lace scarf

lace scarf
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i started this lace scarf from knitty last night, but am still not feeling it. the rhythm and satisfaction of knitting has been drifting lately. i'm tempted to start a more exciting sweater project, but then there are the christmas presents i had hoped to do as well...too many things going on right now. i find it hard to focus on more than one thing even though i'm certainly trying to fit it all in.

hew progress

hew
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i realized after i was almost halfway up the neckband that i was incorrectly knitting the last stitch of every RS row with each knit row along the body, when i should have knit it with every other row, so the stitches from the neckband would be evenly distributed with the already knit stitches. as it was, it was bunching up, and i was almost through the new one and only ball i ordered. had to rip back to the ties. doh!

shalom

shalom
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

this simple little yoke sweater is so cute, i moved it up my queue. last night, i cast on and am happily knitting away. my first official button hole went by without much hoopla, but it was exciting as i used my newly acquired knowledge of cable cast on from a recent project. the bulky yarn knits up quick.

the only snafu has been the realization that one of the needles in my knitpicks options set is not the right size. i ended up with a size #10.5 for a #10, so 3 #10.5's were in my set and only 1 - #10. thankfully, when i emailed knitpicks, they were quick to respond that a new pair would be in the mail. i'm not sure what the consequences are for knitting with two different sized needles. i'm 2/3 way through the yoke, and thought it wouldn't be terribly painful to start over, but i've a mind to continue.

this will be a nice extra layer of warmth as there is some alpaca blended into the yarn, which is valley yarn's berkshire bulky. this yarn is great. it's soft and has a subtle halo of fuzz from the alpaca. the best part is the price! they come in nice earthy tones, which i love. i just ordered a few skeins to use for the cloud bolero.

anthropologie capelet

anthropologie capelet
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

due to my absent-mindedness, i have had to unknit and reknit three times, not including the first time in a different yarn in a different color, as my yo's were placed in the wrong spot or were missed. after the fixes, things have been going along pretty fast. i'm 80% done, but now, the mass of icelandic scratchiness is bugging me. i'm not allergic to wool per se, but i swear a fiber got in my eye and irritated the heck out of it last night. i can't decide if i should rip (yet again), and find a softer yarn. i don't think i will use this reynolds lopi again.

even though it's suppose to be reverse stockinette, i think i will wear it stockinette side out.

eye of the tiger

tiger eye scarf
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

after 3-4 repeats, the knitting was quick and could be done while watching tv or chatting, but i had to be careful not to lose stitch count.

because i wanted the scarf to be symmetrical, i made the grafted version, with 13 repeats of the pattern on each side for a total of 26 repeats. in retrospect, it did not need to be as long, as it is ending up being 7' long post blocking, which is a long scarf for a 5' woman (my mom).

oh, and there was one mistake discovered while blocking... doh!...somehow i slightly shifted the pattern on one row, but didn't notice because it didn't affect the stitch count. hopefully, my mom won't or care.

the one thing that was annoying was the grafting. i did it twice, but the kitchener grafting did not appear invisible. i've used this technique on socks before, and it was great. i don't know if it was user error both times or the pattern that made it pucker up on the back side. i tried using a darning needle to loosen up, and it looks normal on sections of it. if i were to do it again, i might add a couple lines of stockinette at the ends where they join. finishing is becoming my least favorite part about knitting.

i really enjoyed this pattern and have decided i love lace knitting. probably has to do with my innate tendencies towards texture and pattern emerging from order.

rather than being a literal representation, the pattern requires some imagination to visualize the tiger eyes, which is nice. they also resemble peacock feathers. though i love fresh flowers, i'm not a flowery kind of person, so am reluctant about flower designs. i guess it all depends on the design. this one's for my mom, but i would wear one in grey or sky blue myself.

tiger eye scarf

tiger eye scarf
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i tried three or four different yarns with this pattern, most of which were hand-dyed variegated and competed with the pattern. one of the yarns, a baby alpaca laceweight, was making my eyes hurt trying to make out the stitches. finally settled on this blue sky alpacas baby alpaca sportweight. it's a good color for my mom, is soft and hopefully warm, even though hole-y.

once i got going and completed the repeats four or five times, the momentum remained consistent without requiring a lot of undivided attention, and i'm almost halfway through. the scarf can be knit as two halves and grafted if you want the pattern to be symmetrical on both ends, or you can knit the pattern to length. i'm going to do the former, as i think it will be nicer. i may try this pattern in the laceweight again after i finish this, since i am more familiar with it. i'm enjoying knitting these lace-y patterns that are initially an effort to start but fun to see emerge.

jaywalker progress

jaywalker progress
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

when i switched needle sizes, i moved to knit picks nickel-plated dpns. pros & cons as follows:

easier to pick up stitches (and drop them), easier to do the double decreases, quicker to knit (jury is still out on this, as i invariably drop a few stitches each time i put this away in my bag, and have to spend some time with recovery upon restarting), not so fragile (i really felt like i could break the bamboo takumi us #1's at any moment)

it's coming along. i should be able to start the heel tomorrow. i'm making it longer than the pattern indicates (i like long socks) and can only hope that there is enough yarn.

monkey socks progress

monkey socks
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

sad sad sad monkey

after letting october almost pass me by with little to no progress on my monkey socks, i was quite proud of myself tonight when i pulled them out finally, rounded the gusset and was moving along the foot. just as i was about to put them away, i thought i would try them on to admire my progress, only to discover that they are too big! the pattern calls for a #2 us needle, which is what i used, but apparently, it specifies a 2.5mm needle, and the one i have is 2.75mm. huh? i've already ripped this thing back and am too depressed to do it again. i'm hoping that with a little washing in warm water, it'll shrink to size...

lonely monkey

monkey sock
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

progress on my monkey socks has been almost non-existent. it's not that i don't care for it, it requires a bit more attention than i have lately. i started on a lace rib cowl neck warmer which i thought would not require me to pay so much attention to the pattern, but already, there have been some unexpected twists (literally). twice now, i've ended up short on stitches. i'm also coming up short on yarn as i near the end, so don't feel the desire to rip and redo. it'll be faster to start a new one. this was suppose to be a gift for a friend, but i think i'll be knitting something else for her...pooh.

monkey sock

monkey sock
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

for about a week, i was mulling over whether the needle and yarn combination on the elegant ribbed stockings from interweave's 25 favorite socks was going to work well. the pattern calls for a sport weight yarn, which for some reason, i was having difficulty finding at the various lys.

i picked up some blue sky melange, made of 100% baby alpaca and recommended by anne at amano, for the pattern, but anne had thought the size 7 needles that were specified for the top portion of the calf and leg seemed large. not sure if it was the mere suggestion or my own paranoia, but i was trudging through the cables (my first time working cables), and finding them to be "holey."

i asked two of my fellow knitsibs at the web night snb meeting what they thought, to which they asked if i knitted a gauge swatch. i didn't. they gave me a look that made me start to worry. they suggested i go down to size 6, which was specified for the bottom part of the leg. the pattern does not decrease, but instead uses 3 different needle sizes to change the size of the sock. i tried to go down, but goofed on some of the needles such that part of a row was knit in 6 and part in 7, so when i got home, i frogged the whole thing and knitted up a gauge swatch. turns out i was on the money as far as sts per in, so i started the sock over, but didn't get into the cabling portion before putting the sock away. i'm still not confident about knitting with the size 7 needles with the yarn.

after all that, i didn't want to think about it, so i started a different sock pattern, which went on quite smoothly and quickly. i'm digging the new pattern and and the colors in the yarn--lorna's laces sheperd sock yarn in colorway red rover.

tomorrow is my birthday, so i decided to take advantage of the birthday discount they have at my lys--alamitos bay yarn company--and went and bought a bunch of sock yarn--more lorna's laces, in vera, envy, mineshaft and more red rover--and some lace weight merino yarn. the lace style book i ordered arrived today, and i'm keen on doing a shawl from it.

if the sock fits

knitting
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

my first adult sock
turning the heel was a little fuzzy, and i somehow ended up with an extra stitch, but it looked ok, so i think it went well. i made it a little longer than a typical sock, but not quite knee length. i may try some stripey socks next or something with a more interesting pattern...

turned bowl

turned bowl (ash wood)
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

sock

a wee sock
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

last thursday, i took a class to knit this child's sock from a pure & simple knitting pattern at a mano yarn center in venice. it was a challenge, but easier than i thought. just finished the one sock yesterday morning. can't wait to go sock happy. i'm the poster child for socks. with poor circulation, i often wear socks around the house, even in the summer. and of course, i love knee socks. my mom discouraged me shaving my legs through my awkward years, even though i so desperately wanted to shave what seemed like stark & black hairs that are actually imperceptible--i'm asian, we don't have much hair. i wasn't happy at the time, but i have less "maintenance" to worry about.

lucky for me, my cousin liz just had a baby. our friend austin has twin babies, and amy, mike's sister, is pregnant, so there's no shortage of babies to make socks for.

leg warmer (s) - wip

leg warmers
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

kind of odd to be knitting these in summer, and i wasn't sure about the combo colors being such high contrast, but i think i like 'em. i grew up in the eighties, and fondly remember having rainbow leg warmers with hearts on them.

toolbox - wip

toolbox, sideview
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

leg warmer - wip

one leg warmer
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i started this last week, and finished one of the leg warmers from a pattern in Last Minute Knitted Gifts, using a merino wool (GGH Maxima) paired with a silk/mohair yarn (kid madil seta). It looks a little smaller than the one in the book and fits snug, but stretchy. i may try another pair with more cast on stitches in a different color.