I'm trying to be a good monkey....

....I really am. See! I've even been knitting.


See? Good monkey. I've got about 50 rows left and they have been just flying by. However, since casting on the steeks, I've been worried it's not going to fit. It fit before, but I have passed the point where I can try it on to check. Hopefully just paranoia...

Now that I'm getting closer to finishing (and with the possibility of a trip coming) I have been researching my next project and I can't decide. I have three sweater's worth of yarn in my stash. However, the sweater at the top of my list is sadly, not in my stash.

The Choices:
The Tangled Yoke Cardigan, but making it a pullover instead.
The Simple Knitted Bodice, in a 3/4 sleeve. Yea, I know the yarns look the same color, but I couldn't get this one to come out right. It's more of a graphite color.


The Tomato, done long sleeve and possibly without the color band. If I did, I would move it down, under the boobs, more on the waist and probably in a gray or maybe blue (cause I have the blue in stash!). Plus, I love that this is top-down, which I have never done and always wanted to.

And now....the thing that is making me want to be a very bad monkey....

The Plum Frost Cardigan/Pullover....*evil grin*........../insert favorite emote/

What to do....that to do....help me! Leave me a comment and tell me you opinion. And I apologize in advance for any enabling I have done.

In which I get a little philosophical....

FO's are always a good way to start off a post....

Pattern: February Baby Sweater (ravelry)
Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Worsted in Fired Brick - 3 skeins
Needles: US 8

Notes: The above picture is misleading. The color is not that red, but I wish it was! It's has more of a maroon color to it, almost like a "christmas red". I put the sleeve stitches on holders so the whole thing is seamless, which was nice. I screwed up the buttonholes the first go around and, frankly, I'm not happy with how they turned out the second time around, but what can you do. As I found out later, if you want the "3 buttonhole look", do the buttonholes every 8 rows, not ridges, as stated by EZ. 8 ridges is 16 rows and that's too many.

First time use of the Knit Picks Swish yarn and it really is a good multi-purpose yarn. I wanted something that would be soft for the kiddo, while being easy to care for for the new mom.

All in all though, I'm happy with the sweater and am glad that I finally did one. This was done for a baby shower for a friend of ours. It was very well received and there are already plans in the works for her to wear this at Christmas.
The vest....it continues....


I'm just fixing to cast on the neck steek, which is very exciting. This project has kept me more interested than most of my projects have. I hate feeling that I have to push myself through a project. With this, not so much. I think everyone has their little knitting niche and I may have started to find mine.

I would like to be a well-rounded knitter. I want to be someone who enjoys knitting things for small children. I want to be someone who likes to knit up beautiful lace shawls. I want to be someone who has a drawer full of hand knitted socks. (Hence the insane amount of sock yarn I have.) However, that is just not me I think. I like the idea of being that person. I want to be this person, but I'm just not. Are we destined to be a certain kind of knitter? If we don't knit bits of everything are we somehow a lesser knitter? I don't think so...

I love that, with this vest, it has kept me intrigued an motivated the entire time. I think it has somehow tapped into my unique mindset of how I look at things and all the little weird things I enjoy....like how something is still awesome looking inside out....


One of the first things I did when I started was that I mapped out, row by row, all of the decreases, increases, and special instructions that went along with this project. I got a special, nerdy little joy out of that. I like how every row has that magical combination of being both being difficult and easy at the same time.

Have you found your niche? Is there one thing that you really like making more than all of the others? A you a lace knitter? Sock knitter? All-around knitter? Whatever you are, I'm okay with that.

As with most knitting, it also applies to life...but that's a diatribe for another day.

Finishing-itis

Yep, I have it. Remember that February Baby Sweater I was working on before the Ivy League Vest? Yea, so I got a baby shower invitation for the recipient. When you get a shower invitation for a person whose project is half-finished, kinda motivates you to finish it.

Well, I'm having a problem with that and it's the same problem I have with most of my projects. I get close to the end and don't want to finish. How much is left of this sweater? One sleeve. And then it's done. And I don't wanna. I have told myself that I can't knit anything else until that sweater is done. No reason not to finish it. Even tried putting on a movie. If I knit through the movie, I would probably be done. But it just kinda sat in my lap.

Hope this isn't the start of a funk....cause I wanna knit on the vest some more.

A Sticky Situation

With the Olympics going on, everyone is off doing their Olympic knitting. I am super impressed with what people have been able to accomplish since the beginning of the games and what they have learned in the process. I am not officially participating, but I am in the spirit of competition. I officially admit, I didn't cast on with the torch-lighting, nor will I finish by the time it is extinguished. But I am doing a project that challenges me and has given me new skills to add to my arsenal.

Behold the WiP.........aided by the decorative pine cone.

I can't believe how far I have gotten in a week. This thing is breezing by and it is so much freakin' fun to knit. (Yes, I know I am calling attention to myself and the knitting gods are going to smack me for it, but whatever.) I am about 12 rows into the pattern and have begun the waist shaping. I have taken the suggestion of spit-splicing the ends together for this portion and have found it very nice, even though I got even more weird looks in the employee dining room on my break. A word to the wise though: DO NOT spit-splice if you have been eating Jolly Ranchers. It does not make for happy knitting. Trust me.

I am glad that I didn't just jump into this project without having had some fair isle experience. When I was making my mittens, I came across several people telling me to hold my yarns several different ways. I have determined, figure it out for yourself. Because whatever works best for you is going to give you the best chance at keeping even tension, and that is even more important on this project. Start with something small, get used to your fair isle technique, then jump on in!

Other things that have helped:What I have found very helpful with this project is my KnitPicks pattern holder (keeps everything together), my rigged, clipable row counter (doesn't get lost), a blown-up copy of the color chart ('cause I'm blind), a copy of the pattern ('cause I scribble on stuff), and a row-by-row listing of the decreases ('cause I get distracted....SQUIRREL!!).

Lack of Water Leads to Knitting

Before I went to work yesterday I found a flyer hanging on the door to our apartment that said they were rerouting pipes from the hot water boiler and, long story short, we would not have any water from 9am-5pm on Tuesday. Now, Tuesday is my first day off from work and that is usually when I do all of my chores, like laundry. No water means no laundry.

Oh darn....that means I'm going to have to knit. Can't tell you how sad I am that I have to knit instead of doing laundry.

I finally finished all the planning and have gotten all of my materials together so I decided today would be a good day to cast on my Ivy League Vest. I fully concede that I ripped the color choices from the Turtlegirl and her lovely vest. She even helped me get some of the colors that have been discontinued. Hers is just too pretty....

....I must have it.

All Better

I need to learn to not post right when I get home from work....scary things happen.....I had a little rant there.

But the problem was still there never the less. This is what it originally looked like:
Yeah...that looks stupid. So I dropped the stitches all the way back to the second buttonhole and redid them. And then I had a glass of wine...



...or seven. But it looks much better now, so it was worth it. The stitches are still a little wonky, but I'm hoping it will work out when I block it. Just the sleeve left to go and it will be good.

On a separate note, I thought I'd show you Smokey helping me with laundry. He really likes laundry day.

What do you mean you have to fold the sheets now?

Seriously, don't even try it.

I'm annoyed....

...but I can't tell who's fault it resides. Probably mine...but...yeah...

I "finished" the body portion of the FBS and started on the sleeves. I ran some crafty errands, including going to the LYS for some needles for my Ivy League Vest (and, surprisingly, that is all I bought, I promise). I also shopped around for some buttons for said FBS. I made three button holes 'cause that's what everyone else did and it looked cute and I'm just that kinda gal.

So I being popping buttons on, seeing what they look like, which ones fit, etc. etc. Side note: I hate button shopping....just not my thing. That's when I really start looking at the sweater and the button holes look spaced really stupid. Lemme explain without a picture (cause it's dark).

Imagine a sweater that would have five evenly-spaced buttons. Now removed the bottom two. That's what it looks like. Right now, I'm feeling like throwing it in the corner yelling "This is stupid!" and going off and pouting like a three year old.

This is what I know:
1. I did use worsted-weight yarn and US8 as opposed to DK yarn and needle recommended. I concede that.

2. All other instructions were followed to the best of my knowledge. At first I thought I screwed up at "knit 8 ridges" and doing crazy math in my head to where that was 16 rows and therefore 16 ridges, but this is not the case. I DID do it correctly.

3. I did knit the body 5", as instructed. Granted, with the yarn/needle change, this may be an issue, but from looking at other projects, I seem to have done about the same amount of repeats.

4. I am 100% insane. I think this also important because I think the yarn keeps changing color on me.

I'm hoping I can sleep on it and the knitting gnomes will have fixed my problem. I'm trying not to think about dropping the buttonhole stitches all the way back to the beginning-ish and redoing them, or, god forbid, rip the entire thing out. Idk....opinions?

I'm gonna go find some wine....

The Sky is Falling....

....or that's what it sounds like. Remember the winter storm I told you about last time? Well, everything has calmed down and has begun to melt. What happens when it just barely warms up and things barely start to melt?

Wicked icicles.These are really, really cool.....until they start falling and scaring the crap out of you.

Look! Knitting!My first Februrary Baby Sweater. Seems everyone I know is having babies right now. My family had a large census increase over the holidays. I think we grew by three.... So I will hopefully be knitting some things for them for their first birthdays, seeing as I wasn't in the knitting groove before they were born.

I would have to say that my new job has really helped with my knitting groove. See, I am very, very lucky. To avoid traffic implications, I leave early enough for work that I am usually there 30 minutes early. Bring out the knitting. Then, I get 3-30 minute breaks....on the clock. Use one to eat, that's another hour of knitting time, which is actually paid! This new job has given me about an hour and a half of knitting time that "can't" be interrupted or used for something else.

Initially, I was using up stash and stocking up on baby hats and these new baby booties that use up extra sock yarn. These getting me by until I could get a project in mind....and that project is the Ivy League Vest. Yep, I'm just going to jump in....eventually. Some of the yarn has gone on a sight-seeing trip, but it called and said it would be home soon. When I ordered the yarn I could actually order, I snuck in some KnitPick Shine Worsted and figured I could do a FBS in the meantime. I just attached the second of three skeins I got so I'm hoping there will be enough for a February Baby hat.

The Joys of Wool

Okay, so it's 1:45am Saturday morning. I got home from work a little while ago after driving through a "crazy winter ice storm", or so they say. I say, "Meh". But I had a wonderful knitting epiphany and I wanted to share my joy with you.

Wool is wonderful.

I know some of you know this already, but you must remember when you first realized you loved wool too.

This winter ice/snow storm started last night, practically shutting everything down in the state. By the time I needed to drive to work, there was about 5 inches of snow (plus some ice underneath) on my car. It took me about 20 minutes to sweep it away and chip at the ice, trying to free my wipers and all that jazz.

But that's not the part we are here to talk about. When I was finally done, I got into my car and had my epiphany. You see, I had on my nice, newly-knitted mittens. The pretty red and gray ones. The ones made of wool. You know what I noticed?

My hands weren't cold.

Now, this seems like a simple thing, but after pawing through snow and ice and your gloves being wet, you expect your hands to be cold. But not if they are made of wool. They are just so nicely insulating and just wicked the water away to some mystical place where it wouldn't bother me.

I love wool.

P.S. I rescind my opinion about my mittens, as mittens. They felted and shrunk a tad during this incident and are now marvelous! Just thought you should know.

Actual FOs!!

The business portion of today's blog:

Or....there was going to be stuff....but having technical difficulties.

So we are going to do this the "not as pretty" way.Pattern: Hannah Hat (formerly of MagKnits)
Yarn: Cascade 220 Quattro in #9432 (held double) less than a skein
Needles: US 10
Adjustments: I keep my bun/ponytail down lower, so I moved the hole down and added some stst rows to put it nicely all the way down on my ears. Specifically,
"Rows 16-23: Work in stockinette." *added 4 more rows, started knitting in the round at this point, add 4 more rows of stst.* I also added a super cool pompom on the top. Cause ever hat needs a pompom.

I absolutely LOVE this hat. I always have my hair pulled back and most hats just weren't made for that. I don't have an exact amount of yarn that I used, but it was probably about 1/2 a skein. Super quick to knit and nice and cozy. BTW, this yarn makes the coolest pompoms.

Pattern: Manly Mitts from Knitty
Yarn: Paton's Classic Merino in Dark Gray Mix and Bright Red
Needles: US4 and US6
Size: Medium

Still figuring out if I'm a mitten person, but they sure have been keeping my hands cozy. They are a little long, but I'm too lazy to rip them down. It says to knit to the top of your ring finger before starting decreases, but I would start before that, like maybe knitting to where your fingernail starts on your ring finger. I changed the cuffs to be different....makes like interesting.

KITTEN!!!!

This is Smokey, The Boy's kitten. Yes, I am living with a cat and I haven't exploded. I have always been very allergic to cats, but, Thank God, not this one. We get along nicely, snuggling up with me when I read, and he mostly stays outta my knitting bag....as long as I don't leave it on the couch.

**I think things have changed since I last did this. For some reason, I can't post pictures from my flickr account, at least not the way I used to. Any help on how to post pictures from flickr into the ol' blog would be greatly appreciated.