I’ve made a little progress on Cheesylove, as you can see here. I finished the ruffle (casting on 1,008 stitches!) and I’ve just started the body decreases. Apologies for the bad picture; thick black wool is hard to photograph with a crappy camera. I’m using a 60cm-long 5mm wooden circular needle. (I’d have preferred an 80cm but it was all they had, and I like the wood.) I’m going to have to stop here, though, as I think I’m the only one that’s actually begun. My sister is understandably distracted by this whole “getting-married” business. I’ve got some other knitting projects to distract me though, like the Stitch and Bitch I’m hosting this Saturday. Fun!
And on a related note, my career as a knitting instructor has begun in earnest. Today I gave a lunch hour lesson to two of my co-workers. One of them “got it” immediately, but the other had difficulty with the hand coordination. It’s good to get practice in dealing with different kinds of students!
Crud. I just discovered that they’re changing the Hogwarts scarf design for the Prisoner of Azkaban film! (You can see pictures here.) I guess that means I’ll need to revise the pattern I use…
I’ve finally managed to finish this year’s prize monkeys for the Oscar Contest. Pretty cute, huh? That’s 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place from left to right there. Please be patient, winners. I promise I’ll have them in the mail this weekend!
I’ve made an unofficial start on the Cheesylove sweater my sister and I are doing as a knitalong. (She’s not doing the ruffle and I am, so I’m starting a little early.) Good grief. Do you know how long it takes to cast on 504 stitches? Frickin’ ages! And technically you have to do that twice, because the real ruffle’s supposed to be 1008 stitches. Now I understand why they have you do it in two parts, otherwise you’d need a circular needle about three feet long.
My sister has caught the knitting bug and is ready to try her first sweater. She wants to do Cheesylove (the sleeveless version) from Knitty but she’s a little apprehensive. So we’re going to do it as a knitalong! We’re both going to knit it at the same time so we can help each other over the rough bits. Any of you other knitters want to join us? We’re aiming to get the materials this week and start next weekend.
(That’s “Finished Object” for you non-knitters.) After doing two pairs of simple basic socks, I was ready to expand my skills. So I cracked open my copy of Socks Soar on Two Circulars* and picked out the “Columbine Peaks” pattern. The leg of the sock has a lacy pattern that forms little v-shaped mountain peaks that continue down onto the foot. It wasn’t too hard, though you do have to count and sometimes I have difficulty with that. (Handy tip: Knitting and wine don’t go together so well.) Now they’re finally done. Unfortunately the Sockenwool I had was rainbow-colored so the pattern doesn’t show up so well, but I still like them. They give me the craziest urge to buy some Birkenstocks and walk around like a German tourist. (Note: That second image is a big scan and shows the stitch pattern nicely.)
* Although I like the technique used, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this book for beginners. I’ve found several frustrating errors in the patterns. You can see a list of some corrections here.
Australian sheep produce world’s finest wool. That’s not a generalization, like saying that Aussie wool is the best. They really have produced a bale of the finest – in terms of thickness – wool ever seen. It’s worth thousands of dollars and will probably be sold to a top fashion house. Gee, you could make some lovely soft sweaters with that!
I haven’t given you a knitting update in ages, have I? Yes, that’s me in a custom knit devil-horned hat. The pattern’s from Debbie Stoller’s book Stitch ‘N’ Bitch and I whipped it up in about six hours. (Pattern note for those playing at home: I used two balls of Heirloom 12-ply on 6mm needles.) I discovered some black wool in my stash so I might try the kitty-cat hat next. Now I just have to wait for it to get cold enough to wear!
Catching up on other projects… I also made a jumper/sweater for my iPod! My old case was getting grubby and I rarely use the belt clip anyway. There’s a pattern in Stitch ‘N’ Bitch but it requires sewing, so I just made up my own. (I started by knitting a flat rectangle about the size of the bottom of the iPod, and then picked up around the edges and knit in the round to the top. Then I cast off the front and continued knitting flat to make the flap. I even put a yarn-over in the right spot to leave a hole for the headphone jack!) I haven’t sewn any velcro on it yet, which is why I have to hold the flap closed here. Also note: I finally got my iPod in-ear headphones! As Ron suggested, they are a bit tinny. I only really notice it on the badly-ripped songs though. I’ve fiddled with the equalizer settings to boost the bass and that helps. But I’m back in the Cult of the White Wires!
Another recent finished object is the red scarf I’m sporting below. The wool is some handspun and hand-dyed stuff I bought at Camp Creative in January. The thickness varies from thread-thin to finger-thick. I just cast on eight stitches on my 10mm needles and knit til I ran out of wool. It went about six feet. I’m loving it. Oh, and my sister tells me that “skinny scarves are in” in the US, so unbeknownst to me I’m already in style for the winter!
Oh, and there’s a work in progress in that last picture too: my muscles. I’m on Week 3 of my weight training regimen and I’m feeling pretty darn buff!
I’ve made a little progress on Cheesylove, as you can see here. I finished the ruffle (casting on 1,008 stitches!) and I’ve just started the body decreases. Apologies for the bad picture; thick black wool is hard to photograph with a crappy camera. I’m using a 60cm-long 5mm wooden circular needle. (I’d have preferred an 80cm but it was all they had, and I like the wood.) I’m going to have to stop here, though, as I think I’m the only one that’s actually begun. My sister is understandably distracted by this whole “getting-married” business. I’ve got some other knitting projects to distract me though, like the Stitch and Bitch I’m hosting this Saturday. Fun!
