Monday, April 30, 2007

Wedgewood Blouse progress

See, the thing is that when I actually knit projects well, I have nothing to blog about. This project has gone quite smoothly so far.

IMG_3176


11" of mindless reverse stockinette, done. I just cast on for the first sleeve, which is about 2" or so. I should be able to finish both sleeves tomorrow at SNB I think. Then on to the yoke!

I remember talking about ribbed socks with a cable down the side out of the Socks that Rock that Kimmy gave me, but I honestly haven't even started them. I started remembering that I don't wear socks during the summer...so I've no idea what I'll be knitting. I'll probably still knit them once I'm done with the Wedgewood Blouse, but it's a little different because I probably won't be wearing them as soon as I finish them. It kinda makes me sad, maybe I'll wear them around the apartment or something.

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Springing Into Spring

Ayup...it's that time again. New season, new look. What do you think? The background is a photoshop mitered square blanket using the square I knit for Jewell

I've gotta do a bit with the matte around those gifs (the arrows, profile icon and comments icon), but other than that I think it's alright. Not my best profile re-do, but not the worst. Mitered square blankets are all the rage right now anyway right?

Well, that's all for now. I do have an update on my Wedgewood Blouse, but I don't have any photos right now of it. I'll try to get that in soon. It's been smooth sailing for the most part as it's only reverse stockinette.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Thank You Kings County Supreme Court

Were it not for you, I would not have finished the Uptown Boot Socks out of Fleece Artist Merino Sock quite so quickly. Yesterday started around 8:30 AM just past where I picked up stitches for the gussets. I finished jury duty today with a pair of socks!

Completed Uptown Boot Socks 2

Alright, so I finished them at The Point last night - but I got most of the sock done at jury duty, so I still think it counts for the court (much in the same way that the starting pitcher get the win or loss of a game even if they bring in a releiver).

I'm wearing them today, and they're making my feet quite comfortable. Check out these heels too:

completed Uptown boot Socks

They were knit with the aforementioned Fleece Artist superwash yarn on size 1 addis. It took a rediculously short amount of time to knit these. I cast on for these on March 24th making the time it took to knit these a little longer than two weeks.

I'm on a finishing roll! I think I'm going to bring those slippers from Weekend Knitting I started in my pre-blog days to The Point to see if Josh can help me decipher the instructions. They're all knitted, they just need to be assembled and sewed together. I couldn't figure out the finishing instructions about a year ago, so I'm hoping that betwen Josh and I we can figure it out. They were supposed to be a Christmas gift to my mother about three years ago. They're a bit late.

I've only got about thirty rows left to do on Icarus! That makes it sound like less than 15,120 stitches right?

But I'm all ready to cast on for a new pair of socks out of my Socks that Rock in colorway Rhode Island Red! I think I'm going to do a relatively simple ribbed sock with just a cable down the sides. Easy, quick and hopefully it'll let the yarn show itself off!

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Icarus Issues

So, I have to get this solved before my jury duty on Tuesday.

I'm on row 9 of chart three. I'm obviously the only person with this problem because I've spent the last half hour scouring the Icarus KAL for what's going on.

I'm a stitch behind every time i get to the purl stitches. I think i've figured that the reason this is happening has something to do with a yarn over in row 7, but I've no idea what's going on. Anyway, if you've got any clues, let me know. I'm going to try to bring it to The Point on Monday either during lunch or after work (hoping for during lunch so actually get my butt to the gym after work) to see if they can explain what I'm doing.

Since all the KALsters jump from "I just did chart 3!" to "My Icarus is done!" it seems like this problem is with me, and not with the pattern. I'm starting to get a bit jealous though. I want a finished Icarus!!!

Saturday, April 14, 2007

My Brother's Reflection Aran Pullover

I gave my brother the Reflection Aran Pullover today.

my brother should be a model 2


It fits! I was mostly concerned about the arms because my brother's rather muscular thanks to the amount he plays baseball and the physical labor job he's got. But it does fit him quite well.

My brother though, he really should be a model.

my brother should be a model

I think he likes it:

i think he likes it!


I made him sign copies of the rules and copied all the blog entries on the sweater and the email I sent to my family with pictures of the sweater. Then I blew up the photo I took where I spliced his head onto the sweater. And I bound it all up. I'll bring a copy to SNB this week.

Tales of a Hand-knit sweater

Friday, April 13, 2007

Sweater Rules

Ok, ok, ok! I know I've been like milking this sweater for what it's worth, but just two more posts on it and then I'll get back to the Uptown Boot Socks or Icarus or Ann's Midnight Dot Mittens or even start in on the Wedgewood Blouse.

I think, however, that I have a finalized list of rules for my brother and his Reflection Aran Pullover:

Sweater Rules


  1. Your sweater has a name. It's called The Reflection Aran Pullover

  2. The Reflection Aran Pullover must not be placed in the dryer. When in doubt - dryclean it.

  3. You shall not give The Reflection Aran Pullover to ANYONE.

  4. You are not to offer the creator's* knitting services to anyone. I made this for you because I love you.

  5. At no point during the life of The Reflection Aran Pullover shall you say "it doesn't fit." I don't care if it fits. It's more a gift of an infinite amount of precious finitude fromone human to anohter as a token of love than it is a wearable garment. Once you see it this way, we shall have no problems.

  6. At no point during the life of The Reflection Aran Pullover shall you say that you "don't like it." For rationale, see above.
  7. Whenever someone admires The Reflection Aran Pullover verbally, you shall respond "Thank you, my sister made it for me." Please emphasize the word "made."

  8. The creator of The Reflection Aran Pullover is exempt from giving the recipient a birthday present this year.

  9. Upon receipt of The Reflection Aran Pullover, you shall grant the creator a good photograph of you wearing it.**

  10. You shall not wear The Reflection Aran Pullover for a normal day of work.

  11. Horsing around in The Reflection Aran Pullover is in direct violation of this contract.

  12. Should you die, you shall leave The Reflection Aran Pullover to the creator.

  13. You shall wear The Reflection Aran Pullover to at least one extended family event at which the creator is present.


* The name of the creator can be found on the nifty label that is attached to The Reflection Aran Pullover if you flip up the front ribbing on the left hand side of the garment as you're wearing it.
** Since the word "good" is subjective, the creator will decide whether the quality of the photograph taken is up to snuff.


These rules seem reasonable to me.

Monday, April 09, 2007

Tale of a Handknit Sweater

First things first. I have to thank Kim! Kim, I got your package last week (or was it even the week before? It was a Friday regardless). Dudes, check out what Kim sent me - a full Rhody Package (complete with coffee milk syrup, not pictured):

Care Package!

At the Today Show for the Yarn Harlot's Represent Tour, I mentioned to Kim how it was practically impossible to get your hands on a skein of Socks that Rock. So she sent me some! In a Rhode Island Red (that's the state bird rooster of RI) colorway!! I recently got her some yarn, and something else....but I can't give away any extraneous info before she gets the package! Now I have to find a fun pattern for the socks!!



And now for the post you've been waiting for...on to the sweater!

I got out of work around 3:00 pm on Friday since it was Good Friday and my company realized that people were going to be traveling for Easter. I landed at The Point around 3:30pm where I knitted my heart out and finally bound off the front piece.
CAST OFF!!!
This photo kinda looks like the history of the sweater itself! I used size 4 addis


some of the leftovers
and with Knit Picks Swish Superwash


me Modeling the front of the sweater

I'm not sure when it was done. I do know, however, that I was at the Point until about one am chilling with Berhan, Robert and Katy, weaving in ends and all that jazz. At the end of the night, this is what I had to show for myself:

All the pieces


So bright and early (alright, fine, so it was closer to 2pm, so sue me!) Saturday I headed back to the point. It was time to learn how to seam up the sweater. Berhan plopped a nice and big Mocha along with a book in front of me that showed me how to seam (he might have also given me an inkling as to how to actually put the damn thing together. And showed me how to do this:

after having seamed one arm to the body

I got the shoulders and most of the sleeves done on Saturday.


shoulder/arm seams

See those seams!? See those seams!? You don't do you? I'm just that magical! Not bad for my first go around is it?

By the time Men's night rolled around at The Point on Sunday, I had almost finished seaming the sweater completely. I was left with this:

all seamed up with nowhere to go!


All that was left to do was to the neck. After I got past the initial difficulty I was having with picking up stitches for the neckline, it took me about twenty minutes to knit the 1 1/4 inch rib for the neck. I wove in the last of the ends and finished it around 12:10am on Monday morning.

front

No photo can really do the thing justice. You really have to see it in person. Shouldn't be that hard though. I'll be carrying it around with me wherever I go for the next few days!

Presentation is everything though. I sewed in a tag that says the sweater was hand-knit by me. I've also printed out all the blog entries (with the exception of this one so far, of course) involving the Reflection Arran Pullover. I'm going to staple or bind them or something and give them to him before I give him the sweater. There will also be a list of rules that go along with the sweater. I'll post them here in a couple of days (I'm still working on the list). Ways he can take care of it, familial obligations revolving around the sweater, etc. They're rather amusing. They'll be accompanied by a release form for him to sign. Kind of like with the afghan I gave to Beth and Erich two years ago. Except they really only had one rule and are knitters so I didn't think I'd have to spell it out for them (I hope that one rule is being followed, kids!).

So, there it is in all its glory. Finished. Seamed. Knitted. The biggest, most monumental sweater that could. Now I can go back to those socks. Now I can get onto Ann's Midnight Dot Mittens. Now I can cast on for a clapotis or a Wedgewood Blouse...the possibilities really are endless!

REFLECTION ARAN PULLOVER

front


Full post tomorrow.