Sweatergirl engages in negative knitting

Frogging. Only not completely. Sort of backward progress.

You see, Anjuli has buttonholes worked into the body of the sweater, not added on in a band. Which is nice, because the sewing in of all the ends of this striped sweater is finishing enough. So I got up to the neck shaping on Anjuli last night, and realized, hmm, the buttonhole placement is a little wonky. Hmm. But I thought I remembered calculating it out. Aha. But - in the year or so since I worked on it, I forgot that I had refigured the row counts.

So - ripit, ripit, ripit. Back to the armhole. Well, that's why I did the buttonhole side first...

Sweatergirl nearly ready for winter!

And a good thing, too. As it is snowing! Yippee!!!

A good knitting weekend. On Saturday, I went to the MMKG workshop on two-color Fair Isle Knitting and Baltic Braiding. Teresa made some most excellent sweet roll things. I could barely stop eating to get some knitting done. It was a good workshop - although I had already used both techniques, you never know what you might learn. Plus, I brought the soup for lunch (new recipe for zucchini soup on the recipes page). And I had a lot of leftover yarn to use up/share. Here's the hat I made:

I'm really happy with how the colors turned out - and I think it might go well with my red coat (which I have no hat and mittens for...the red and orange sets both clash.)

I also ripped out and re-did the top of the black hat, and made a long skinny scarf to go with. Isn't that what all the gapkids are wearing these days?

Not much progress on Anjuli or Aberlemno, sad to say. These small, quick projects are addictive. You can't make just one.

Not that I am buying any yarn...

But I love elann.com. Check out their new page design! Even easier to use without the popup windows! Yay!!!

Warning - actual knitting ahead!

Sorry for the infrequent and poor updates...What have I been knitting, you ask? Well, I found a sad and lonely back to Aidan's aran...So I started the front on Sunday night - finished that Wednesday and started a sleeve. Which is nearly done. So I may actually send this while it still fits! I can't believe I had let this project lie for so long...(Grammar avengers, don't attack me for that sentence-like thing. Or this paragrah-like thing! Blech! I can't write today.) This is the aran from "Knitting for Baby" - Here's an older pic of the back:

And I picked up another long-abandoned project - Anjuli from Jo Sharp. I am doing the body in one piece to cut down on the number of ends (though there are still a lot!). I was at "about" the armholes on that, and had stopped because I didn't want to keep measuring. And because I think it is going to be far too large. But, guess what? I am going to be far too large too. So I split for the armholes and am working up the buttonhole-side of the front. So I may get to wear that this year too.

I am looking forward to my embroidery-fest for my Dale sweater this Thursday, Thanksgiving. S and I spend the whole day cooking, eating, and watching movies and/or football. Thanks for Thanksgiving! I can barely wait for the sweet potatoes and might have to make them this weekend too. Time to run home and make a yummy dinner to thank S for going to see the theatre dept's production of Macbeth tonight...

Sweatergirl is amazed!

Check out #7 on Bookfinder's list of the most sought-after out-of-print books. It's Aran Knitting by Alice Starmore.

I actually have this book, and if I can ever finish St. Brigid...I wonder if it'll still be sought-after...I'm lucky to have started knitting at the right time, I guess.

Checking in

Hi there. Well - the loss of my blogroll has caused me some consternation. Grr. It was so wonderful to just be able to click through all my favorite bloggers. I've mostly found people, but I want my blogroll back. Hopefully blogrolling will be back up soon.

No knitting pictures - I've been spending some of my spare time finishing up "A Fine Balance" for book club tomorrow. Whew. I am now officially emotionally exhausted. But also, I had a big guild month, what with filling in on the newsletter and working on getting a website together. It's ugly, but it's there! We also want to bring in a teacher, so I've been doing some phone-calling and emailing on that too. Tonight - survey compilation! I gave out a survey to the members of what they were/weren't interested in programming-wise. It should be helpful for this, and for planning programs for the rest of the year. But I am looking forward to some knitting time while I watch taped episodes of Gilmore Girls and 24. And a yummy grilled cheese sandwich...

Sweatergirl makes it through another week

And so does Rupert (Survivor). Hurrah! TGIF. This week has been a doozy. But - I did find some comfy, happy knitting to indulge in - alison suggested mittens (see her page for pattern links!), and I did have some yarn set aside to do a hat/scarf/mitten set. It's GGH Venus, bought about a year ago from elann.com, in black and 2 shades of grey. It's 70% kid mohair and 30% nylon in a knitted tube construction - neat. I am a sucker for knitted-tube yarn.

Why I like making hats (and tend to dislike knitting socks - a study in contrasts):

Sweatergirl gets a talking-to and some therapy

So the Bump and I took a long bath last night (with me lamenting that I might not be able to take baths forever), and I'm much more resigned to another year or so of not having control over my body and 20 years or so of not having complete control over my emotions. We'll see after that. Thanks for the supportive comments!

I also did some grocery shopping - comforting to me, but perhaps a strange therapy choice to many (like Marcia!). I just feel better when I have enough food around. And the store was nearly empty (except the beer aisle) at 9 PM last night. So I pre-bought some Thanksgiving stuff - stuffing mix, a turkey breast - a turkey with its legs and wings removed but still with room for stuffing. (To S, it was reminiscent of those tasteless jokes about the guy with no arms and no legs in various situations - remember them?) Also, this was the week with the big sale on sugar, flour, and margarine. I may have to make some cookies. Yum - another good therapy option.

And I found my magazine that I had been looking for for more than a week. Whew. It just got lost in the big book/magazine migration from the guest room to the office.

And I started a new project - it might not stay, so for now, we'll just call it a swatch. No picture yet - and no name.

The new project is to replace Into the Mystic as a mindless knitting project - I hate knitting the Mystic, although I love the way it looks. It's a really simple mosaic pattern. But it's just so many rows to knit with the slipped stitches. Agh. I'm not ready to rip out yet...I'd like to think of a better use for the yarn first. I spun it specifically for this project - so it's disheartening to hate the knitting. But how could Barbara Walker have written a whole book on mosaic knitting? It is so not fun to me. And a hobby is supposed to be fun, right? Right? Anyone working on a very fun knitting project right now? Or have one to recommend?

Alien invasion

Ok - this alien is officially taking over my body. I have given in and am wearing the ugly elastic-waist maternity jeans. (note - people keep saying maternity clothes are much better now than they had been in years past - yow. because they still look funny to me.) My hormones are entirely out of whack, and I'm one who had been lucky enough to never suffer from PMS or the like. On Sunday, I woke up, went to get bagels (missed church - again), and then came back and crashed on the couch. I was supposed to go over and hang out with some spinning friends, but when I ended up in tears for no reason, having been awake only about 4 hours, S marched me off to bed for a nap. This is seriously bad, as I have 5 more months with this creature inside of me and I don't think it's supposed to get easier. All the books say I'm supposed to be less tired now, but I could seriously sleep 16 hours a day at least. And, I am also losing my mind. Misplacing things, forgetting things. Where the heck is my Winter 03/04 Interweave Knits? And - everyone else is losing their minds - S's mom called last night and told him to read some quack book about immunizations for babies and how bad they are. She's becoming even more of a nut. So maybe living 600 miles away is a good thing.

Anyway - I did actually get some knitting done. On Saturday, after buying the ugly elastic-waist jeans, I went over to the Charity Knit-In at Starbucks. I had started a little hat for the MMKG hat contest, but it wasn't until sitting at Starbucks that I started to notice some unsanitary little additions to the yarn (mouse turds? dead smooshed bugs?). Now, in the hat contest, we get a bag of donated yarn that we are supposed to "do something" with. So the hat is a bit shallow cuz I just wanted to finish it and not have to wonder about the brown spots, but should fit a baby. Which is good, because it is baby yellow and peach variegated - blech. I did wash the hat in hot water (acrylic) and there's no evidence of brown things, so I don't feel bad donating it, but I think I will dispose of the yarn and make another hat with some cleaner yarn...Life is too short. And I don't want to catch some weird mouse-borne disease, lest S's mom say, "I told you so."

Sweatergirl's book reviews

Before SOAR, I went on a little book-shopping spree. And here's what I got and what I think:

Traditional Fair Isle Knitting by Sheila McGregor

Dover has reprinted this classic from 1982 in a soft-cover edition. For all those frantically bidding on Alice Starmore's Charts for Color Knitting - try this first. It's not nearly as big, but I dare you to exploit all the pattern combinations in this book! There's a good history section, and the techniques section includes dimensions for a wooly board. But I really like the sections on design and color, where the author deconstructs garments, explaining color and pattern choice. There are also lots of charts - about 70 pages. You got yer trees, yer allovers, yer peeries, yer alphabet, and yer XO pattens. And snowflakes and stars and anchors...

This is a fabulous resource, even for just adding border patterns to hats & mittens - I'm not QUITE ready to design a Fair Isle sweater...Just give me time though!

And - perhaps best of all - this book is widely available (I got mine from Needle Arts Book Shop) for the low low price of only $14.95. The price of, like, three felted bag patterns. So what are you waiting for? Show Dover how much we love them for bringing back the classics!

Oh, and while you're at the Needle Arts Book Shop, think about pre-ordering Knitting in the Old Way - another oldy-moldy with so much information on its way to reprint. Marsha gives free shipping on titles ordered before publication!

Baby Knits from Dale of Norway

Ok - firstoff - I love that this is published by "Damm Hobby Books". But, anyhow, these little sweaters and leggings and hats and such are just tooo darn cute. All patterns are for Dale Baby Ull - so the sweater patterns start with casting on about 200 stitches. But all those little stitches give the Dale designers lots of room to design. I knew I needed this book after seeing Nanette's bunny sweater. But I have also always loved the ladybug sweater, recently knit by alison at the blue blog. And don't you think Bump and I need matching Sirdal sweaters? (Nah, me neither - that would just be too cute). Anyway - if you know enough in advance that's there's a special kid coming - think about a Baby Dale sweater. And if you've got this book, you don't have to hunt through all those Dale magazines you've already got...But if you already know your DaleBaby collection - this book is surely full of duplicates and probably not worth the cost.

Style Your Own Kids' Knits

I bought this for my mother-in-law last Christmas, because I got tired of her asking for charts of boats or spiders or what not. So - there are a lot of intarsia charts for common things kids might want on sweaters. But there are also a set of basic sweaters written for worsted weignt yarn for ages 3 months to 10 years. Each basic sweater has instructions for pullovers and cardigans with V-necks or crewnecks. Then there's sections on different collars, pockets, bands, and fasteners. And a nice stitch library with the aformentioned intarsia designs as well as clear photos and instructions for knit-purl patterns, lace patterns, and lots of border treatments. The book includes enough pictures of darling kids in sweaters with a variety of treatments to help you visualize combinations. So next time your kid (or your mother-in-law) needs an airplane or apple-tree sweater - you've got the tools to design it. Yay, you!

Brief Survivor rant

Man, I thought this was gonna be Jon's week...Argh. Taking him into the merge...I don't know if that was the wisest strategy...

Back to Aberlemno

Not much to report here - except some major progress on Aberlemno. Major for me at least.

That's two repeats done, guys! One more repeat to the armholes...

I'm trying to catch up on blog-reading - it's good to see everyone projects and progress. And halloween costumes.

Oh, and I felted my entrelac bag.

I might have over-felted it - it's tiny but cute. I will have to get a scale photo with Sarah's bag at tonight's knit-in! What a difference a yarn makes (I did mine in BS Naturespun Sport Weight, while the original was in BS Lambs Pride Worsted)

I am also picking up my ThreadBear order that Sarah courier-ed for me. This was my Aug. 20 order. Which is some Cascade Indulgence and the Cottage Garden Sweater kit. The next Fair Isle. But I hope to get home from the Knit-In in time to watch 24.

In the keepin'-it-real file - I had forgotten to update my last yarn purchase. I did buy that $2 ball of yarn at JoAnn's the other week...