materials: Koigu KPPPM (100% superwash wool. 175 yd per 50g ball) 100g in color P830. Size 1 US Addi Turbos, 24" and 32".
Gauge: 8.5 sts/in in st st.
Finished size: to fit a Men's size US11 foot

Started: November 6, 2006
Frogged: November 7, 2006
Frogged: November 12, 2006
Re-started: January 26, 2007
Finished: February 19, 2007

This was a standard 68st toe up sock with 2x2 ribbing for the leg. Boring as all get out to knit, but DH loves them. I was having serious trouble getting the fit right with the Chevron pattern from Sensation Knit Socks, so I punted. DH wanted plain socks anyway. He commented when he first wore them (unblocked of course - I hang my head in shame) that they had a certain texture to them. Not bad, but definitely noticeable. We threw them in the washing machine and they softened up REALLY nicely. I might be a Koigu convert now! If only the pooling didn't bother me so much...


Godson Sweater
Pattern: Top down simultaneous saddle shoulder sweater in Barbara Walker's Knitting from the Top with argyle border from Nicky Epstein's Knitting Over the Edge.
Materials: Knitpicks Shine (60% cotton, 40% modal. 110 yards per 50g ball) 175g in Sky and 25g in Cream. Size US3 Addi Turbo 24" and 32".
Gauge: 25 sts/4"
Finished size: 22" chest and 12" from top of shoulder to hem and 6" from underarm to cuff.

Started: January 27, 2007
Finished: February 13, 2007

What finally worked for me on the border? Well, I took a hint from Eunny and spread apart my stitches on the needle every few stitches, and that seemed to help me from making my floats too tight. That worked like a charm for me! Anyway, I'm quite proud of this sweater, but I don't really have the energy to blog much more here.

Besides, the piano is calling...

Happy Wednesday everyone!

No knits for you!

So I haven't been knitting that much lately... well save for a little charity project that Compatto is organizing. I've been in many times since my last post about them, and I'm really getting to like it there and keep wanting to go back. It doesn't hurt that I run by there about 3 times a week these days. I'm trying to convince myself that I'm training for a half-marathon, but I do have issues with follow-through at times. Keep me honest, and keep asking me about it!

Anyway, I did manage to finish a DH's godson's sweater on Tuesday at SNB this week. For such a small sweater, boy did it have a million ends to weave in! I'll post the FO picture at some point when it's finished drying. IF that ever happens.

So I'll leave you today with pictures. Yes, I know, wedding and honeymoon pictures are SO trite, but that's all I have and I still have yet to finish going through them all. And I swore to myself that I'd post about my entire honeymoon, so you are unforunately the ones who have to suffer through the slideshow.

For some reason, I really like this picture. Can't explain it, except that I think it's because neither of us looks like we have a stick up our butts posing for the camera. And well, we look happy. Can't ask for much more than that, right?

Routeburn Track Jan 1-3
The Routeburn Track is designated as one of New Zealands' Great Walks. They apparently go through and designate some of their hiking paths that they think are particularly beautiful or whatnot as Great Walks and then put in extra plush facilities. I think I'd agree that this one was a great walk. It was my first multi-day hike and yes, I carried a pack with my gear in it. It only weighed about 15 pounds, but I'm still proud of myself for doing it!


Anyway, here we are looking clean on our first day... that wouldn't last. This was just one of many mini waterfalls we encountered on the first day of the hike through the forest. Lots of crystal blue streams and swing bridges. We stayed at the most flash (not flash pasteurized as I originally thought, but rather swank, fancy, upscale) cabin you could imagine in the wilderness: gas stoves, mattresses, lights at night, flush toilets and running drinkable water were all provided. This was the view from our cabin at the Routburn Falls.

The second day we ascended above the tree line and walked up to a saddle between two mountains. I can't tell which is exactly the view from the saddle because it was all just so darned gorgeous, but here's what I think it looked like:

After the saddle, we walked along a very dry ridge which was really weird considering the lush green terrain we had experienced the day before. It's a good thing we like mountains because that's pretty much all we saw for this entire section of the track. We then descended back into a different type of forest that reminded DH of the Ent forest from Lord of the Rings and then arrived at our cabin. Again with a spectacular view:
The last day was spent again circling around a valley along a ridge with intermittent breaks in the forest to reveal more mountain scenery, but the highlight of the day was definitely the giant waterfall:

We like waterfalls. I don't like how dirty I was by this time, and thankfully you can't smell us here, but we still had fun.

And I dare say that I might have liked this hiking thing. *gasp!* Don't let DH find out or else he may send us on some two week winter camping expedition through the Andes with a 3000 vertical gain daily.

On hold

Sorry about the last couple of posts lacking content. I think the template has figured itself out on Blogger, but y'know, these things never really are finished. I'm just putting my frustration with the lack of comments on old posts on hold.

Also on hold is DH's godson's sweater. I'm mad at it. Check this out:

Yeah, so if this were a waist cinching sweater for me, the 2 inches of puckering (10%!) would be okay, but let's face it... the waist isn't exactly the trimmest part of a baby. So, out goes the border. I've yet to pick it back up, but I think at least the yoke turned out okay.

I also discovered a new (to me) LYS in my neighborhood. I literally ran into this one while deluding myself that I could in fact manage a half-marathon in one year's time off the couch when I hate to run. Sometimes I wonder about my logic. Anyway, the store is called Compatto Yarn Salon and they seemed like a nice little store. They have a selection of yarns that complement the offerings of the other 6 stores within a 5 mile radius of me (obscene that density, isn't it? lucky for me though...). The owner, Nancy, is quite friendly and is willing to talk with you for days. The shop dog is fluffy and mellow, both a big plus in my book. If you're in the area, go check out Compatto. The other 6 shops in case you're interested are of course, A Mano (the furthest, but still my favorite), Stitches from the Heart, Jennifer Knits, Yarns Unlimited, Wildfiber, and L'Atelier on Montana.

Belated FO postings:


Grandmother's Pink Socks
Pattern: Petticoat Socks by Veronik Avery in Weekend Knitting
Materials: Elann Esprit (98.3% cotton, 1.7% elastic. 100yd relaxed per 50g ball) 150g in Pink Pearl. Size 4 Addi Turbos.
Gauge: 15 sts & 24 rounds/2" in st st.

Started: October 25, 2006
Finished: January 24, 2007

Modifications:
Most importantly, this sock was worked from the toe up instead of top down, so the lace motif is actually upside down. I also figured out what pattern to use half-way through the sock, so the instep pattern is omitted. Here, I used a short-row, heel-flap heel and worked the lace pattern as specified. After the sock was long enough, I threw in 4 m1 increases evenly distributed and did this once every 2 pattern repeats. I tried to alternate the locations of the increases such that the lace pattern stayed symmetrical.

Here's hoping that my grandmother's much more shapely calves fit into these socks. They're pretty stretchy, so I'm hoping the elastic will do its job...

MIL Scarf
No pattern
Materials: Knitpicks Decadence (100% Alpaca. 131 yds per 100g ball) 200g in Winterberry. Size 10.5 Knitpicks Options.
Gauge: What, does gauge matter on a scarf?
Finished size: 5" wide by 54" long unstretched

Started: December 7, 2006
Finished: January 27, 2006

This scarf was a winter gift for my new mother in law. A couple of years ago, I gifted her with the Branching Out scarf, and she loved it. I figured this time, I'd go for something warm instead of decorative, so I just cast on something like 22 stitches and worked a fisherman rib with slipped stitch edges until I ran out of yarn. The scarf stretched A LOT when worn, so it should be plenty long enough to wrap around her neck and keep off the mid-winter Ohio chill.

Yeah, all the self-portraits I took with this scarf made my nose look ginormous, so you don't get to see any. I'm vain.


Dunedin Dec 29-31

Ha, ha! I'm barely a month behind. That's not so bad, right? Yeah, at this rate, I'll be done telling you about my honeymoon by the time our one year anniversary comes around.

We drove down the coast towards Dunedin and on the way stopped off at Oamaru. There's a blue penguin colony there and disappointed though I was to discover that blue penguins are nocturnal animals. We didn't have time to wait around, but I would have loved to see the little guys hopping out of the ocean and marching home to their nests across the beach. As it were, this was all I got to see:

We were told that Dunedin is the most Scottish of all the New Zealand cities. Cities is a term I of course use quite loosely here as it's home to around 100,000 people and that would barely register as a city back home. Anyway, the architecture was all quite beautiful with churches taking center stage. We did attend mass during our stay in Dunedin, and well, I was just creeped out that Away In the Manger didn't sound at all like the tune I know. The church also bordered on sadistic wth the unpadded, fixed kneelers and 8 inch deep pews. I'm glad that masses don't last for 2 hours. No pics of the inside, but it was actually more attractive than the outside.

The sole reason for us traveling this far south was because I have a certain thing for animals. And the Otago reason is one of the best to see them all. So we signed up for the best tour of our trip to see the royal albatrosses, fur seals, sea lions, and yellow-eyed penguins with a bonus Fjordland crested penguin thrown into the mix. I was suprised to see the fur seals and sea lions in such close proximity to the penguins as I though the former ate the latter. But I guess if you're hanging out on the beach, you live and let live. Here we are a few meters from an adult sea lion and a group of adolescents:
The rest of our time in Dunedin was spent at the Speight's brewery and the Cadbury chocolate factory. The former was actually an excellent tour on the history of brewing, that facility in particular, even for a non-beer drinker like myself. The latter, well, let's just say that dumping a ton of chocolate from 20 meters up does NOT qualify for an interesting attraction. And DH never let me live it down. Here's the highlight of the Speight's tour... Yes I am ridiculously pleased that the sign actually applied to me.

Comments

AAgh!

All my comments seemed to have disappeared when I switched to the new Blogger. I've been using Haloscan, and well, this didn't work out for the old posts even with their nifty installation wizard.

I've supposedly turned on Blogger comments since they now have the email me when a new comment is posted feature and trackback and that's what I really wanted anyway. But I can't get that to work either on the old posts.

Any help here?

filler

because you need a vacation from my vacation...

Forgive me for all of the old posts that may be showing up in your bloglines account if you actually subscribe. I just switched over to the new blogger and saw that they have a categories function now. If you've been with me for a while now, you've probably discovered that I'm a bit anal and well, organizing information makes me absurdly happy. So I'm going back through ALL the posts and adding tags to them all. Anyone know how to add the categories to the sidebar?

I also saw this meme over at Every Word's a Purl and thought that it might give you some insight into what our house is like.

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.

Well, our place is in a state of perpetual disorder, so I knew that I wouldn't need to go to the bookshelf to find a book. What, like bookshelves are meant to store books? More like whatever falls out of your pocket, right? Anyway, I clearly live with an engineer. I have plenty of brochures on my desk, but none of them go up to page 123. The only real book, well...

"...Given the generator polynomial g(x) for a cyclic code C, however, we can make meaningful comments about C's ability to detect errors in a variety of situations. We consider three situations below that are generally considered in the design of computer communication systems.

Error pattern coverage." - Error Control Systems for Digital Communication and Storage by Stephen B. Wicker

What I want to know, is, who is this C person, and I want to be able to detect errors in more than just 3 situations! And the rest of the page is some sort of table, so sentence five was actually at the bottom of the page. BTW, I think that "Error pattern coverage." isn't actually a sentence, but since they bothered to put a period at the end of it, I figured that they considered it a sentence and so should I for this exercise.

Feel free to self-tag as I did.

First FO 2007

Before I get to any knitting content, I just have to say that today is my DH's birthday. Today he turns 28 and it seems only yesterday... Anyway, after all of the stress that we went through over the past year, I'm surprised he still married me. I guess it's a testament to his patience and understanding of me. He shows me every day what it is to love someone through thick and thin. And of course it doesn't hurt that I find him totally hott!

Triangle Edge Cardigan by Debbie Bliss
Pattern in Quick Baby Knits
Materials: Knitpicks Shine (60% Cotton, 40% Modal. 110 yards per 50 g ball) 190g in Cherry. Size 3 Addi Turbos.
Gauge: 6" sts per in.
Finished size: 23 in wide... I hope this is one perfectly round baby!

Started: December 24, 2006
Finished: January 15, 2006

Modifications:
Used short rows to shape collar instead of joining new yarn for each point. Omitted buttons.

Discussion:
Another basic baby sweater with a twist here. The triangle edging (which you can't see in this craptastic photo) adds a little bit of interest to this basic drop shoulder cardigan. I considered putting the buttons on, but frankly, I just didn't understand her instructions and I don't like YO buttonholes. So it'll be a little jacket type thing that will just be worn open. This one is for DH's cousin's as-yet unborn but due at any second now daughter. It's roomy enough so that this baby can spend then next 6-9 months growing into it. I'll once again voice my concern over Debbie Bliss baby sizing, but then again, I've never had a growing like a weed baby before either, so maybe the generous sizing is a good thing. Do tell if you have an opinion.


Lorna's Laces Quarter Socks
Materials: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport (100% wool, 200 yd per 70g) 1 skein in Mixed Berries. Size 1 Addi Turbos 24" and 32".
Gauge: 8.5 sts per in
Finished Size: 7.5" circumference, 8" foot length

Started: January 16, 2007
Finished: January 23, 2007

These were some quickie socks that I started while in New Zealand. I decided that they had been in my stash for long enough, but I didn't have any particular pattern in mind and knew that 70g was going to be a stretch. I didn't think it would be quite as short as they turned out, but I still think they're a reasonable length. I'd just have preferred that they were an inch or two longer in the leg.

I started these toe-up using a 24 st Turkish cast on. I increased every other round until I had a total of 64 sts on the needles. I worked one round of k4, p4 alternating with one round of all knits until the sock was long enough to reach the pointy bone on the top of my foot, which I guess to most people would be the start of their arch. I increased every other round until I was two inches short of my heel and then turned the heel a la Beaudelaire. From there it was knit in pattern until I was almost out of yarn, and then I started 1x1 ribbing until I actually did run out of yarn save a few yards. I cast off with the faux kitchener cast off.

Meh... the socks are a touch on the large side, but I have a tendency to slightly shrink my socks, so this isn't a bad thing. I was just surprised at the gauge I got with sport weight yarn. Do I really knit this tight, or is this typical for Lorna's sport?

I also finished off the MIL scarf on 1/27 and my grandmother's pink socks on 1/24, but I don't have a good picture of either of those yet. Maybe DH will be nice enough to take a picture for me sometime this week when it's not grey and raining out.

After having wiped ALL of my WIPs off the plate, I dug in for baby #2 of 5 for the year (that I know about). This one is for DH's soon to be godson! We were really excited to hear that DH's cousin wanted him to be the godfather, and this is DH's first time in that role. So I wanted a little something special for this baby in hopes of kissing up to the parents so they don't change their minds about making DH his godfather. I pulled out Barbara Walker's Knitting from the Top, and just went for it using her saddle shoulder sweater outline as a guide. I say outline because it really is just an outline. I cast on yesterday and the above picture was taken this morning, but I've already divided for the sleeves and body and have about 2 inches of body done. I love how small babies are...

I'll finish up with a quick update on the next leg of our trip...

Christchurch/Castle Hill Dec 27-28
We arrived in Christchurch after a long delay at the airport in Auckland late on the 27th. It didn't give us much time to look around the city, so we got up early the next morning so we could pick up the rental car and get on the road. Let me just say that adjusting to driving on the left side of the road took a while. The rental car did have a nifty reminder on the dash board in the form of a giant yellow arrow saying "stay left", but well, if you're looking at that too closely, you're surely not watching the road to see if the oncoming truck is in your lane or not.

But we drove out to Castle Hill and checked out the climbing. It's supposed to be a world class destination for bouldering, and I can see why. The entire area looked like a god had sprinkled giant boulders across a golf course. Or someone came by and knocked down Stonehenge. I can't decide which. Here's the two of us at the start of the day 50 yards off the road and about half way to the first rocks. Nice, short approach, eh?

The climbing itself wasn't my style. It's limestone and heavily climbed, so a lot of the rock was polished and at least for the problems I was trying, didn't seem to have much by way of feet. The style was also much more throwing for slick slopers, then beached whale mantling to top out. The boulder below was one of the exceptions to the yucky top out trend and the only boulder I got to the top of during my entire trip. Of course, I wasn't really trying either, opting instead to just enjoy the scenery. Fields of green, long grass blowing in the wind, and meadows of small wildflowers peppered with limestone of all shapes and sizes all with the southern Alps as a backdrop. Can you blame me?

She returns!

and you thought I'd been swept away by an albatross...

no, no, just off on my honeymoon. In case I didn't mention it before or you hadn't gleaned it from my last post, DH and I took a delayed honeymoon to the bottom of the planet where we drove around a lot on the wrong side of the road, stalked wildlife, sheep and people's dogs, laughed at roadsigns and billboards, hid from the sun, fell for all the tourist traps and otherwise had a grand old time. I'll be slowly posting the highlights from our Kiwi adventure over the next few days (weeks? I hope for your sake not...) so be forewarned that I'm going to hijack this knitting blog for some travel pr0n.

But before I dive in, I should mention that I did manage to finish 3 projects since last we left off. I just don't have any progress pics to show you and everything's wet still from blocking, so watch this space for a cute baby sweater, some quickie socks, and finally polishing off the g-ma socks.

Auckland Dec 25-27

DH and I left on Dec 23, lost Christmas eve somewhere over the Pacific and landed in Auckland on Dec 25. We figured that we'd go with the good old standby for Christmas evening of Chinese food and a movie, but we found out that Kiwis really do take their Christmas holiday seriously and completely close up. So we took our loopy sleep deprived selves for a walk about the city center and marveled at the funny sounding signage: "Dogs on Lead", "Beware of trucks maneuvering", and "Park and Display" (which immediately brought images of Hugh Grant and Divine Brown to mind).

The next day, we met up with a friend of a friend for some Boxing Day fun. We took the ferry out to Rangitoto but we might as well have arrived at some beautiful deserted island in the middle of the Pacific. Lush greenery around and some of the best views of Auckland to behold:

Okay, from the top there were definitely beautiful views of Auckland, but I have a thing for lighthouses.

We then rewarded ourselves after the 3 hour hike (boy does that cure jet lag!) with a visit to a Belgian beer cafe. Belgium is known for its mussels, and so is New Zealand for their green-lipped variety, so we went for two pots of steamers there. The waiter was so apologetic for the mixup with our order that they decided not to charge us for the drinks we had and brought another round, supersized, again for free. I think DH had almost a liter of free Lefft Dark, so he was happy. I was happy with the Texas sized mussels:

We were told that it's actually illegal to pull anything out of the water less than 4 inches there, so apparently this is normal. If I were home, I'd be wary of eating anything this large for fear of toxic waste contamination causing the mutant gargantuanism, but hey, this is New Zealand, nobody lives here to dump anything in the water!

We toured 2 of the extinct volcanoes that make up the seven hills of Auckland and discovered that Kiwis are a practical bunch. Not only do they use their public spaces as park land, but they also use it as farm land. I was very pleased to see the bovine and other inhabitants of the park:

The next day, we explored the city to check out the various churches and their stained glass windows. Then we ventured out to the Waitakere area to hit the black sand beach. I guess these beaches aren't exactly LA beaches where people hang out all day basking in the sun:

Next up: Christchurch

Post-Script: If you're still reading this, then you must be truly interested in my ramblings. So I have more to share. Turns out DH's brother popped the question to his girlfriend while we were away! We're extremely excited for the two of them and cannot wait to see them wed. They are a loving couple and very good for each other. We wish them all the happiness in the world.

Post-Post Script: My brother announced to me yesterday that he and his wife are expecting! So I guess that makes me an auntie-to-be, and one crazy busy knitter. I have burp cloths, blankets, bibs, sweaters, hats, booties, and toys all lined up, so get ready to see a whole lotta dishcloth cotton at Chez Spaz. Just don't tell DH that it also means a few more trips to Michael's since dishcloth cotton is hard to find round here. Unless you think babies will like the scratchy tweed?