Finished things!

Let's start at the top!

I was finally able to meet up with Illanna and give her the piece I've been working on for her wedding!


I apologize for the blurriness. :( I'm kind of upset that I didn't make sure the photos I got of it were in focus before I gave it to her! You can, however, get the general gist of this, and see that it's all stitchery and looks great with the matting and the frame. Annie from Annie and Company Needlepoint and Knitting affixed the red vase on and it was no small feat. She's awesome. Illanna and Danny seemed to like it, which I'll consider a success!

My next needlepoint project will be an American flag that's done in squares of different stitches. I'm excited about the project because it will help teach me new stitches, and because my roommate and I have decided that our apartment is just a touch dormy, and that we should start putting adult type things on the walls like photographs and art.

But on to the next finished object! I finished the Bog Jacket that I put on hold while I stitched Illanna and Danny's present.


My hair's a little wild there, and I've actually lost weight despite the fact that the combination of that shirt and sweater make me look pregnant. The sweater is done and I think it looks great!

I also think it's the only v-neck bog jacket. I kinda mis-read the instructions and instead of continuing the neck stitches but just splitting them in two, I put them on hold and knit each side of them. Then I sewed the edge before the neck stitches to the main part of the bottom cardigan bit and did a sewn bind off on the neck. I got the clasps at Brooklyn General. I didn't think I was a clasp kinda gal until I saw them. I LOVE them! The sweater is kinda perfect. It's warm and soft and I love the colors.

I've started work on the Indigo Ripples Skirt from IK. After I un-did about three inches because I'd twisted the cast on (awesome), I'm not sure my gauge is on. I'm hoping it won't be too big of a deal. It should be 21 stitches to 4" and I'm knitting it at 22 stitches to 4". I knew my gauge was off, so I think I calculated for it a bit, but maybe not enough. I'll probably try to add in a few extra stitches. Maybe. We'll see.

The Next Project Has Been Chosen!

Indigo Ripples Skirt from IK Spring 07: 7 votes (41%)
Seraphim Shawl by Miriam L. Felton: 5 votes (29%)
Twisty Tank top from Sublime Soya Cotton DK 2 Booklet: 5 votes (29%)

I'm going to admit off the bat that I voted twice. Once from work for the Seraphim shawl, and once from home for the Indigo Ripples Skirt (I changed my mind that quickly). Even taking those votes away, while the vote was close, the clear winner is the Indigo Ripples Skirt. I'll begin swatching as soon as I've finished the trim on the Bog Jacket.

Yup! That's right! It's all seamed together, all I have to do is add the icord trim and sew in a zipper. maybe I'll see if my mom can't snap a photo of me in it this weekend. I'm hoping to finish the icord by the time I get off the train in Kingston, RI tomorrow. We'll see...it might take more than that.

Bogged Down

Firstly, I want to mention that the above poll closes on May 21st at 9:30pm EST so that I can pack for Memorial Day. Currently, two of the options are tied, so if you could weigh in, that'd be awesome. It looks like it's between the Sublime pattern (You folks really want to torture me with the knit stitch don't you? Y'all realize I'm going to knit that sucker in the round.) and the Indigo Ripple skirt.

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What I really need to figure out, however, is this:


You see that those stitches aren't even don't you? I certainly do. I removed the green yarn holding all of the stitches. I didn't have a problem figuring out where the stitches were in the part that I knit the waste yarn into. I did have a problem figuring out where the stitches are in the part where I cast on provisionally for the arm. There are 28 stitches there that are supposed to be on the needle on the right side of the yarn poking up.

Not only do I want there to be 28 stitches to the left of that yarn, I want them to be as even as the stitches on the left side of this photo:



I'm seriously hoping that SNB can help me find these stitches tonight. Next I have to come up with a better way of getting the stitches off the yarn from the provisional cast on for the next sleeve. I must say, that trying to do this around 12:45 this morning probably didn't help. I have to go back home to pick it up so I can work on it tonight at SNB. I thought I had to go to a meeting tonight, but I don't. I left the Bog Jacket at home, and am actually feeling kind of anxious thinking about it sitting on the couch right now...

Busy Busy!

I have certainly been busy! Most of my April was finishing up on Illanna's wedding present. It's done, sort of. It's being finished. Stan and I will be giving it to the Shapiros in a couple of weeks. Once I get a photo of it (and after I give it to them!) I'll post one!

I also knit Veronique (ravelry link) from French Girl Knits for the wedding. It ended up being WAY too big. I think I just need to take some yarn and pull it through the back seam to sort of pull it together in order to make it wearable. I'll do that eventually I guess.

Since the wedding, I've really been knitting on the Bog Jacket. I started the front side of one of the sleeves, so it's coming along. I'm feeling really good about it. I don't have any photos of that, of course. :) Really just imagine what you've already seen of it, but like, a TON more garter stitch. It's been really boring to knit which I think is one of the reasons I put it down, but I've recently really got back into it and am enjoying the meditative calmness it affords me.

I also started a new pair of socks out of some Scheaffer yarns that Beth gave me. I decided to use a rather simple pattern, so I'm knitting the Primavera pattern. It's a free pattern I found via Ravelry. It's simple, not too much going on there, and seems to be fitting the bill. As soon as this Bog Jacket's done though, you can be sure I'll be casting on for something way more lacy! I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve!

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I'm sure most people know by now that I used to hang out at The Point all the time. And I'm sure a lot of people know that Helene closed The Point recently. It was quite sad. I'm still kind of bummed by it because it was always the place I'd go when I didn't know where to go after work.

My dad has always taught me, however, that for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction. So, while The Point's closure was a bad thing, I must say, I'm not too bummed with what I got out of the sale!

2 skeins of Kraemer Sterling Silk and Silver in White Veil


9 skeins of Ella Rae Bamboo Silk in Black


5 skeins of Rowan Calmer in a light blue
and a copy of A Gathering of Lace by Meg Swansen.

I've recently gotten quite a bit more yarn, but I'm afraid of making this post super long, and my lunch break is over!

At Least it Feels like Spring

I can tell it feels like spring because I'm at the point where I want to knit everything in sight and do everything that's possible to do!

I met with Chiara yesterday and started my project. I can't really talk about it, but she thanked me for sending some of you folks her way. If you haven't talked to her and still want to take part, you should drop her a line at cl1388@nyu.edu. The project's pretty neat, but that's pretty much all I'll say.

So that's in the works right now, and the Bog Jacket is still being worked on as are my Huron Jaywalkers.

I've got about half the Bog Jacket left to do, essentially just the sleeves and the neck and all that. That's kind of intense though, so we'll see how it goes. All the shaping is there which is refreshing after having essentially knit a garter stitch rectangle so far. Now it's garter stitch with some shaping, which will be good. As soon as I figure out how to do all those short rows for the sleeves. Anyone know? I'm figuring it says to start the short rows four inches before the cuff and then I think it says to every now and again knit all the way to the end, but that doesn't quite make sense. I think I should be knitting only as far as the wrap, turning around and knitting back the way I came until I get to the second wrap. None of it really makes sense though, so I think I'll bring it to Annie's tomorrow and see what they say. It sort of looks like this all laid out:


That green line of yarn is waste yarn for when I fold over the sleeves. If you've done this pattern before you'll probably get it, if not, it's described in Knitting Around.

I've also been working diligently on the Huron Jaywalkers. I even have one to show for it:


I love the way the colors are pooling in this sock. Essentially, they're not pooling, and you can see all the colors and how they work together. It's so magical. That did not end up happening with the second sock, probably because of where I started in the color repeat. To be honest, I don't mind. I'm not one of those people that needs two totallly identical socks. For me, that's what you buy socks for. I wish I'd taken a photo where you could see the pooling of the second sock, it's really cool. It's striping in a light green/blue to dark green/blue way. I'll get a good photo eventually and put it up that compares the two legs.

I'm at the heel flap of the second sock. Which is exciting.

Annie's has put some Rowan Kid Silk Haze on hold for me. I'm going to pick it up tomorrow. The plan is to knit Veronique (Ravelry Link) from French Girl Knits (AMZ link). The idea is to be done with it by May 1st so I can wear it to Illanna's wedding. I got a really nice pastel green color that I think will go really well with the aqua dress.

In addition to the two squares I have to do for a couple blankets our SNB group is putting together for friends who've moved away, there's a lot of knitting to get done. And so much of it is on a schedule! We'll see how that goes...I think I can actually do it...

Teaser Photo

Wanna know how the Bog Jacket's coming along?

Hemlock Ring FO and other WIPs

The Hemlock Ring Blanket has been done for quite some time. But it's finally blocked!


Really, it's only marginally smaller than my queen sized bed. I'm actually somewhat surprised in that when it's blocked, the fabric is much thinner than it was when I was knitting it. I wonder why that is. But anyway, I think it came out great. I can't wait to use it.

What else have I been working on? I finally cast on for the Bog Jacket in the Pearl Ten Malabrigo Worsted.


I've found that knitting it while watching tv, movies, and horrible football games (seriously, I thought that Super Bowl game was horrible until the last two minutes) I've knit 17 inches of garter stitch. I've got 4 inches to go before I have to split for the arms. But it's feeling great, if a little warm. I think it's going to be really cozy to wear.

I've also been working on a pair of Jaywalkers.


I had forgotten how slow this pattern goes. It's taking forever to finish even just one sock. I really need a new pair of socks before winter's over. Especially since two pairs I knit last year are pretty much done. I also want to get through quite a bit of my sock stash this year, and if this pattern takes forever, it's never going to happen. My next pair need to go quicker.

I have a ton of books/magazines here that I want to review. Some of them might get done this week. Most of them probably won't. Work is kinda crazy. Speaking of work, though, if you're heading to NY Comic Con this weekend, stop by DK's booth. I'll be there all day every day!

I'm Made of Awesome

That's my "OMG Do you know what this means" face!

What does it mean? It means:

I'M DONE WITH ALL MY CHRISTMAS KNITTING!

That's what it means!!



They're the Urban Necessity gloves (Ravelry link) from old school MagKnits (the designer is offering the pattern on her website). I used size 8 needles and Misti Alpaca Chunky. I have a whole hank and a quite a bit of a cake left (I bought three skeins) and I'll probably use that to make a cowl out of.

I hated this pattern. It had nothing to do with anything. I just don't like knitting gloves and mittens. They turned out quite well though and I don't think you can tell how much I hated knitting them. I should mention that the pattern was quite easy to follow.

So this is the status (I just like showing that things have been crossed off, I'm not trying to gloat really):

• Socks for Stan's Mom
• Dairy Queen Hat for Stan's Niece
• Jacques Cousteau hat for Stan's Nephew
• Half Socks for my brother's girlfriend
• "Almost A Mystery" project for Beth
• Flap mittens for my boss
• Puff Daddy for Cousin Sarah
• Puff Daddy for Cousin Rebecca

Jenn vs. Christmas
Jenn: 8 Christmas: 2

JENN WINS CHRISTMAS!

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So what am I going to do with myself? Well, I'm preparing myself mentally for knitting with the luscious Malabrigo I picked up back in October. I'll be turning it into a nifty little Bog Jacket from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Around. I've been waiting so patiently to get done with all my Christmas knitting so I could get around to this project. Now I'll just make myself wait a bit longer until I can get the Hemlock Ring blanket to a nice size.

I took the Hemlonck Ring Blanket workshop at The Point. I'm way far away from being close to even halfway done with it, but I think it's coming quite nicely.







I wasn't sure if the marled colors were going to show off the design of the blanket, but I think it's turning out ok. I really couldn't decide if I wanted to knit it in grey or if i wanted to knit it in brown, so I decided to knit with a color-way that had it all.

Dedicated to Illanna

Yup, that's right. This post is dedicated to Illanna. Let's call it part of her birthday present. I won't even refer to her gub or the fact that she's a knitting siren that makes me buy all sorts of expensive yarns (except for just there).

First things first, I finished the project she and I were knitting "together." I put "together" in quotes because she finished like a month ago. That chick knits faster than a speeding bullet! I'll have better photos after this weekend, but here's one visual just to prove it's been finished:



Oh! And what do we have here?


Gorgeous buttons! At least, they're gorgeous when you don't look at the fact that they're crooked! I'm not as familiar with knitting sweaters as Illanna is, so I knit in the round up to the armpits and knit the top in separate pieces (back, sleeves, 2 front pieces). The top was huge at first, so I re-knit the sleeves on ones and used the instructions for the next size down. I then knit the garter part of the top on size zeroes (which was so much fun by the way!). I cast off tightly along the sleeve edge as the directions said to. I didn't realize that such a simple step could make such a big difference! it fits perfectly now!

I know, I finished it a little early for next spring didn't I? I figure that I can layer it with some long sleeved shirts until winter.

So, if you're curious as to who this Illanna person is, you can visit her blog or her Ravelry Profile. She and I have decided that we're pretty much the same person (besides the fact that I like new country while she like old country music, she's got longish curly hair to my short straight hair, she can design her own garments while I follow patterns... besides all that, we're identical!). But her awesomeness will be obvious once I show you the below:


Want a closer look at that pattern?


Can you believe she made those for me!? What an awesome birthday gift! She found the fabric on Etsy somewhere. There's a sweater sized project back and a sock project bag (both with drawstrings!) and even a tote bag! I felt so awesome carrying that tote bag all over the city this morning (my commute from hell is a different story, however).

Illanna is also awesome because she exposes me to all this amazing yarn. she kept letting me fondle the Bog Jacket (Ravelry link) she was knitting out of Malabrigo to the point where I had to go buy my own Malabrigo so I could knit an awesome sweater just like hers.


Yeah...I'm the reason The Point has no more Pearl Ten. I'm going to start swatching for my Bog Jacket when I'm finished with Lucille's socks, the Dairy Queen hat for Stan's niece, the hat for Stan's nephew, and the half socks for my brother's girlfriend. You know how it goes, you gotta get through that Christmas knitting first. I'm hoping I can get the hats going and done this weekend when I go visit another awesome friend, Beth in Washington DC.

I started the heel flap of Lucille's socks. the pattern is going really quick and is coming out beautifully. I dont' have any new photos though.

Well, this is long enough, and my Red Sox just won their game against the Anaheim Angels, so we're going to the Division Championship! Time to celebrate!!