Gettin' stitchy with it

Half a Tux scarf.

nobody@vox.com(Cathy W) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 21:58:34 -0400

I had it set up for the picture at a funny angle, so you can see both the "illusion" effect (check out the head and feet) and the stripey bits (you can kind of see the body, but part of that is your brain filling in the pattern...)

I've got quite a bit more than that done now.

Also pictured: Violin Strings. Her Majesty is uninterested in Mommy's knitting.

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Note to self:

nobody@vox.com(Cathy W) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:00:09 -0400

Remember that stash of brown acrylic your sister dumped on you a couple years ago? Remember how you were going to turn it into an afghan?

In addition to the Log Cabin you were contemplating, it might also be useful to contemplate a mitered square of some kind - as you just described it to the person in the CrochetCrochet group, "work it like a granny square, but back and forth across 2 sides/1 corner instead of all the way around. Offers plenty of possibilities to play with stitch patterns, too."

Might be less forgiving of undersized skeins of yarn - might be more. Towards the end of a full-sized blankie the rows would be awfully long.

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Stitching Olympics: Falling off the balance beam.

nobody@vox.com(Cathy W) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:41:36 -0400

I'm all alone in the office for some reason. I got in a little later today than I have all week. I've got a good hour to stitch.

I reached into my bag and found that my floss didn't make it back in there last night.

Argh. This will cost me the gold for sure.

(I've almost got the backstitching on the mermaid done. It's a PITA, but it really makes a difference in the finished results.)

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Stitching Olympics: Day 3 Update

nobody@vox.com(Cathy W) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:22:08 -0400

Tradewinds WIP - 8/4/08

As a reminder, the picture to the right was my starting point. I have good news and bad news on my "bronze" goal (finish the mermaid and the block directly under the spyglass).

The good news is that I'm chugging along on it - the cross-stitching on the mermaid is nearly done (and most of what's left is one color), and I've got about half the backstitching done on it. The backstitching has proven to be a little dithery - the key specifies colors for "waves", "hair", "flesh", and "green on mermaids", and having to decide which color to use on, say, the border between a lock of hair and the arm caused some brain-spin.

The bad news is that that involved a good 12 hours of stitching over the weekend - at a minimum. There are not going to be too many days like Saturday where I can park myself on the couch with the remote and a big bottle of soda and only come up for air when my choices for Olympics-watching are beach volleyball, soccer, more soccer, and badminton. I can also not cross-stitch (at least not a TW pattern) in the car. I think I will be pushing it to make my silver goal (the fourth dolphin), much less the gold (the other two corners).

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Tux scarf update

nobody@vox.com(Cathy W) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:26:36 -0400

I am having two problems with it.

1) Starting the second chart (the word "Linux") seems to be equivalent to a bad case of second-sock syndrome. Based on comments on Ravelry, I'm not the only person who's run into this brick wall.

2) It would go much faster if I could do complicated mathy things like count to 4. I've had to rip out probably a good quarter of the knitting I've done since starting the Linux chart. There's one row I had to rip out twice. Go me!

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My rigorous crafting schedule

nobody@vox.com(Cathy W) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:26:54 -0400

It's working out pretty well so far.

I did in fact finish spinning and plying the blue Romney that weekend. Forgot to take into account: it takes a long time to ply 150 yards of anything on a spindle. Oopsie.

Got the heel turned and gusset picked up on the Jaywalkers, made a note as to which pattern row I left off on, and then stashed it. It is stashed.

Didn't finish the cross-stitch project I wanted to finish, but I did get a frame for another one I'd forgotten I'd actually mounted to a board. Hopefully it will fit...haven't tried it yet.

I'm making unbelievable progress on the Tux scarf by (wouldn't you know it?) just sitting down and knitting it. I realize now that my time estimate for the scarf may be a little under - I forgot to take into account the "blank" rows I want between the two chunks of pattern. This is a monstrously large scarf - it's 11" wide and might end up being 6'-7' long. Not quite into Dr. Who territory, but huge. I hope the person I'm knitting it for (a long-time Internet buddy) is fairly tall. (Hubby is not. I might want to find a smaller Tux graphic when I knit his...at a minimum, use finer yarn.)

This upcoming week I must wash out the blankie for my new niece, and also put her name and date on the birth sampler. I'm embarassed that we haven't gone to see her yet...but Elder Niece's birthday is next weekend. :)

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I need a plan.

nobody@vox.com(Cathy W) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:19:33 -0400

Oy! Projects are piling up on me.

1) I have my second Jaywalker to the point where I need to pick up stitches around the heel flap.
2) I have that blue Romney top almost all spun.
3) I suspect the recipient of the Tux scarf I'm working on would like it before winter - and I also need to make one for Hubby.
4) The Busy Bee sampler is in progress, but I haven't scored the charm and sequins yet.
5) I would like to participate in the Cross Stitch Olympics on Livejournal.
6) I would like to participate in the Ravelympics with Team Pejoritive Epithet (sponsored by Atheist & Agnostic Crafters)
7) I just picked up 4 dolls to dress for the Goodfellows - and two of them are a different shape, so I can't just whip out the pattern from a few years ago. Due date is Oct. 1, so at least there's plenty of time.
8) I've only completed 1 2/3 projects from my goal list for the year.
9) I have yarn for another pair of socks burning a hole in my stash.
10) I have to go to work, sleep, and at least keep Mount Dishmore from taking over the kitchen.

So...my plate is full, and my tendency to flail is stopping me from making too much progress on any of it. So...I will sit, and thoughtfully analyze where I am.

Project 10 is kind of ongoing. It limits me to about 90 minutes of crafting time most weekdays. I can get in more time if there is gaming (I can knit and roleplay at the same time!), and on Fridays and weekends (assume about 3 hours those days - but gaming is unpredictable). This must be kept in mind as I set reasonable goals.

Project 9 can kind of be scratched: I must return the Cat Bordhi book to the library, and I must hide the skeins of sock yarn from myself, and then it won't cross my mind until I let it.

Project 2 will take me two evenings of work to finish up - one to finish the length of top into a single, one to ply it. I think that will be my Goal For This Weekend. It would be my goal for tonight if I'd remembered to throw my spindle in my car this morning...alas.

Projects 5 and 6 are mutually exclusive. And it's a tough call, because I think if I were to concentrate on one craft for two weeks, I'd feel guilty about neglecting the others. But I think what I'm going to do is enter Tradewinds in the "UFO Comeback" event for Cross Stitch, because it will let me scratch an item off my Annual Goal List. This has a requisite time frame: August 8 through August 24. (Another option is to do TW and Busy Bees as a freestyle entry...)

The Jaywalkers are slightly stymied at the moment - I need to get off my butt, dig up a small crochet hook, and just gosh darn pick up those stitches. After that there are probably about 15 hours of work left to do. Should I add "Learn to knit faster" to my goal list? One happy thing: it finally occurred to me that I might want to try on the completed sock to see if it fit, and it did, although I had the same problem a lot of people have reported where it's a little hard to get the ankle part of the sock over my heel. Go me.

The Tux Scarf is taking an eternity - the chart is wide, and each row has to be knit 4 times! Argh. Estimated 40 hours of work left on it. For a freaking scarf! Hubby's will take about 50 on top of that, but does not need to be mailed to Baltimore.

There are a couple quick hits on the Goal List: I've got 2 of the 3 stitched items finished, and one more (an Altoids box) will take a very limited time to complete - perhaps another "get it out of the way" project for this weekend? And the "knit from my own handspun", "stranded colorwork", and "Irish crochet" projects don't have to be very large. That would leave curtains and Mo's art...

And the Goodfellow dolls? They're smallish. Two of the dolls need hat and dress, two need hat, dress, and booties. I remember it took me a couple hours apiece last time I did it - I'll call them 1 stitching day each, plus 2 more for design/research. And I will not touch them until September 1.

So, the plan:
Tonight: Tux scarf.
Saturday and Sunday: Spin. Finish Altoids tin. Pick up gusset stitches on socks; work on socks for remainder of weekend.
Sunday night: Hide all projects that are not Tux Scarf.
Monday thru August 8: Tux scarf. At estimated 1.5 hours/day, + 1.5 hours/weekend day, that gives me 36 hours of knitting time. It's conceivable that I will finish it by this point. Work on Jaywalkers if I get done early.
August 8-24: Hide all the knitting. Work on Tradewinds. Remember that it's more portable than I think it is.
August 25-31: Finish the scarf if necessary. Jaywalkers. Should be able to finish both in this time period.
September 1-7: Dress the dolls.
September 8-30: Hubby's Tux Scarf. On the standard plan, this will account for 51 hours of crafting time. Should be enough to finish.
October-December: Goal List projects. Freestyle.

During this time I will probably have to allow myself small amounts of time to spin and work on the Busy Bees, or I will go nuts....and then there's the bit about no plan surviving first contact with the enemy. We'll have to see how this all works out.

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Knitting book reviews

nobody@vox.com(Cathy W) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 10:50:48 -0400

Romantic Hand Knits: 26 Flirtatious Designs That Flatter Your Figure

Annie Modesitt

First up: Romantic Hand Knits, by Annie Modesitt.

One step in my usual process for reviewing a pattern collection that I've checked out of the library is to go through it with Hubby, asking for a thumbs up/thumbs down on each design. He really enjoyed the process this time; the designs are...I'm trying to think of a good word for them; this is not "bedroom wear" for the most part, and "flirty" doesn't seem to get quite to the right point either. But at any rate the designs flatter the models, and the photographs flatter both, and at least one garment in the book will flatter almost every body a knitter is driving around, including taking into account individual tolerances for bare skin and clingy fabrics.

The designs abound with lace, ruffles, and embroidery; some are revealing, some are almost the opposite of revealing, some are clingy, some are flowing. There is a wide range of sizes available (most tops have a largest size that fits a bust over 50"!). Includes technique tips for "Crochet for Knitters" (some projects have crocheted accents) and handling knitted millinery - I am in love with the two hats presented in the book, and one of them maybe to the extent that I will learn to handle millinery wire! I don't know if I'd buy this book right now, but several projects are going into my Ravelry queue, and I would happily check it out again.

New Pathways for Sock Knitters: Book One

Cat Bordhi

Also checked out this week: Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters.

I don't think I've gotten as much as I can out of this book, because I read it without yarn and needles in my hands. As it is, I have to take Cat Bordhi's word for it that the stitches that make up the gusset in a conventionally-constructed sock can go absolutely anywhere in the relevant section of a sock. The concept hurts my brain.

This is definitely going on my bookshelf. It details eight nontraditional ways to put a sock together - some toe-up, some cuff-down - and, perhaps anticipating difficulty people like me will have learning to do them without actually doing them, each "sockitecture" is accompanied by a pattern for a baby sock for use as a learning tool, a generic Master Pattern, and a handful of adult-size sock patterns, most of which seem to just beg for hand-painted sock yarns. Each pathway offers different advantages to a designer in terms of highlighting a stitch pattern or customization for fit - and one was sufficiently different and beautiful on its own that she felt adding any design features beyond the architecture was gilding the lily.

The directions seem clear - I will not be able to tell whether they are or not until I actually try to knit them - and cover both DPN and two-circular knitting methods. (Magic Loop is mentioned briefly, not given its own set of instructions, but I believe they can work from the two-circ instructions...). And, for use in conjunction with the Master Patterns, there is a "parts bin" of generic heels, toes, and cuffs, and a designer's reference for getting socks of a particular size when knitting at a particular gauge.

Thumbs up. Every sock knitter needs a copy of this book.

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Okay, I lied.

nobody@vox.com(Cathy W) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 10:00:17 -0400

When I went into the stash to see if I had a good fabric for the Busy Bee sampler, I found sitting there, all lonely and neglected, three patterns I'd kitted up last year. They made puppy-dog eyes at me. "You loved me last year! Enough to stick floss and fabric in a bag for me! Why don't you love me anymore?"

So, umm, I'm actually stitching Little House Needlework's "Kitty Cottage Sampler" (scroll all the way to the bottom). I love the style of LHN's samplers, and I love how frakking FAST they stitch up - about five hours in, I've got the archway, a good chunk of cat, and a bunch of the lettering done. This one might only take me a couple weeks.

And, umm, that "Curly Q Ewe" on the same page is calling me. Sheepies!

Speaking of calling me, I should not ever randomly surf the Victoria Sampler catalog ever again. In my brain, I think I spent about $1000 on leaflets and embellishment packs - their whole alphabet sampler series, plus a few more. Their embellishment packs really kind of freak me out - the alphabet sampler series are not big (3"x12") but the packs run about $35. Lots of silks. I love silk, but not $35 worth for something that small.

In an entirely unrelated note, it warms my heart to know that Barack Obama is willing to hold some crazy woman's knitting for a photo apparently without a second thought. I thought about making an attempt at such a thing, if I were ever in sock-holding range, but I suspect the Secret Service would frown upon it, all things considered.

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I think I found my next cross-stitch project.

nobody@vox.com(Cathy W) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:41:42 -0400

Last shopping trip at the LNS, I saw a stitched model of a sampler I really liked. I almost grabbed the pattern, but thought, "I just bought stash I don't need, and dropped off some framing that will turn out a little pricey. I shouldn't."

When I went back to pick up the framing order, I saw it again - but not only was that framing order pricey, but I felt the need to grab a whole year of Flip-Its* in one sitting because there was only one copy left of some of them, plus some floss, plus Daughter insisted she wanted a project and Hubby didn't help me talk her out of it...so I didn't want to drop any extra cash.

Then I got home, and a vague memory of asking someone at the store to find the pattern for that model kind of filtered back up. And there it was, already in my stash. I suspect that nearly buying the pattern a second time is a sign that I really, really, really love this pattern - so next up in the queue, now that I've got the project for my impending niece or nephew as done as I can get it at this point, is Sweetheart Tree's "Busy Bee" sampler. If I do it on 28-count instead of 32, I've got everything I need but the beads, charm, and paillettes.

(I'm finding lately that I'm really drawn to traditional and semi-traditional samplers, especially ones that include specialty stitches, which kind of makes the number of Teresa Wentzler non-sampler designs in my stash kind of discouraging...ahh, well.)

*Flip-Its are small, cute, monthly-themed designs by Lizzie-Kate. The obvious thing to do with them is, of course, to work all twelve as one somewhat larger project. They're $4.50 apiece for the pattern and a charm, which doesn't sound bad when you're buying them one at a time, but that's $54 in patterns and charms for a whole year. Plus, Lizzie and Kate apparently love GAST and Weeks overdyed threads, which add up even if you're judicious about where to use them. (They are courteous enough to provide DMC substitutions, which means I don't have to spend $2 on a skein of floss that will be used for 5 stitches in the entire project.) Plus, that turns the small, cute designs into something of a BAP, or at least a MAP. Reflecting upon this has led me to question my sanity in starting the whole thing, but I suppose my sanity has always been in question, and now I've spent $54 on patterns and charms...

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