Miss T's Mystery House of Yarn & Horrors

Knitting Evidence!

I know, it seems as if I’ve been doing nothing but cooking lately.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that.  I’ve been knitting, too, really I have.  I just haven’t finished very much, probably because I’m working on too many things all at once.  A row or two on this one, and a row or two on that one, and it doesn’t appear that much is happening.  I’ll show you a few things anyway, just so you don’t -- what is it they do with fallen knitters?  defrock?  deskein? deswatch? -- me.

I’m pretty darn close to being done with my Net Bag of Justice.  This has become a surprisingly controversial pattern at my favorite LYS.  It’s easy, but there is a silly little thing you have to do with moving the stitch marker that indicates the start of the round every other row.  That move makes the mesh swirl a bit; it also makes a lot of knitters cranky.  It is hard to remember which way you’re moving the marker, so that means a great deal of pattern-checking when you’d like to just be flying along.  I’m not as militant about it as some of the women I've talked to, but yeah, it’s a bit pesty.  Otherwise, I like the design, and I love the yarn.  (I have evil plans to design a market bag of my own, using more Ty Dy.)

  

There’s Seraphim, partially reincarnated.  I got halfway through the second lace chart, and realized I’d made some sort of silly mistake waaaayyyy back.  A TV watching mistake.  Me being me, I didn’t fudge, I ripped.  Ripped all the way back to a point before the lace begins, counted diligently, and started again.  The yarn is so marvelous to work with that I don’t mind knitting so much of the shawl over again.  And yes, it frogs beautifully.  I’d buy more of this in a heartbeat.  I’m going to try to get moving on this piece now, because I really do want it to wear this fall.  It’s very soft and snuggly.

 

Last (at least of the projects I’m showing you today--there are more), I’m trying to fly through the buttonbands for the Eternal Cardigan as fast as possible.  I’m sick of these buttonbands.  Sick of this sweater.  I want it done, blocked, sewn up.  I’d rather be wearing it than knitting it, because it has dragged on way too long.  Next week, I’ll work on some buttons.  Must. Finish.

In case you’re wondering (I would be), no, it’s not possible to pick up stitches and knit the button bands directly onto the sweater.  They have to be knit bottom to top and then sewn on, because they’re encrusted with cables and bobbles and other stuff.  Plus I really think I need to add an i-cord edge, too, to give it a more finished look.  See why I’m totally over this one?

I have another sweater in progress, and one I’d like to start.  Yes, after a long hiatus (sort of), I think I’m back to making sweaters.  The screamers next door were packed off to school this morning, and it’s blissfully quiet in my neighborhood.  I’m going to go attempt to be creative.  Catch y’all later.

  

Mysterious Knitted Object in Process

Any guesses now?  (No fair guessing if I've told you what it is!)

Don't Believe Everything You Read

One of the things I’ve noticed about beginning knitters is that they tend to believe madly, deeply and faithfully in the infallibility of patterns.  Patterns are gospel from on high, instructions which must be followed to the letter no matter what sort of mayhem results!  Something really horrible is sure to happen to me if I don’t believe in this pattern.  It takes a bit more experience to recognize that knitting patterns are written by regular people, some of whom are crappy proofreaders.

Allegedly trustworthy sources, i.e., big yarn companies that have a lot of resources and staff and should be taking the time to proof their very nicely-printed, glossy patterns, can be the worst.  Case in point:  This pattern published by Classic Elite.

I remember it being five or six dollars when it came out in 1995.  The pattern appeared in a full page ad on the back of Vogue Knitting, which surely cost enough money that you’d expect the product which arrived after you put your check -- yes, a paper check! -- in an envelope and stamped it -- yes, actual mail order! --  and mailed it to Classic Elite, to be a whole lot better. 

In fact, it’s absolutely riddled with errors.  Some obvious, some which sneak up on you when you think everything’s going along fine.  But all of them could -- and should -- have been caught before anyone forked over money and tried to knit from this thing.

I’m almost done with the sweater (I’m knitting the cardigan), but far from done reworking and redesigning to get around the publisher’s boo-boos.  Let’s have a closer look at that photo, shall we?

 

Got that?  Anybody want to explain to me how to K on the RS and P on the RS?  I’m also curious why I should cast on 16 stitches to work a 9-stitch chart.  Perhaps the remaining seven stitches are sacrificial offerings to Classic Elite?

Ah well.  I will not be defeated by the foolishness of braindead (or entirely absent) proofreaders and designers.  I was prepared in the first place, when I read in the pattern description that this is a “very challenging design.”  

Damn straight.  But not because of the knitting.  Beginning knitters, take heed!

The Grasshopper Says I Must Block

I don’t always block things the minute I’m done knitting them.  If there’s no urgency to the situation, I might leave said things sitting around for months.  If I can wear it at that moment, blocking is urgent.  If not, well, why worry about it?  Heavy wool things and shawls aren’t of much use during the summer months, so I’ve been making a pile of them in my knitting room.

These guys are starting to show up in greater numbers on our morning walks, however:

Photo from Wikipedia

They provide good chase targets for Dr. Evil, and also herald the coming of fall.  Better get to blocking.

First up is Rabbit Tracks.  It’s long enough that it takes up most of the room, so except for one little thing which I can’t show you at the moment, this is the only thing currently on the blocking mats.

Now that I’m having a good look at it again, I can’t wait for it to be dry so that I can sew on the special goodies I bought for the ends.  Fall’s coming!  Whee!

Too Many Projects?

I currently have about a dozen projects in active rotation.  Five more are snoozing.  And at least seven others are sleeping the deep sleep of the UFO. 

The only reasonable thing to do was start another one.

It’s both a new design, and a belated wedding gift for a friend (who doesn’t read this blog).  I have some tinkering to do with the edges; it’s not quite the way I want it yet.  Nice thing is, though, that the knitting is going fast, because as I said, it’s already late. 

Yarn:  Crystal Palace Party
Needles:  US 10

Anyone care to guess what it’s going to be?

Have I Mentioned This?

No, it’s not a strange hat, it's the bottom of a market bag I’m making with Ty Dy cotton.

This bag has a secret identity, because it’s really designed to carry around some justice on days when extra is needed.  I think so anyway.  I mean, it’s called the Net of Justice Bag.  (A title which I usually discombobulate so that it comes out Net Bag of Justice instead.  I like that better.)  If you want the pattern, it’s in the second issue of Handknit Heroes.

The justice part must not work until you have the bag done, because I’ve already had to rip out the last three inches I knit because of a silly, eyes-on-the-TV mistake.  Surely that is unjust, when I am otherwise enjoying the project so much.  Makes me wonder when somebody’s going to come out with some sort of superhero pattern that magically prevents you from making dumb mistakes while you’re knitting it.  I’d buy that.

Proof of Knitting

It hasn’t been all food around here.

Mandala is off the needles!

Mostly. 

There’s a two inch section of grafting to do, where the ends of the edging meet.  And of course there’s some bodacious blocking to take care of.  But there’s no more knitting.

By the way, dental floss does not get my endorsement as lifeline material.

It shreds and makes a pest of itself, and I’m glad to have it out of there.  Next time, I’m going to try some very fine crochet cotton.

Yee gads, I can’t believe I finished something!

Why Am I Starting a Sweater?

My current knitting roster includes four big lace shawls, a pair of socks, two design projects, a secret gift project, and the final sleeve of the Eternal Cardigan.  I need to start a tablerunner very soon, too, for a wedding gift that's already late.

Obviously, I need to start another sweater, too.

I’ve been salivating over Medrith Glover’s Circumnavigated Cardigan for years.  Plotting, scheming, thinking about yarn.  All of a sudden, I decided to just go ahead and start it.  With -- get this -- yarn from my stash.  Stash yarn!  Imagine!  Me!  Doing such a thing!

Yes, lurking in one of my bins was approximately 1700 yards of Brown Sheep I purchased at Depth of Field so many years ago that I have no recollection why I bought so much or what the heck I thought I was going to do with it.

Here it is, looking very smug.  Taunting the other long-term residents of the stash.  I’m out and you’re not, nanny nanny boo boo.

The light orange you’re seeing is a provisional cast on.  This took what seemed like forever to cast on, because you start with all the body stitches plus the pocket lining stitches.  And even though the first who-knows-how-many rows take a long time to knit, I’m enjoying the pattern.  It’s genius.  No finishing, other than weaving in ends and sewing on buttons.  Seriously, no seaming whatsoever.  It’s a cardigan, but it's all knit in one piece. 

In fact, it’s such a cool pattern that I’m already plotting the next one.  With yarn that is not in my stash.  Yarn that has not yet been purchased.  Yarn that will be ordered especially to go with some knockout vintage buttons I have.  Bwaa ha haaaa.… 

So, you know the answer to the question now, right?  That’s why I’m starting a sweater.  So I can buy yarn and start another sweater.

Southern Reading Challenge: Book Two.....Plus Some Odds & Ends.

I finished City of Refuge last night, and I’ll post my review, um, soon.  In the meantime, have a peek at the book I just started, T. R. Pearson’s Blue Ridge.

I’m only about two pages in, so I have nothing to say about it so far, except that Mr. Pearson is always engaging.  And there’s a dog.  Dogs are good.

Here’s a look at a bit of what we’ve been up to.  Blechy old depressing color on top, shiny new happy marshmallow fluffy color on bottom:

Yes, the rest of it will get painted, including the trim.  Fear not.

Knittingwise, I’ve been working on easy things.  A new secret design with this:

Nashua Sitar, in Gypsy Wagon.  Lovely stuff.  Cheerful.  I have the most gorgeous handmade beads to go with it.  You can see those another day; I’m not taking out the camera again.  However, the thing that the yarn is sitting on is a very subtle sort of clue.

And I’ve been knitting what seems like several thousand miles of Mandala edging:

It’s fun, though, because the edging pattern is easy to memorize and I can just cruise along while watching TV.  I tried working on Honeybee, but that required a wee bit more attention than a person who’d been painting a house could give it, and I kept making boo-boos.  And I’m on the easy part, which is normally...easy.  Painting houses really is not good.

Off now to continue dealing with my list of one million and one Things Which Must Be Done.  (I’ve heard rumors that some people have lazy, relaxing summers.  Not here.)  I shall endeavor to reappear soon.

And Behold...

It is cake, sayeth the Knitter.

It is finished, and the evil that is Red Heart Baby Clouds shall torment me no more.  The cupcake shall now be placed in the hands of the U.S. Postal Service.  Heaven help us all.