Slacking already
So - the hat is ripped, the sleeve to Bud's sweater is nearly done. I found the 16" size 8 - thank goodness. It was in the soaker - so even a recently started project. I knew I had seen it. So - off to the races - who gets finished first?
Then it is time to think about E's birthday sweater. It's tough because she doesn't really like to wear sweaters. But it's tradition. I will have to find something she will love.
Sweatergirl rides again.
I think blogging/diary-ing will make me more accountable to me on the knit-front.
Just finished the Berry Bobble Hat. It was perfect - until I washed it. Now - I knew trinity stitch grew on washing. So I knew this would grow. Right? But I didn't swatch/wash a swatch. The hat went from 20 inches around to 28 inches around. Way too big. When it dries, I am frogging back to 72 stitches around (that's minus 30 stitches from present size!) and redoing. I hope I wear it a lot!
Also working fairly intently on a sweater from Bud from Baby Bamboo - it is lovely. Working on the last sleeve, then need to sew together and collarize.
And a soaker for Bud. Easy peasy. Just boring.
That's the knit-news.
Herrschner's - oh how I hate thee. I always thought you were tacky, with your plastic canvas nativity toilet paper holders and such - but now - a vow. I will never check your yarn sales again. I ordered 10 balls of yarn - and it was in two different dye lots! Very tacky. So tacky. And when I called - you said replacement yarn would be on its way - it never showed up (3 weeks later!), so when I called again, you said I needed to send back the old yarn first. Uh uh. Don't trust you as far as I can poke you. Plus - it is backordered - which my first call never revealed - and I would guess you will not have it anyway. So now what? Never again, tacky Herschners. I will go to other online stores with the same deals or better who understand what a dye lot means and how to deal with a customer.
So work (and I call it work, because it isn't fun anymore) progresses on Steve's sweater. It's grey, it's heavy, it's hard to knit back and forth (above the armholes), but I do think he will like it and wear it. The back armhole remains stubbornly at 7.5 inches despite rows and rows of knitting! There's probably some error in the emasurement, but these slip stitches really contract the length. Argh! So I ordered yarn for the Sunrise Circle Jacket today - I have always wanted to try Beaverslide yarns, and I can't resist a sale. Dusty clover, can't wait to meet you. Though I think it will be similar to the Bartlettyarn I am using for Steve's sweater, at least it is a color!
I'm back - because I was more organized while I was here. Things I think I am working on - a grey (bleh) sweater for Steve, Aberlemno (still). Things I want to work on - Pasadena in Cashmerino Aran, that blue harrisville yarn, Rosemary's little sweater in blue, and Miss Bea's Umbrella sweater in green. Oh - and something in that variegated yarn from Cheanne.
Sweatergirl's new home!
1. We're buying a new house (if all goes through in the inspections). This is a house, to say it kindly, with potential. So in the near future, I'll be pretty busy making the house a home. Anyway, it is quite exciting and should be a lot of fun (and I will have great parking for knit-ins).
2. Because of this, and because, well, I've been a delinquent blogger these past 6 months, I had thought about discontinuing this dribbling commentary. But vI've found a new web home - Pink Tea. At the Tea, there's a group of knitbloggers, so you'll see more updates and more projects. Many of the knits are traditionally focused or inspired, so you'll see Fair Isles, Arans, and lace. But lots of other beautiful things too. I'm excited and honored to be invited to the Tea! Come visit me there. I've even got a new post up!
Sweatergirl's missing post
Weird - I found a post that I had started 9/23 - wild. I'm spurred to post by Rob. Ack! I don't want to be a dead blog. Hope to fill in with pictures later!
We had a lovely show-and-tell at Guild on Tuesday - wow! Such beautiful stuff - and such productive knitters. At least having the pressure of having to have something finished spurred me to finish this little purple sweater. I had started it when E was perhaps 3 weeks old? By the time I started the second sleeve, I must have forgotten what size I was making - the sleeves are different sizes. Classic. Perhaps archetypal, even.
As for now, well, it is now one week into the part-time work arrangement. It is - ok. Obviously, I can't get as much work done in 8 hrs as in 40, and it is a little frustrating. Things that took days will now take weeks. Which is ok, but will take some getting used to. I'm writing this on my way out the door for my second half-day of work this week. Otherwise, I have been having lots of fun with Baby E! It is wonderful to watch her learning about her world.
Knitting wise - I am nearly to the armholes on the Baby Dale. That's all I've been able to work on, since it takes so much energy and organization to work on multiple things. It is mindless knitting - until I get to the armholes and have to grab the pattern again.
In non-mindless work, I've been working through Beth Brown-Reinsel's book "Knitting Ganseys". We've got a tiny (come join us!) group at ThreadBear where we are making the sampler from the book. I'm working through the various options, since I have already made the sampler. The book is very well-written; she presents several alternatives at each step of the sweater, but you can just follow the pattern straight and learn a lot.
I am wearing Anjuli. I STILL cannot get the bands to lie flat. I give up. It is still gorgeous - I just hate that you can tell I made it. I wanted it to be perfect. Alas - perfection is out of reach for now!
Blogwise - I apologize for being remiss in posting, and remiss in responding to comments. I've been concentrating on getting a blog together for MMKG - I am working on getting Wordpress to work - if anyone has worked with it (or another free cms), I'd love to hear about your experiences.
More later! With pics!
Sweatergirl's remedy for the celtic dreams
Which were not to be: Turn the yarn into June
Do you think it needs waist shaping added? I fear that it would never fall at the right place.
Angst update
Excuse the angst! I finally got to sit down and get my job sorted out, so as of October 1, my life gets much, much better. And I will get to see at least one kid for a lot more hours of the day. I'll be in the office two half-days, and working as needed from home. This is what I had hoped for - I don't want to leave the office in a lurch, as we are near to completing several projects, and I think I just got a new one funded. But I want to spend most of my time raising Baby E. I was reading an old Piecework last night, and there is an excerpt from "How to Make an American Quilt", which I should probably read.
"I used to be a young scholar", she muses, "I am now an engaged woman. Not that you cannot be both - even I understand that - yet I cannot fathom who I think I am at this time."
I just have to get my self-identity re-aligned. And, by the way, I took Baby E to the bar last night for the car club meeting. And also took my knitting. So there.
And now for some knitting!
Anyway - I am going to be an aunt for the first time - very exciting. Strangely enough, this baby's due date is the same as Baby E's due date, but a year later (of course). This baby will be born in NYC, so I cranked this little fulled number out:
I am not a very good counted cross-stitcher, so the embroidery took about as much time to put together as the hat itself. But, at the same time, I was feeling Joe-Pa's pain, watching Penn State lose to Boston College (so sad!), so I may not have been stitching most efficiently.
In other knitting news, Marcia C. is hosting a Fair Isling group at ThreadBear, which inspired me to pull out Aberlemno.
This is not a new image, but I only added 3 or 4 rows. But it is now back on the "projects I'm working on" mental list. Thanks, Marcia! Thanks, boys! It is great to have a place to meet for this kind of thing.
And, for all you local knitters, I am leading a gansey study group at ThreadBear. Fourth Saturday of every month (starting September 25), 10:30AM-12:30ish. We'll be working through Beth Brown Reinsel's book "Knitting Ganseys", and making the sampler gansey. It's free, but you have to have the book - Beth's quite reasonable request! The boys will have copies soon, but if you already have a copy, you can use that. So, come, make a gansey! And learn all sorts of things, from wacky cast-ons to neck gussets.
