Category Archives: in progress

8:58 am - September 17, 2013 - AngelaH

First things first

Before I say anything else, let me just say that fall has arrived. At least in Toronto. Today is one of those glorious fall days with a wide open, deep blue sky and a true crispness in the air. It’s definitely chilly enough in the morning and in the evenings to wear a warm sweater and wish for mittens. It’s Toronto, so we probably (hopefully) haven’t seen the end of warm days for year, but still, it’s nice to be excited about the temperature dropping.

I was never this excited about cooler weather until I started knitting. It’s exciting.

Down the Rabbit Hole mittens, photo Audry Nicklin, from Ravelry

Also exciting: Kimberly Wepplo (commenter #11) is the winner of the Lit Knits giveaway! Congratulations Kimberly! Please let me know how to get in touch with you so I can pass your contact info on to Audrey. You’ll have to let us know what you cast on for first.

This was my first giveaway and I just wanted to thank you all for your enthusiasm! Your comments about the book and its patterns were so much fun to read, and I especially liked that you encouraged each other to try patterns you liked that were a little out of your comfort zone. Audry has put together a gorgeous book, and if you would like your very own copy of Lit Knits, you can buy it either on her website or on Ravelry. There’s still time to get the sweet pre-order deal, that includes both a print and an e-book version – it’s only available until Sept. 25, so now is the time to scoop it up. (There are also still giveaways you can get in on. The blog tour list is here.)

In other news, Burrard is in its final stages, which is perfect, because I could really use a big cozy sweater right now. I blocked the body on the weekend while I was finishing up the arms, which I blocked yesterday. Now I’m sewing in my sleeve caps. These are my first set in sleeves, so I did a lot of reading about how to ease them in, how to seam, etc. If you too are wondering about seaming and/or setting in sleeves, the best resources I found were this Vogue guide to seaming (which covers a ton of different seams, with illustrations) and this Berroco video, which Cassy linked to a few weeks ago. My seams aren’t perfect, but you know what, they aren’t bad.

Half-seamed set-in sleeve. So far so good, I think.

I’m hoping to finish the sleeve caps and get started on seaming the body tonight, but even once all the seaming is done, I’ll have the button band and shawl collar to pick up and knit. I was all set to pull this one out in time for the SSKAL deadline, but then I realized that we’re going camping this weekend (backwoods, canoe-in camping) and since there’s no way I’m bringing an unfinished sweater with me, I may have to resign myself to finishing a few days after the deadline. Since this still means I get a finished sweater by the end of next week, I’m not devastated, but it would be nice to make the deadline. Maybe if I don’t sleep quite as much? We’ll see.

So, any tips on seaming or setting in sleeves? Do you see a horrible error in my photo that my novice eyes didn’t catch? Please tell me! I promise a photo of a fully-seamed sweater later this week.

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: Burrard, giveaway, Lit Knits, ssKAL

4:24 pm - September 2, 2013 - AngelaH

Back at it

There is nothing like a long weekend to help you regroup. I don’t know where July and August went, but somehow it is now September, which means we’re heading into my favourite season. Whether it’s the product of canny marketing or just the subtle change in the air, September always feels like the start of something new, which drives me into a frenzy of organizing and cleaning and taking stock.

This long weekend has seen lots of that, and – hooray! – lots of knitting too. After nearly three weeks off (how did that happen? where did those weeks go?) I got back to Burrard. I finished the back this morning. I have another little project on the go, but I’ll wrap that up this week and then start the left front and the other arm. Everything will feel quick after the back, so I’m hoping that a few good knitting weeks lie before me and I’ll get this sweater done just in time for the air to turn crisp.

Did you enjoy your (long) weekend?

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: Burrard

9:38 am - August 16, 2013 - AngelaH

Slightly odd socks

iPhoto tells me this was taken July 5.

It turns out that maybe the best way to finish a pair of plain socks is to cast on an intricately cabled sweater. These socks have been on my needles since April. They were my backup knitting: something I could knit a few rows on here and there when I needed a break from whatever else I was working on, or we were spending an afternoon with friends, or I thought I might finish my book on my way home from work and maybe I should tuck my knitting into my bag just in case. And they were perfect.

The first sock languished at the toe decreases for a while (they’re easy, but not totally mindless) and then I finished it up and cast on the second sock back in June, when I thought I might need a stretch of plain stockinette. And then the second sock just sat there with two inches knit until my recent cabling issues. I wasn’t in any rush to finish them, but then after turning the heel on the weekend, I decided I was pretty close to done should maybe just buckle down and finish them off.

After the weekend.

There has been a twinge of fall in the air here this week, and it has been getting decidedly cool at night, two things that should make me want to finish a big sweater, but instead drove me to knit socks. I can’t explain it.

The two skeins knit up really differently. The first sock barely pooled at all (except around the gusset, which is to be expected), but the second sock flashed like crazy. This is why hand painted yarns are fun.

What I can explain, though, is why they don’t quite match. This goes back to casting on when I needed something plain. I had most of two skeins of this Koigu KPPPM (#P123), so I went for it. Two skeins of Koigu will make me a pair of plain socks almost exactly (that is, minimal leftovers). I knit these socks at 9 sts to the inch, because without the benefit of nylon the tighter knit makes them last longer, so they’re dense, and I have big feet, but one skein per foot is perfect. I, however, did not have one full skein per foot, and instead of altering my standard sock pattern – say, knitting a 5-inch leg instead of my normal 6 inches – I just went on autopilot and then ran out of the first skein just before the toe of the first sock, and then ran out of the second skein in almost exactly the same spot in the second sock.

I had some leftover Koigu (colourway number forgotten) kicking around, so I just used that. They don’t quite match, but I don’t mind so much. I have a soft spot for surprise toes (toes of a different colour, whether just one or both) and when the yarn is this wild and not-matching anyway, I don’t mind at all.

Details
Pattern: Basic 68-stitch cuff-down socks
Yarn: Koigu KPPPM #P123
Needles: 2.25mm
Mods: Besides the toe, none. These are knit more tightly than my normal socks, which is why there are more stitches. Notes are here on Ravelry (thank goodness, because I couldn’t remember the exact numbers of things by the time I got to the second sock!)

Oh, and yes, even though I meant to go right back to Burrard, I may have slipped accidentally and cast on for more socks. Simple Skyp Socks have been popping up all over the place and now I know why.

Super addicting. (Knit in Dragonfly Fibers Djinni Sock in the Admiral Benbow colourway.)

Categories: finished, in progress, Knitting Tags: Dragonfly Fibers, Koigu, socks

9:52 am - August 12, 2013 - AngelaH

Second verse better than the first

So, after much internal debate, I sat down after work on Friday night and ripped. And you know, it wasn’t as painful as I thought it would be (not that I want it to be by usual Friday night activity or anything).

Late-night phone picture of frogged yarn. It felt so good to get past the crinkly yarn into fresh stuff again.

Thank you all for your helpful and supportive comments. Seriously, it is very reassuring to see so many people who would also choose the painful path of perfection (how’s that for alliteration?). If I hadn’t already ripped, I think Audry’s comment would have put me over the edge. To do all that work and then not wear the sweater? Ugh.

I also realized that if it bothered me now, it would both me far, far more when there were six or seven properly worked repeats above it. Yes, it’s the back and it’s low on the back, so I wouldn’t be able to see it while wearing the sweater, but I’d know it was there. And sure, it sucks to rip out basically half of your progress, but in this case it was only 26 rows, and I more than made up that ground by the end of Saturday. And don’t you think it looks better?

I have colour coded the cables to prevent mis-crossing from happening again.

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: Burrard, ssKAL

9:24 am - August 9, 2013 - AngelaH

Oh damn

So, here I was, all prepared to do my Burrard progress post and report that I was almost through the waist decreases on the back with nary a problem and then I looked at the photos, and yeah, miscrossed cable. One full repeat back.

Can you spot it? Let me give you a hint:

Sigh. The only reason I even noticed it is because I was going to say how it’s a shame that this dark yarn hides the details in the knotted parts of the cables, and so then I looked at them more closely, and yeah. I almost made the same mistake in the row I just knit (which is hard to see, but is right under the cord at the top). Maybe if I had repeated the mistake then it wouldn’t be so noticeable? Because it would be continuous? I don’t know. That mistake is about 26 rows back, which is several thousand stitches, and I’m not sure I have it in me to rip that. If I really hate it later, I can always duplicate stitch, right?

(I can’t decide whether I want you to encourage me to be a perfectionist and rip, or tell me it’s okay and let me carry on.)

Anyway, before I noticed that, I was also going to say how I had to rip back all the ribbing after I started the cables and realized I was three stitches off in the ribbing (despite checking the errata) because I apparently can’t count. Ribbing isn’t such a big thing to rip out, though. I actually ought to be somewhat farther along, but this has been kind of a long week work-wise, and by the time I got home (often at least an hour later than usual) all I could handle was plain stockinette, so I turned to these, which were cast on months and months ago at another time when all my brain could handle was plain stockinette. The splash of colour was a welcome distractions as well, and I figure that if I knit a few rows a week, I’ll get both some colour therapy and that much closer to a finished pair (the first one is done), so it’s win-win.

Maybe I’ll pick them up now while I debate what to do about this cable situation.

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: Burrard, cables, oops

9:18 am - August 1, 2013 - AngelaH

Jangly cables

I am making progress on Burrard. I’m actually tempted to say I’m making good progress, but a) I don’t want to jinx myself, and b) that’s all relative. I’ve never knit a sweater in pieces before, so the sense of satisfied completion I got when I cast off the right front on Tuesday is likely illusory. I mean, I still have the left front, the back, a sleeve and a half, and all the finishing, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.

Sorry about the boring photo – the lighting around here sucks today. Anyway, I pinned it out for the photo, but I’ll wait to block it with the other front, so they match.

Nonetheless, that little gleam of accomplishment? That will work wonders at pushing me through this project in a timely manner. One of the reasons I’m drawn to smallish projects (such as socks and mittens and things) is, I think, because on the way to a finished project, I get to feel like I’ve accomplished something. I tend to think of myself as a process knitter just as much as I am a product knitter (by which I mean, I choose projects that I will both enjoy knitting and enjoy wearing) and finished pieces satisfy both sides of that coin.

But lets talk about Burrard. I am so entirely enchanted by the various cables that they can occupy me for hours (or could, if I had hours and hours of free time to knit). I love that each column of cables is different, and that the orderly ones are offset by the sort of jangly (as in: jingle jangle) motif that is the real star of this cardigan. Those cables are orderly too, but the way they slosh from side to side is so much fun. I am really looking forward to the crazy cable that winds its way up the centre of the back, which I think I’ll cast on for next, while I still have some momentum.

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: Burrard, ssKAL

10:23 am - July 25, 2013 - AngelaH

It starts now

So, after a fair bit of thinking, I decided to go with Burrard for the Summer Sweater KAL. I have had this cardigan in my queue pretty much since the the Winter 2012 issue of Twist Collective came out. I love the symmetrical, geometric cables and the shawl collar (especially the shawl collar), and I don’t have anything like it in my wardrobe, so I know it will end up in pretty heavy rotation once the weather gets chilly.

To be honest, though, I came very close to going with the Everyday Linen Raglan. I liked the idea of a speedy project that would probably allow time to also finish Grace by the end of September. What made up my mind, though, was that I wanted to take advantage of the KAL to learn something new. I’ve never knit a sweater in pieces, and this seems like a good time to tackle seaming and piecing.

So, here we go. I cast on for an arm when I got home last night – I wanted to cast on for one of the fronts, but an arm functions like an extended swatch, so it seemed like a better, if less exciting, choice. Once I get through a few more inches and know what my gauge is saying, I’ll cast on for a front and then had two pieces going at once: one in plain stockinette and one with cables. That’s a good balance and should keep me pretty focused as things progress.

Did you decide to join the KAL too? Do you think it’s crazy to knit a heavy sweater in the middle of summer? If you’re worried about being subjected to nothing but purple/grey knitting photos for the next two months, don’t be – I cast on for my Daphne‘s last week and finished the first sock yesterday, before casting on for Burrard. I want theses socks on my feet, so I promise to pop flashes of colour in here from time to time, because they are beautiful.

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: Burrard, ssKAL

10:10 am - July 18, 2013 - AngelaH

Planning ahead

You know that theory that you should knit things in the season before you plan to wear them, so they’re ready and waiting when the appropriate season? Well, I have not been so good at that. See: Finishing my Woodstove Season cardigan in April, or knitting Kit in the heat of July (when wearing it would have been perfect).

The tricky thing about this, though, is that it means knitting the heavy wool sweaters I want to wear in the fall and winter during the hot and heavy humidity of summer. Living in an apartment without air conditioning does not make this very attractive. But, in the fall…

So, this year I’m trying to plan ahead. I am totally not doing this alone, though. I had been thinking about this issue a little and then, as if on queue, Shannon over at luvinthemommyhood announced the start date for this year’s Summer Sweater KAL. I’ve never really done a KAL before, but this one seems so sensible: pick a pattern, knit it during the time frame, end up with a sweater just as the weather starts to cool down. I tend to respond well to deadlines (I am in journalism, after all), so I think I’m going to go for it. It starts next week, which means I need to get swatching, which means I need to choose a pattern (my already started Grace does not qualify).

I’ve narrowed down my choices to:

Cascade 220 in Liberty Heather (a sort of purplish grey).

A. Burrard (from Twist Collective, Winter 2012). I love this sweater. Its cables are modern, it would be a great sweater-jacket type piece in the fall, and it’s knit in pieces, so at no point (other than seaming) would I have an entire sweater blanketing my lap in the heat. I do sort of suspect that this would take the entire six weeks of the KAL to knit (in part because I am just not cut out for long-term monogamous knitting). Also, in mid-September it will probably be too hot to wear this, so when I finish I’ll have to wait around to enjoy it. Hmm.

B. The Everyday Linen Raglan (from Purl Soho). This is more of a shirt than a sweater, I guess, but I plan to knit it in Louet’s MerLin, a merino/linen blend that will be a little warmer than straight-up linen, making it perfect for fall. This would be a quicker knit, so I could (potentially) get it finished and finish Grace (or get close to finishing Grace) by mid-September, which would mean two sweaters instead of one. On the other hand, it’s knit mostly in one piece (the sleeves are knit separately and then joined at the armpits), which makes it a bit less portable and more like a blanket. Hmm, again.

Louet MerLin in Steel Grey.

I have the yarn for both of these already, and I do plan to knit them both anyway, but still, what do you think? Help me choose! Also: have you done a KAL like this before? What did you think? (Do you think you’ll join this one?)

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: KAL, sweater

10:24 am - July 10, 2013 - AngelaH

Sticking with it

I am normally way more about the process than the product when it comes to knitting, but man, I cannot wait until Kit is finished and I can wear it. The smooth dryness of linen is the perfect antidote to the crazy humidity and rain we’ve been getting (and don’t worry, L and I made it through Monday’s storm with just a few hours of no power and no flooding; we were definitely some of the lucky ones).

Anyway, I buckled down on Kit over the weekend and have been knitting on it every spare minute I can find and slowly, slowly, I am starting to see the finish line. I’m a few rows from casting off for the back, which will just leave front and straps to knit. In my mind, that’s nothing and I’ll be wearing this by the end of the weekend. Reality may have something different in store for me, but I’m starting to feel that end-of-project buzz, so lets not dampen that.

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: Kit Camisole

9:25 am - July 5, 2013 - AngelaH

Restless, restless

I don’t know if it’s the weather, work, or what, but I just cannot seem to settle on anything these days. I love all the projects on my needles, but for some reason don’t really feel like knitting on any of them. I’m restless. It hits me every year around this time, so maybe it’s a hold-over from my (long ago) days in elementary school, when the beginning of July meant the beginning of freedom and now means, well, nothing (not true: July 1 is Canada Day and that means quite a lot, but you know what I mean).

Clockwise from top left: Dragonfly yarns Dragon Sock in Mushroom Hunting B-Side and Djinni Sock in Admiral Benbow; Tosh Sock in Celadon and Cousteau; and Malabrigo Sock in Lettuce. These are not all destined to become garments for me.

Sigh. The thing about being restless with my knitting is that even when I don’t want to work on what’s right in front of me, I still want to knit, so I go on Ravelry and read blogs and get all revved up and buy yarn. Being restless can be expensive, is what I’m saying.

It’s that Cousteau that’s calling my name (it wants to be a shawl and it wants it now!). It’s saying that I finished that little dress and finishing means getting to cast on something new, but I’m going to ignore its siren song and plow ahead with Kit. I’m about a third of the way through the body and it’s the perfect weather to wear it and, truth be told, the mindless knitting of the body suits my mood.

Of course, it took three inches of plain sock knitting to realize that, but these were already on the needles from a time when I needed plain, plain knitting, so they’re fair game I think. Plus, I miss working on socks. I can’t seem to settle myself enough to actually spend time on them, but I can feel that magic coming back, so I’m going to give it a little time. Maybe once Kit is finished?

These have been on the needles forever, and I like that they’re there when I just need a row or two of mindless knitting in fun colours.

The main thing, when I hit these sorts of doldrums (holy nautical metaphors in this post – sorry) is just to keep knitting. Eventually I’ll re-find the spark that got me into the project in the first place, so it’s just a question of stitch following stitch until that happens. It isn’t as if the knitting isn’t enjoyable; even less than riveting knitting is still soothing.

Categories: in progress, Knitting Tags: Kit Camisole, socks