Grr. Argh.

So, I got the yarn in the right gauge for Tempting, and then we changed our minds and decided to go for Tempting II, which has a different gauge. I refused to swatch, but after about 12 rows, as my first ball of yarn had nearly disappeared, I realized I needed to finally bow to the swatch. So I did! I went down 2 needle sizes because all I had was a circular 8 (which is what the pattern called for, but was too big) and a circular 6. So I swatched on 6's, and now the gauge is too small. I don't want to buy 7s right now, and so I am toying with just using the 8's and trying to do the math to figure out which smaller size to knit. Augh. Math.

Le Sigh.

So, at the moment this is the kind of knitting blog I hate. No witty commentary, no blow-by-blow accounts of works in progress, no regular updates, no cool links, nada. It's because I don't have a digital camera and a computer that will play nice together, but soon that will change.

I've knitted two super cute baby hats based on the The Cupcake Beanie. I found the suggested colour choices a little...loud, so I made one to pattern in just two colours, and it came out beautifully, looking like a wee straberry shortcake hat. I'm promised a picture soon. Also, I think pompoms are an indignity I will not press upon such an innocent little head, so I left it off.

With the second hat I went a little crazy, and totally modified the hat. It's for Jeff's new little nephew, and I'm really pleased with it. I was going to take a picture and have Pugsley model, but then I did the math. Smelly Old Pugsley + Fresh New Baby + Hat Transfer = No. So you'll have to wait for a picture of that, too.

On the needles at the moment:

Well, I've been trying to make Jeff a sweater for a loooong time. The first 3 attempts were thwarted badly by...um...the lack of a pattern. Finally I caved and decided to make Lucky. I'm really glad I did! I've just finished the back. The designer, Elizabeth has been very sweet, popping up on the KnittyBoard to answer all of my silly newbie questions. (I am still learning the pattern-reading thing.) I'm knitting it out of some of the Peace Fleece, in Siberian Midnight. They yarn is beautiful, if a bit scratchier than the Sea Moss Peace Fleece I used for Nathaniel's sweater. I wonder why? It should soften up with washing, though.

All the black gets to me after a few hours of knitting, though, so I have a relief project...the ubiquitous Tempting II, for Rachel. I'm knitting it from Elann's Peruvian Collection Sierra Aran, and I'm really enjoying the wool. So soft and purple and alpacaish!

Um, the end for now. Pictures soon.

Oops!

Ha! The sweater I made for Nathaniel is perhaps a tad too big. Which is actually great news, since it's already too warm for sweaters in North Carolina!

Recently finished objects

Catching up!

Okay! So, here is a very basic double-stranded garter stitch scarf attempting to strangle Jeff. This was my first back-to knitting project. The wool was all kinds of scraps people had given me over the years. I had a fingering-weight grey wool, and that was mixed with fluffy grey wool and stringy charcoal wool and fluffy blue acrylic. Aside from the fact that is is very warm and was made for my favourite boy in the world, you might say it was a little boring. But he really wears it, and that's no small feat when knitting for those of the male persuasion. In this picture Jeff was innocently watching weekend cartoons and e-mailing when I pounced him with the camera and the scarf and demanded he model. Can you spot the pug?



Then came the hat, which you have seen. The hat was the first project I ever bought yarn for!

Then, I got a beautiful ball of yarn from Madeline of Mad Knits in a holiday swap. I knitted it and frogged it all christmas, unable to decide what to do with it. Finally, two weeks ago, I cast on my first length-wise scarf, and alternated the self-striping Noro Madeline sent with the leftover hat wool. Behold!




I think it turned out lovely.

Next, I got up the courage to poke my nose into the local yarn shop. They were having a clearance sale of partially used skeins. I got all of the Debbie Bliss Merino Chunky remnants they had, and decided to make that Leftovers vest. But it wasn't nearly enough yardage. And I was poor.

So I decided to unravel a sweater I had that I was tired of. It had come as a hand-me-down, with a good colour but not a great shape. I unravelled only the sleeves to begin with, and that's been more than enough wool for the body of the Leftovers Vest. Here's what remains of the recycled sweater. Even without the sleeves, I feel like there's enough there for a whole other garment:



And finally, here's the vest in progress!



I don't have an updated picture, but as of writing, the vest part is all done, neck ribbing and all. I decided to make it a sweater, so I'm knitting sleeves onto the armholes. I'm a bit nervous with it. I am very proud but I goofed a bit in my measuring so the armholes are about 2 inches longer than they should be. The sleeves are huge, even as I decrease rapidly. But it's all very exciting. It should be finished within the week. And I can't wait for it to be finished so I can start something new, because check out this haul:


That, my friends, is a buttload (literally! It fills the chair!) of Peace Fleece. I heard it was scratchy, but I've been playing with it a little and I think it's really lovely. The colours are wonderful...the camera doesn't do them justice. Speaking of colours, I'm glad I went out on a limb with that pink and yellow because otherwise I'd be wondering if I have a limited palette here. Look at the last and the current project:



Hmmm.

In the next edition...a portrait of the finished Leftovers Sweater!

As if the world needs another knitting blog!

But here it is! I've gone knitting-crazy. I'll be posting pictures of things I'm working on and things I'm done and stuff like that. I haven't got anything particularly fabulous to say at the moment, but here's the first non-flat thing I've made, a very easy little hat from the pattern at The Blue Blog. Ever since the hat was made, Alison's blog has become one of my favourite knitting sites...she's a knitting hero! The hat is modeled by the brilliant Nathaniel, who now wears it to bed.



In that vein, (not the wearing hats to bed vein, the Patterns by the Blue Blogger vein) I am now making Alison's Leftovers Vest from Knitty. Being so new to knitting and all, I'm not really using leftovers. But more on that in the next post.