IPG: Thelonious

Flashback to my days working in student services, and having to process the IPG (in progress) cards for people who didn’t finish their projects and needed an extra semester.

Lorna’s Laces, Shepherd Sock, Sherbert.  Addi Turbo; Size 0 (2 mm)

I did the first five rows (the part below the yellow line -which iss actually green-) in about two hours last Sunday.  The chart that comes with the pattern is crazy.  It’s labeled 1-3, 4, 5-7, 8… and so on.  Then there’s a section that’s marked out with X’s, and you have to refer to a different chart to do that section.  I wondered why there were so few Theloniouses in Ravelry!  Now I know.  So what I did was rechart the whole thing for my size:

I set up a sheet of knitting graph paper in excel.  Read all about that.

I charted everything on an individual line (1, 2, 3, and so on) leaving X for the lace panel.

I went back through and changed the Xs to the appropriate symbol for the lace panel.

I resized it to fit to one page.

I made sure to click “print gridlines” when printing (on the print setup tab).

And in about 2 hours yesterday, I knit 18 rows.

The chart took me a while to set up (probably 2 or 3 hours) but was so worth it!

Operation Koigu Freedom

So Canada made me stupid.  Really, really stupid.  So stupid, I forgot I had a blog.  (Not really, but I did forget I drive a standard transmission; couldn’t tell the difference between left and right; forgot how metric worked…)

The drive to NYC was lots of fun – rained most of the way, so I changed the state motto of Pennsylvania to No Visibility!  The Jersey Turnpike was lovely, however.  So well signed!  Such bright and reflective paint!

It also rained all the way to Canada.  Which helped with my average driving speed (I have a tendency to detour, but not so much in the rain, because who wants to stop in the rain?)  We made it from NYC to Hanover (560 miles) in 13 hours.  Which is longer than the predicted 9 hours and 20 minutes… but is still really good for me.

We did have fun at the boarder crossing.  We pull up to the booth, handover our passports (which the guy didn’t even stamp!) and well…

Him: Were are you going?

Me: Durham!

Him: What’s in Durham?

Me: A company that dyes this really awesome yarn.

Him: Why would you want to go there?

Me: We like the yarn.

Him: You like to yarn?

Me: No, we like the yarn.  We are knitters, we enjoy knitting.  Particularly with this yarn.

Him: Do you have anything that you’ve knit?

Me: Sure.  [Abby grabs her bag and pulls out the lower corner of her Revolution sweater].  Here you go! [handing it to him]

Him: What’s it going to be?

Abby: A sweater.

Him: How will this be a sweater?

Abby: It’s the lower part here, and when it’s long enough I add arms.

Him: Won’t it shrink when you wash it?

Me: Not if you’re careful and don’t agitate it while it’s wet.

Him: You ladies have a nice time in Canada.

Abby and I were so busy laughing about how his test as to whether or not we were really knitters was knowing how not to shrink stuff (is it stereotyping to assume most Canadians own sweaters and likely know how to wash woolens -sweaters, hats, scarves, etc- without shrinking them?) that we pulled up to a tollbooth and the arm didn’t go up.  Which confused me – I have EZPass!  Tollbooth arms have been swinging up automatically for me for two days! I’m talking to Abby about what could be wrong when I turn and see the tollbooth operator about to knock on my window.  It turns out they don’t take EZPass in Canada. 

Wednesday we hung out with Buffy & Co at Shelridge Farm, which was awesome.  I picked up yarn for the Tangled Yoke Cardi, along with lots of sock yarn and some lace weight.  And we got some Brand X yarn!  Just like Shelridge Farms, but a little over/underspun.  So it isn’t Shelridge.  It’s Brand X.  Then we went to Toronto – stopped at a wee shop called Woolies on the way there (can’t say I recommend; although I did pick up some nice hand dyed 50/50 mohair/wool.  The store was just an odd cross between an AC Moore and a cheaper LYS.  They had some nice stuff – the hand dyed, some Filatura di Crosa – and moderate stuff like online sock yarn, regia … but then, a huge wall of patons acrylics.)   We got into Toronto mid-afternoon, stopped by the home of the people we’d be staying with (parents of classmate).  Then we got to take the subway to Lettuce Knit!

Lettuce Knit was very nice.  The yarn spills out into the courtyard!  I got some Oceanwinds Merino iii, Fleece Artist Seawool, Socks that Rock (not made in Canada, but still, not really sold on the East coast!), some Nature’s Palatte fingering weight (it was pretty…) and Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Knitting Workshop (it was right there!)  I tried to limit myself to Canadian yarns … I was mostly successful.  Then we got directions to an awesome vegan place called Urban Herbivore.  If you’re ever in Toronto — go!  Even if you’re not vegan/vegitarian. It was so good!  (And normally I hate vegan places – I find them underseasoned and pretentious.)  So much thanks to … Denny? @ Lettuce Knit for the awesome recommendation.

The next day we set off to go back to NYC … and some how the 500 mile return trip still took us 13 hours.  Hard to explain the time/distance warp, really. 

Pictures were scarce – I was driving and with the constant rain (Abby and I are only vacationing to drought stricken countries from now on!) the scenary wasn’t all that great.  But there were a few, handily put together in this little captioned slideshow.

 In differently stupid, I’m bad at math.  Which is bad, considering classes start tonight.  (Can I say statistics isn’t really math?).  I’ve been working on Something Red Mauve.  And even though the pattern notes say that the size I’m making takes 7 balls of yarn @ 150 yards (1050 yards) I only felt compelled to buy 658 yards.  282 more is on the way … bringing me up to 940.  Smart I tell you.  S.M.R.T Smart!

Ohh, go look!

Something Red Blushy!

I’ve been browsing patterns that call for Blue Sky Alpacas’ Dyed Cotton (because there’s the prettiest blue at Stitch DC right now; and I’m torn: Pretty Blue vs. Cotton Sweater).  And I kind of like this hooded pullover, but again – cotton sweater? 

Anyway, so I found that Knit&Tonic Wendy’s “Something Red” turns out calls for blue sky dyed cotton, and with Amanda’s Blushy Mods … I think I need this yarn right now.

The Handknits Always Come Home

I knew I shouldn’t have worried – my handknits have always come home to me.  In fact, accessories in general always come home to me.  I routinely find one of my mittens sitting on the planter box outside work in the winter (perhaps my next pair should include a leash to go through my coat so that doesn’t happen…)

Anyway.  I found the bag with the hat sitting outside my door when I got home.  It probably fell when I darted back inside when I realized I forgot my ID badge and office keys.  All is fine with the world.

Lorna’s Laces Shepard Worsted, Iris Garden & Sublime [it really is!] Cashmere Silk Aran, Black.

I have about one more inch before I have to figure out the crown decreases (probably 9 point decrease, since it’s a 12 stitch repeat — 108 stitches total).  I’ve also decided I’m going to figure out how to add a lifeline right where the colorwork starts, and spend the million hours unraveling from the bottom up (or possibly just cut it off, I have absolutely no chance of running out of yarn) and reknitting that first inch in corrugated ribbing.  The knits will be black (which will line up with the black stitches in the body of the hat) and the purls will be in the Iris Garden.

I’m using the chart from Cookie A’s Red Herring.  I’m still working on charting out the decreases for myself.  I only work on the hat when I’m at Stitch DC, so I have a few more days to figure it out.

Help the Herringbone Hat!

(Amber adores alliteration, if you couldn’t tell.)

I had my hat (in a plastic bag) when I left the house this morning.  I wanted to show it off at knitting group tonight, and also take a picture.  It’s really pretty: Lorna’s Laces Shepard Worsted in “Iris Garden” and Sublime Cashmere Silk Aran (in black).  So pretty, so soft, so perfect.

So.  I had it when I left the house.  I took some trash to the dumpster, got in my car.  Drove.  I got out of my car; had a small argument with a guy in the elevator (Bob and weave is for when you’re in a fist fight, not a way of driving on K Street!), was greeted by a very friendly chocolate lab (which scared me at first because I wasn’t expecting to be hit in the hip at 7:30 AM, but then he was very friendly) and walked two blocks to the coffee shop … and no hat!

I retraced my steps, looked in my car, checked the elevator, checked the garbage can outside the elevator… no hat!

 I’m going to check with the parking garage office when I leave tonight; maybe in the 1o minutes between getting out of the car and coming back someone took it to the office.  Or maybe it’s at home – maybe it fell out in the stairway; or on the path to the parking lot…

Please, think happy thoughts for the safe return of the herringbone hat.  I ::heart:: this hat!

Sockapalooza!

My sockapaloooza socks came last night!  Made by Nona!  I was so excited – after reading the tutorial for Sidewinders, I just knew these socks would be awesome.

They’re miniMonkeys!  In Gems Pearl – Lilac (heal/toe) and Baby Lilac (body).  And she knit at a super tight gauge for me, so that they’d fit in my shoes.  They’re shorter than your average Monkey, making them more summery (which is perfect, since I wore them today, and it’s “cooled down” to 94 today).  (I always wear handknits as soon as they’re ready.  Let me tell you about the day it was 85 and I wore a silk/wool sweater to work…)

And, she included some awesome extra yarn – Lorna’s Laces “Uptown”

And Jess helped me take photos:

(She thought the picture needed to be more punk, since i don’t have a tattoo to show off)

And she wanted to show off her shoes, even though mine…

…are clearly much more awesome.

Interweave Fall 2007

Yay! My Interweave came today! A big improvement over Summer when it didn’t come until the last week in May (not that I have made anything. But still! I’m a subscriber, I should get it before the stores do!)

So this is another issue I don’t see myself making much from. Although the info on organic yarns was interesting.

Hedgerow Coat: I don’t like the way those garter stitch bars.  It’s all I see!  Also, I’d add button holes and buttons.  Silver ones I think.

Placed Cable Aran: I think I’d run the cables all the way down the sweater… I’m not a fan of purls just popping up out of no where.  And I’d do a folded over turtleneck instead of the cowl.

Dickinson Pullover:  I would love to knit this.  I’d never wear it, but I’d love to knit it.  I’ve come to terms with the fact that I don’t like heavy cabled sweaters, and that’s okay with me.  I do find them terribly fun to knit, however.  Of course, then I’d feel guilty about not finishing, because why finish a sweater I’d never wear?  But I’d still love to make it.

Tangled Yoke Cardigan: Must have.  I lusted over it way back in the day, and I’m lusting over it now, and I’m pawing through my stash to figure out what would work for it.  Or contemplating what I should buy (it calls for a yarn with alpaca.  No love for alpacas).

Tyrolean Stockings: I like the pattern, but not the thickness (6 spi).  I might figure out how to work at a smaller gauge.

Concentric Vest: Not a fan.  It seems short, and bulky without being warm.  I mean, there’s no closure, no sleeves, and looks like it cuts off right under the bust.  How often do you find your breasts, but not arms or waist to be chilly?!

Snowball hat: I have a soft spot in my heart for cabled hats.  But I didn’t really need a pattern for one.  I’d also eliminate the pompom, which makes it less snowball, and more plain old snow.

Tilted Duster:  Someone called this the giant purple vagina, and now I can’t see anything else.  I find the way it buttons on the side to be odd, like, I’d always be pulling it around myself to stay warm.  And most importantly: how is it not curling on that lower edge??

Minimalist Cardigan: That is a lot of moss stitch.  A lot.  And again, you’d have to pull it around yourself to stay warm.  Why no closures IK?  Why no closures?

Counterpane Pullover: Vogue Knitting has a pattern just like this in their 25^th anniversary issue. It’s okay, but I’m not a fan of all that garter.  And the eyelets, the way they don’t go over her shoulder, but right through the shoulder.  That would bother me.

Nomad Hat and Scarf: A good way to make sure you don’t loose any part, I suppose.  I don’t really like the rounds of garter stitch.  Maybe if they zigzagged?

Cinnabar Pullover:  I wonder if I’d have liked the original sketches.  I’m not a fan of this one.  I think it’s the neckline, it’s the wrong size.  Not fitted like most crew necks, not open like a boatneck or cowl.  Just … meh.  But I like how the linen stitch doesn’t look so different from the stockinette, and keeps the cuffs from rolling.  I might use that myself somewhere.

Elfin Hat and Scarf Set: I’m pretty sure no one really wears hats like that.  And it doesn’t look like it would really curl, so why the ribbing on the ends of the scarf making it look all funky?

Leavened Raglan:  That’s an interesting stitch pattern.  I don’t know that I’d make the sweater, but it’s interesting.

Belle Cardigan: Jess with no blog really likes this.  I like the shape, just not the yarn or texture.  So I’m going to make Jolie by Kim Hargraves (Rowan Vintage Knits) since it has the same basic shape going on and let Jess have the Twinkle Chunky all to herself.

Luna Dress: I’m looking into my crystal ball…I see the year 2037… I see kids on the future version of the internet mocking this, no so unlike Threadbear or Stitchy McYarnpants.  Also, those are some damned puffy sleeves.  Does the model have some sort of wrist goiter she needs to hide?

Little Red Dress: See Luna Dress.  Two knit dresses in one issue.  The fuck, Eunny?

Cobblestone Pullover: If I were to make a sweater for a guy, I’m not sure I’d go with this one.  It’s not bad (love the side detail to break it up a little), and IK has published far worse men’s sweaters, it’s just… I don’t know.  Maybe I would make it for someone else.  Maybe I just don’t like it in brown.  Maybe someone will knit it in gray, and I’ll be like WOW!

Snowflake Socks:  At least they chose nice colors.  I’m going to go remove this from my ravelry queue.  Shepard Sport? Basically doubled for the colorwork? How would you get that into a shoe?!  Use a hat for intro to colorwork.

Sweetheart Vest: My hips are not the place where I’d want to draw attention with some colorwork.  I’d retinker it to be worked with sport weight yarn (along with not needing colorwork around my hips, I don’t need a 3.5 spi sweater).  I’d move the motif up around my bust, add some waist shaping, make the main color dark and then I think I’d like this.

Composed Mitts: An excellent way to use up bits of yarn.  Not an excellent way that I’d make or wear, but an excellent way to use up bits of yarn.

Mirepoix Bodice: I don’t like the bisecting nature of the way it is now, but I think with a V neck, and using the colorwork all over I’d really like this.  Which would be a lot of effort.  But I really think I’d like it.

Staff Projects (Socks): There’s none that catch my eye, but maybe when I start seeing them online with feet in them.

So the Tangled Yoke is a definite, and everything else is a meh. Of course, I’ve knit very few things from IK, even when there are issues I really like (Spring 2007!) so it isn’t that bad. On the other hand, it isn’t like how people shrug off Knitty and say “Well, you get what you pay for!” because I actually pay (I feel) a fair amount, and I want to want to make … more than half of the patterns, you know?