looks like somebody else has claimed your sweater.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Woopie!
One large men's sweater, all knit up!
Last thursday at knit group I set a goal to have this sweater finished before I went to South Bend in September. Amazingly, here I am a week later with a completed sweater (almost). I still need to do the side seams and have a try-on to make sure the sleeves are long enough. I think there is a good chance that I may have to make them longer. Without the sweater recipient here (see comment re. South Bend above, grin), I had to go by some measurements I took the day before he left.
My notes say his armlength is 25 inches. The sweater pattern suggests 22. Hmmm.... ruler error or unusually long arms? I compromised, knit 23" and am prepared to rip back the cuff and knit more length if needed.
I hate to leave without a modeled photo though ...
Use your imagination... 100 pounds heavier, almost a foot taller, and having much longer arms!
South Bend here we come!
Monday, August 25, 2008
So close
I find it amazing how time just keeps whizzing by whether I'm watching or not. How is it possible that it is almost the end of August? What happened to the first half of 2008?!
The last couple of weeks have seemed quiet ... but I'm not quite sure where they've gone. S is now settled into his apartment in South Bend. Cute little place from the photos he's sent. I'm looking forward to my visit in a couple of week so I can see it first hand.
His cross country trip went well; it sounds like he had lots of fun stops along the way (visiting his dad, grandparents, and our friend slo).
So what can I have been doing in the two weeks since he left? Beats me ... maybe time really is flexible and I've been through a worm hole. Work has been busy ... new student orientation, finishing up busy work .... stuff. I guess I was a bit sick for a couple of days too and took some half days off work so I could nap. But other than that? Not sure where time went.
I have been making some progress on S's sweater though.
What sweater you might ask? Well it would be a good question since you haven't seen it since April. When S realized he was moving to the land of cold, we agreed I'd knit him a wool sweater. Way back in April, after I finished the body of the sweater, it seemed like no harm, no foul to take a break and work on a few other things. Enter the black hole of the time continuum and here I am in August. It seemed like I should pick this project back up [snort]. My goal is to have it finished for my trip in two weeks... very do-able now that I've finished the right sleeve, neck, and half the left sleeve. I'm soooo close to being done!
Amazing what a few (ok... many) dedicated hours of knitting can do in making progress on a large men's sweater. I figure I have to get it done though... once he comes back to LA he may never wear it again [laugh]!
Other than a bit of knitting, I've also done a bit of organizing in the past week. You know what it's like ... your closet gets to that point where you can't find anything anymore? For me that's confounded by the fact that my yarn stash lives in my clothes closet. After S left I decided I needed to do a little cleaning up. And now look ...
It's not the most beautiful of organizational systems, but boy can I find everything now. Yarns bundled together in big ziplocks all tucked into their new home. No stray skeins lost somewhere on the floor of the closet. Perfect. And the clothes (which you can't see .. they're to the left and right on hanging rods and on a shelf above the caddies) ... all nice and tidy too. I now have a big stack of donations ready for goodwill as well as a smaller pile of acrylic yarns I'm going to donate as well.
Now I just need to find a bit more time to knit up some of that delightful stash!
The last couple of weeks have seemed quiet ... but I'm not quite sure where they've gone. S is now settled into his apartment in South Bend. Cute little place from the photos he's sent. I'm looking forward to my visit in a couple of week so I can see it first hand.
His cross country trip went well; it sounds like he had lots of fun stops along the way (visiting his dad, grandparents, and our friend slo).
So what can I have been doing in the two weeks since he left? Beats me ... maybe time really is flexible and I've been through a worm hole. Work has been busy ... new student orientation, finishing up busy work .... stuff. I guess I was a bit sick for a couple of days too and took some half days off work so I could nap. But other than that? Not sure where time went.
I have been making some progress on S's sweater though.
What sweater you might ask? Well it would be a good question since you haven't seen it since April. When S realized he was moving to the land of cold, we agreed I'd knit him a wool sweater. Way back in April, after I finished the body of the sweater, it seemed like no harm, no foul to take a break and work on a few other things. Enter the black hole of the time continuum and here I am in August. It seemed like I should pick this project back up [snort]. My goal is to have it finished for my trip in two weeks... very do-able now that I've finished the right sleeve, neck, and half the left sleeve. I'm soooo close to being done!
Amazing what a few (ok... many) dedicated hours of knitting can do in making progress on a large men's sweater. I figure I have to get it done though... once he comes back to LA he may never wear it again [laugh]!
Other than a bit of knitting, I've also done a bit of organizing in the past week. You know what it's like ... your closet gets to that point where you can't find anything anymore? For me that's confounded by the fact that my yarn stash lives in my clothes closet. After S left I decided I needed to do a little cleaning up. And now look ...
It's not the most beautiful of organizational systems, but boy can I find everything now. Yarns bundled together in big ziplocks all tucked into their new home. No stray skeins lost somewhere on the floor of the closet. Perfect. And the clothes (which you can't see .. they're to the left and right on hanging rods and on a shelf above the caddies) ... all nice and tidy too. I now have a big stack of donations ready for goodwill as well as a smaller pile of acrylic yarns I'm going to donate as well.
Now I just need to find a bit more time to knit up some of that delightful stash!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Trinity Stitch Baby Jacket
As I've mentioned before, we had a rash of friends who are having babies this spring/summer. One of those babies arrived months ago, one is so close to coming out that mom can't wait (3 cm and holding as of right now - wed afternoon), and the last is due later this month.
With one gift left to deliver, I knew I needed to get to knitting. This last gift goes to a classmate of S's and I realized four days before it had to be done that it *had* to be done or it wouldn't get delivered to the mom-to-be. Drastic times call for drastic measures. Yep a binge of a different type... a knitting binge.
The trinity stitch baby jacket. One of my friends from knitting group has knit this sweater twice now and inspired me to try it out. At my last group meeting (5 days before the impending deadline) I decided this was what I should knit and I purchased the yarn. I must have been a bit omnicient because the next day was when I realized I only had 4 days to deliver the gift. Good thing I bought that yarn!
I cast on Friday evening (8/1), knit part of the day Saturday (I had to work part of that day), knit all day Sunday, and finished it up Monday morning. Buttons were purchased and sewn on Monday night and a gift was ready for its new recipient.
I really like this sweater... very easy, but quite charming. The trinity stitch trim around the edges of the sweater are really great in my opinion. The yarn is also soft, soft, soft.
Pink... well not the color I would typically choose for a baby gift, even with a girl expected, but this was the nicest color they had at the shop and I think it does look great with this charming little sweater.
And to top it all off... look at these little buttons!
I figured that as long as I was going girly, I would go all out. Polka dotted, pink chicks. Delightful!
If you're looking for an easy little project, this one is a winner.
Cormo Trinity Stitch Baby Jacket by Margaret Heathman from
2 balls Plymouith Yarn Dreambaby D.K. (50% acrylic microfiber, 50% nylon
Pink (color 0103 lot 63435)
US 6 circulars and dpns
Cast on August 1, 2008
Finished August 4, 2008
With one gift left to deliver, I knew I needed to get to knitting. This last gift goes to a classmate of S's and I realized four days before it had to be done that it *had* to be done or it wouldn't get delivered to the mom-to-be. Drastic times call for drastic measures. Yep a binge of a different type... a knitting binge.
The trinity stitch baby jacket. One of my friends from knitting group has knit this sweater twice now and inspired me to try it out. At my last group meeting (5 days before the impending deadline) I decided this was what I should knit and I purchased the yarn. I must have been a bit omnicient because the next day was when I realized I only had 4 days to deliver the gift. Good thing I bought that yarn!
I cast on Friday evening (8/1), knit part of the day Saturday (I had to work part of that day), knit all day Sunday, and finished it up Monday morning. Buttons were purchased and sewn on Monday night and a gift was ready for its new recipient.
I really like this sweater... very easy, but quite charming. The trinity stitch trim around the edges of the sweater are really great in my opinion. The yarn is also soft, soft, soft.
Pink... well not the color I would typically choose for a baby gift, even with a girl expected, but this was the nicest color they had at the shop and I think it does look great with this charming little sweater.
And to top it all off... look at these little buttons!
I figured that as long as I was going girly, I would go all out. Polka dotted, pink chicks. Delightful!
If you're looking for an easy little project, this one is a winner.
Cormo Trinity Stitch Baby Jacket by Margaret Heathman from
2 balls Plymouith Yarn Dreambaby D.K. (50% acrylic microfiber, 50% nylon
Pink (color 0103 lot 63435)
US 6 circulars and dpns
Cast on August 1, 2008
Finished August 4, 2008
Modifications: No changes to pattern; did use a store bought yarn versus handspun and used the size needles recommended by the ballband, US 6s. Overall, my sweater came out about the same size as the pattern recommends, but the sleeves are a little shorter and chunkier than the original knit and the body below the sleeves (versus the body above where the sleeves are separated) is a bit shorter than the pattern indicates. I thought this made the sweater a bit cuter in the long run anyway.
Ravelry details here.Thursday, August 14, 2008
North Dakota knitting... wool socks of course!
Yep... I know you never thought these would get finished (or that you'd hear about any knitting I've been doing recently), but taa daa... my third pair of finished socks!
When little Zinn, our foster kitty came to live with us, I needed a small project to work on ... you know something to do while I hung out in the kitchen with him. These socks seemed like the perfect project. Between a few evenings with Zinn and some quality knitting time on the plane to North Dakota, a second sock was finished!
I've seen many people rave about Trekking, and I will say that I like the finished socks alot (they are soft and squishy), but I didn't LOVE knitting with it. I found the yarn to be very twisty (meaning it would constantly twist back on itself as it came off the ball) and a bit splitty.
Nevertheless... a nice pair of finished socks I think. Nice subtle socks, a deep rich color.
Three pairs down ... I wonder what socks I'll do next?
Rotating Rib, Garter Rib Socks
Garter Rib Sock Pattern by Charlene Schurch from
Sensational Knitted Socks
1 ball of Zitron Trekking (XXL)
1 ball of Zitron Trekking (XXL)
Color 77 (self striping blue)
US size 1 dpnsThese socks have much more of a history than 7 months though. I know I cast on sometime in 2007, probably in July if I had to guess. I have a picture of the cast on with its 5 measily rows from October 2007. The first sock was started on in earnest in January though so that's the "birthdate" I'll use.
Finished July 31, 2008
Modifications: I used Charlene Schurch’s four stitch ribbing pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks and a rotating rib pattern (ala the Harlot): regular 2x2 ribbing, but moving the ribbing over one stitch every 10 rounds. This is a top-down sock pattern. I cast on 72 stitches with 9 stiches per inch gauge.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
North Dakota
OK... time to catch up. How 'bout a brief review of my visit to North Dakota?
The image above is what I thought North Dakota would look like, and I was not disappointed. There were amazing landscapes to see and terrific blue skies. OK... I'm skipping ahead of myself here though... I should tell the story chronologically shouldn't I?
I went to North Dakota for about 9 days on a business trip ... but... North Dakota *was* the only state in the US that my mom has never visited. How can you let an opportunity like that pass you by. We decided to take advantage of the timing and I tacked a short "vacation" to the end of my trip during which time my mom, dad, and sister joined me for a brief tour of North Dakota.
My trip was to Bismarck with a couple of brief stops across the Missouri river into Mandan (its sister city).
After I finished my work (very productive, thank you very much), my parents arrived Friday evening and, after a dinner, we decided to take a paddle boat ride down the Missouri river.
Did I mention it was a sunset cruise?
Very pretty views, nice cool breeze. Definitely the right time of day for a drive down the river. Saturday was the day for my preferred activity... a trip to the badlands.
We drove to a little town called Medora first, walked around the town which is sort of an old wild west set up, and then toured the Chateau deMores, a hunting lodge built in the 1800s and frequented by Teddy Roosevelt. Interesting place, very nice views.
Now for anyone in the know, I should point out that we skipped the Medora Musical (snort) and pitchfork fondue (steak fried on the tongs of a pitchfork... eww -- check out a link for a pic). These events should give you a flavor for Medora though ... very City Slicker-esque.
Then we drove into the badlands... specifically to the edge of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. This was the view I was hoping for. Here's another perspective to go along with the picture at the top, both pictures taken from the Painted Canyon Visitor Center.
Great heaps of rock, I would call them mountains... they were at least mountainous. Very pretty.. worth the trip. Hard to imagine how the pioneers traveled across the nation going west when this is the kind of stuff they came across. A horse drawn wagon would have had a wee bit of trouble traveling this route.
We wandered around the rest of the weekend visiting museums (the Heritage Museum at the state capitol grounds having a GREAT dinousaur exhibit with bones collected in the region) and seeing the sights. Fun.
You know what sight I didn't see? No LYS. Not a single one in Bismarck or Mandan. How could this be given the general climate and profusion of snow in the winter? Boggles the mind. Next time, the knitting progress made on the plane.
[the badlands ... Teddy Roosevelt National Park entrance]
The image above is what I thought North Dakota would look like, and I was not disappointed. There were amazing landscapes to see and terrific blue skies. OK... I'm skipping ahead of myself here though... I should tell the story chronologically shouldn't I?
I went to North Dakota for about 9 days on a business trip ... but... North Dakota *was* the only state in the US that my mom has never visited. How can you let an opportunity like that pass you by. We decided to take advantage of the timing and I tacked a short "vacation" to the end of my trip during which time my mom, dad, and sister joined me for a brief tour of North Dakota.
My trip was to Bismarck with a couple of brief stops across the Missouri river into Mandan (its sister city).
After I finished my work (very productive, thank you very much), my parents arrived Friday evening and, after a dinner, we decided to take a paddle boat ride down the Missouri river.
Did I mention it was a sunset cruise?
Very pretty views, nice cool breeze. Definitely the right time of day for a drive down the river. Saturday was the day for my preferred activity... a trip to the badlands.
We drove to a little town called Medora first, walked around the town which is sort of an old wild west set up, and then toured the Chateau deMores, a hunting lodge built in the 1800s and frequented by Teddy Roosevelt. Interesting place, very nice views.
Now for anyone in the know, I should point out that we skipped the Medora Musical (snort) and pitchfork fondue (steak fried on the tongs of a pitchfork... eww -- check out a link for a pic). These events should give you a flavor for Medora though ... very City Slicker-esque.
Then we drove into the badlands... specifically to the edge of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. This was the view I was hoping for. Here's another perspective to go along with the picture at the top, both pictures taken from the Painted Canyon Visitor Center.
Great heaps of rock, I would call them mountains... they were at least mountainous. Very pretty.. worth the trip. Hard to imagine how the pioneers traveled across the nation going west when this is the kind of stuff they came across. A horse drawn wagon would have had a wee bit of trouble traveling this route.
We wandered around the rest of the weekend visiting museums (the Heritage Museum at the state capitol grounds having a GREAT dinousaur exhibit with bones collected in the region) and seeing the sights. Fun.
You know what sight I didn't see? No LYS. Not a single one in Bismarck or Mandan. How could this be given the general climate and profusion of snow in the winter? Boggles the mind. Next time, the knitting progress made on the plane.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Binge
It happens every once in awhile, and hit hard this weekend ... a reading binge!
A couple of weeks ago I saw more than one post about the book Twilight. I thought with more than one mention it must be good so I went to my library catalogue and ordered up a copy through interlibrary loan. Friday afternoon (after S left for his trip remember) I stopped by the library to pick up my copy. Twilight was done by Saturday midday. I read it again before the end of Saturday and went by my local book store to get the rest of the series. Long story short ... Monday night I finished the fourth book. Yep, four books, four days (and technically I did read the first one twice so maybe that's like 5 books, and I did work Friday and Monday).
Crazy stuff. I blame being home by myself. =]
I would definitely recommend Twilight if you like teen age - vampire love story type of stuff. Nothing too heavy or too literary here, just an easy fun read. The other three books are also good. They are a bit more of an adventure story. After all, you can only drag on a "are the human and vampire going to kiss or not" story for so long.
Have you read anything good recently?
Friday, August 08, 2008
Happy and sad
See that little car... it's going on a very long drive. Yep S left this morning for South Bend, Indiana. It's going to be a great semester for him (happy) but we're going to miss him (sad).
Want to take a closer look?
1. Yep... you can barely see through that window can you? We managed to pack quite a bit of supplies into the prius... gotta love a hatchback!
2. The joke around here is that I couldn't go to Indiana because there wouldn't be room for me in the car. The ultimate proof ... see that passenger seat ... full, stacked to the ceiling with stuff. Nope I wouldn't have fit in that car. =]
3. At least he won't ride alone. Notice the Karl Marx finger puppet on the dashboard. Never go on a road trip without a good philosopher.
Lots of finished objects and trip pictures still to come. If I can just find time....
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