Problems of Olympic Proportions

I'm knitting the Tangled Yoke Cardigan out of Rowan Felted Tweed for my Ravelympics/ Knitting Olympics project.

I knit this project originally in 2008 on size 4 needles with the same yarn (red instead of the nifty green I'm working on currently). All of my project notes tell me that I knit this project with size 4 needles. That makes sense since I tend to knit rather loosely. Maybe I'm more stressed, but when I measured the project after row 29 when I was supposed to have 6 3/4" Instead, I have 5 1/4". I'm using the same needles. So here's the gauge comparison:

The pattern says: 24sts & 36 rows = 4" square.
My project says: 28 sts & 33 rows

This makes me think that I'm knitting entirely too tightly. I am kinda stressed, so maybe that's where this is coming from. I have a set of size 6 needles with me, so I'm thinking of (sigh) casting on again and going at it with the size 6 needles instead. But I'm wondering if I should step up to a size 5 first. I don't know, what do you folks think?

I was doing so well too, so I'm terribly bummed. :(

Preparing for the Knitting Olympics

Ravelry is amazing.

I knew I'd done a few mods for the Tangled Yoke Cardigan (Ravelry link) when I made it the first time. I remember that I needn't have elongated the sleeves, however, I didn't remember the other mods I made on the sweater. So I looked the project up on Ravelry.



The plethora of information and its importance is amazing. :) In order to complete this project, I think the important thing is to avoid the snags. The pattern is pretty well written, but I remember making notes as to which rows I needed to increase or decrease on, and I think that prep work will make the whole sweater kind of of fly - which is exactly what it's going to need to do in order to get done by the end of the olympics. It seems like the only major mod is adding a full inch to the ribbing at the bottom, which will be fine and simple.

The yarn comes in balls, which is awesome because it means I don't have to wind up all the balls before I start on Friday. I also bought some buttons for some Hoots (Ravelry Link) I made last year that don't fit the hoots. I'm contemplating using them for the sweater. They're simple white abalone buttons. I might head over to M&J on Wednesday to see if they have another button I'd like to use. I'm thinking of using a kahki version of the buttons I used for the last TYC might be nice (I really liked those buttons).

So, I'm feeling pretty well prepared. Everything's all ready to go after I copy the pattern and make notations.

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So I'm viewing this weekend as the trials.

I've got a bit more than half a sock left to go in these Spiral Sparkly Boot Socks from Interweave's Summer 2007 issue. I found that the chart for the instep is written totally backwards and makes the spiral go in the opposite direction. No one had noted this in their notes, which I was pretty surprised about. So I made a comment on the main pattern page on Ravelry and noted it down on my project page. Those kinds of things are so frustrating. There wasn't any errata or anything! I had to rip back 3"! Other than that, the pattern is fun and flies pretty quickly, even though they're knee socks! I can't wait to wear them! It's been pretty cold here. I'm hoping that I can get them done this weekend - and with time at the accountant and the Superbowl, I think I'll be able to get that done.

Maybe then I'll have time to knit a new hat for winter before the Olympics...

Mommy, where do socks go when they die?

I knit these socks out of STR Lightweight. I really like the yarn a lot, and actually, I'm wearing a pair of socks that I knit out of the heavyweight version.

I have learned quite the lesson, however. I'm pretty sure I'll be investing in some nylon thread the next time I knit a pair of socks out of yarn without any nylon. It's interesting to me to see which socks last the longest. And I'm suddenly in a sock mood. I want to knit every sock right now. Of course that's not possible.

Especially because the Ravelympics are coming! In 2006 I joined in the Yarn Harlot's kntiting olympics. I didn't medal. I came pretty close to finishing the sweater I was working on, but in fairness to me, it was my first sweater and it was knit in pieces and I had troubles with it to boot. I figured that to give myself half a chance this time, I should knit a pattern I've already knit before.

A couple of years ago I knit a Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I really liked knitting it. I liked the faux seams on the side, I liked the shaping of it and the button band as well as the cables in the yoke. I actually found it fun to knit. Tragically, this sweater which I loved for a short time, had an unfortunate incident with some warm water and felted. It's still wearable, just not by me. So to give myself a fighting chance of actually medaling this year, and to replace a fabulous sweater which I dearly miss, I'll be knitting another Tangled Yoke Cardigan as my Ravelympics project for 2010. And, because I liked it so much the first time, I'll be knitting it out of Rowan Felted Tweed again, this time in green instead of red:


I haven't quite picked up the buttons yet, but I'm pretty sure that M&J still has the buttons I used on the first one, and that they come in different colors, so that's a good bet I think.

How about you folks? Are you joining in on the Ravelympics? I haven't quite figured out which team I'm joining yet, though, I guess I should do that soon. I'm tossing up the Brooklyn Team or Team USA. Are there any friends on either? Which should I join?

Mitts Socks and Hats

So, I'm not sure if it was really cricket, but I knitted all through Stan's cousin's Bridal shower. I really didn't know anyone there, and it kept my hands occupied. When my hands aren't occupied, I tend to try to occupy them by picking at them, and then they end up looking awful and feeling rough. So, I managed to finish the Bergen St. Mitts much quicker than I thought I would.



Sorry for the bit of gut there. One of us went on a happy doughnut, french fry, fried chicken, ice cream binge before my diet started up again. I knit these Bergen St. mitts way shorter than they were supposed to be. I realized that I have no purpose for gloves that go up that high because I tend to wear long sleeves in the winter since i get cold so easily. While I was knitting them, Stan's SIL said she wanted a pair in white, so I bought some of the same yarn (Aslan Trends Invernal) at Annie & Company Knitting yesterday.

I wish I had a photo of the socks I'm knitting now to share with you. They're coming out quite splendidly. I'm knitting the Spiral Boot Socks from IK Summer 2007 out of the purple Kraemer Yarns Sterling Silk & Silver. You're going to have to trust me for now that it's looking great! They're also zipping along. I've only been knitting them for a week and a half I think and I'm at the heel flap!

So, did I mention that I lost the Side Slip Cloche I knit? I'm 90% sure I left it in a cab on my way home from the Rodeo one night. I was a little bummed about it, but Stan never really liked it, and while I really did, knowing he didn't and that I could just knit another one made me feel a bit better. Also, it's the first hand knit of my own that I've just up and lost. It was bound to happen at some point. So, I think I'm going to cast on for the Better Bucket Hat (Ravelry Link). I got a nifty Abalone button at Annie's yesterday, and I think I'm actually going to do that right now. I'm itching to feel some Malabrigo...

2009

Every time I sit down to write a recap of 2009 I just get tired. But here we go. There were some projects that I didn't note on the sidebar that I do note here because they were on my Ravelry page (any links here are to the Ravelry Project).

1. Lucky 7 Snowboarding Hat
2. Hemlock Ring Blanket
3. Huron Jaywalkers A rare pair that fits each foot!
4. Veronique from French Girl Knits (Amazon link)
5. EZ's Bog Jacket
6. Indigo Ripples Skirt It's just a little too short. :(
7. Heather Betty Friedan Primavera Socks Another pair of happy socks that fit both feet!
8. Halvsies I've put the pattern for this up for free on Ravelry.
9. Boy Petal Bib for a co-worker
10. Morocco from Sublime booklet #623 Ended up way too big, so I gave it to my Mom. Lesson learned: wash your swatch!
11. Unisex Petal Bib for another co-worker
12. Vogue Tank #25 from Spring/Summer Issue Knit out of Handmaiden Sea Silk, this is one of my favorite projects of 2009!
13. A Couple of Hooters
14. Side Slip Cloche from Boutique Knits
15. Graded Diagonal Lace Scarf for Kristina for Christmas
16. Dr. Monkey Renner for Dr. Renner for Cristmas.
17. Dashing for Kristina's Mom - finished seconds before the ball dropped on New Years Eve!

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So, I responded to the Yarn Harlot's Knit-Signal today. A little too much actually. I didn't see the confirmation page before I accidentally navigated away from it, so I ended up donating twice! I'm going to file paperwork so my company will match my donation, which will, I think, be fairly helpful to Doctor's without Borders in the end. :) I'm sure my tax lady will be upset with me because it's not in 2009, but that's ok. She'll be happy next year when she sees it. :)

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Oh, but what am I working on? Well, I'm working up a pair of Bergen St. Mitts that are much shorter in the arm, but a bit longer in the fingers than the original pattern. I totally don't have any photos.

I just finished knitting a feather and fan cowl out of the same yarn I used for the bog jacket and the Side Slip Cloche. The idea was that it would match the Side Slip Cloche. I, however, am utterly brilliant, and left the Side Slip Cloche in the cab I took home from the Rodeo on Friday night. This is kinda a bummer, but I'm trying to look at it as an opportunity to knit a new hat. It'll probably end up being a Better Bucket Hat, and since I still have almost 2 skeins of that Malabrigo worsted in Pearl Ten, I'll probably knit it out of that. I'm not really upset with myself for forgetting the hat in the cab. It's ok, it's just an object. I'm kinda ticked with myself that I have to take the time to knit a new hat now. Especially since winter will (cross your fingers) be over sometime soon. Stupid. I'm just going to want a new one in December.

in the meantime, if anyone sees a nifty button that will show up against a deep brown that will match a purple coat (extra points if it'll match an orange coat too!), drop me a line with a link. I think I'm looking for something that's like 1-2" in diameter.

Alright, I'm going back to knitting and watching Conan. Poor Conan. Dude just wants to do his last few shows and folks keep taking up his time talking about what he's going to do next. I'm glad I can carpe diem undisturbed.

Travelling Yarn Gifts

There's not much to post here. I'm still working on a Christmas gift. It's taking a while, but it's a lot of fun to knit, so there's that. I'll chat about it after it's been gifted.

To prepare for life without Christmas knitting, I feel like I'm bringing an overabundance of yarn with me to Rhode Island for the holiday. Granted, I'll be there for a good week and a half with not much else to do but knit, I still feel like I'm bringing too much. Here's the list:

• I've got yarn to knit another cowl out of (the light blue one is awesome, but it doesn't match my hat!).
• Yarn for a pair of fingerless mitts for me (my hands keep getting cold!)
• Yarn to finish the Christmas project

Once I get to Rhody, I'm going to have to pick up an aran weight yarn to knit a pair of fingerless mitts for my brother's fiancee's mother. She's cool and will actually wear them. You know, looking at that list, I'm not actually sure I did pack too much yarn. Maybe it's the christmas gifts in my backpack that are taking up all the space. I totally should have mailed them instead of bringing them. Maybe I'll mail them once I get to work.

I should send out a public huge thank you to blogless NanLam. She gave me the coolest bit of yarn:


It's Dream in Color Knitosophy in the Superhero color way. It's a really great blend of colors. Kalajoki (RavLink) popped up when I did a search and I knew that the two were meant to be together. I'm stuck now though. Because this yarn would be perfect to tout around Comic Con and use for Yarn365. While I want to cast on RIGHT NOW for those socks, I should wait. I'll have to come up with something else in the meantime.

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Today's Yarn365 shot is of a centerpiece of knitting needles. In order to get this shot, I pulled a bunch of knitting needles out of the tin I keep all of my needles in. I seem to have a ton of needles I'll never actually use ever again. I think 2010 for me is the year of getting rid of clutter for me - liquidating material things that don't need to be around etc. I'll post a list of the needle type, size etc. once I get back from Rhode Island and y'all can see if there's anything you need. I figure I should just donate them somewhere to charity after that. Anyone know of any charities that accept knitting needles?

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I want to post about my visit to La Casita Yarn Shop yesterday, but I've REALLY got to get this damn gift finished!

Christmas Gift #1 and Gotham Fine Yarn

Christmas gift #1 is finished! I've got 2 1/2 to go! The half a project is a pair of mitts I told my brother's fiancee's mother I'd make for her. I don't really think it needs to be done by Christmas, but if I can finish them before Christmas and have them count, I think that'd be nifty.


I held 3 strands of Lacey Lamb together and had a tough time with that. They kept getting tangled and the insides of the balls liked to get knotted. It wasn't really a fun project, but I think the recipient will like it.

I finished weaving the ends in while visiting Gotham Fine Yarn in the lower east side. I kinda fell in love with this store. She had some really great yarns. Quite a bit of Louisa Harding, which is interesting and different, I think, for the city. She's got Noro and Lamb's Pride and Malabrigo (for a really great price!) and Madelinetosh (which i completely fell in love with!). She has a knit and wine night every other Friday, which I think I'll have to take part in more often. The knitters there were super friendly and working on some pretty interesting projects (including a Tea Leaf cardigan that's on my queue!). I can't wait to go back to that shop! Click here to get a look at what her shelves look like from Yarn365. I took quite a few photos there, so you'll end up seeing some more of her store on the Yarn365 blog soon. But anyway, just go there, it's so much better in person!

Oh, ad I'll leave you with a photo of the pretty Madelinetosh I picked up there. The colorway is called Logwood.