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Fair Isle is Annoying But...

It sure does look pretty!

Trendsetter is fun. It would make great sparkly purses.

Knitting FUN! (note capitals showing use of sarcasm)

Well, I've actually reached the yoke I posted on Sunday. The wave pattern, which I was originally planing to do with a contrasting color. I turned the purls to knits because otherwise it looked stupid. And then I realized I was doing Fair Isle.

I hate Fair Isle.

OK, to be fair, I very very rarely knit Fair Isle, and I occasionally kinda enjoy it, but really, I kinda hate it. I always end up tangling the yarns, and I never know how far to carry them over and I just... think it's a poopy head.

But it looks pretty. And therein lies the problem.

Note for the Uninitiated Fair Isle = multi color pattern knitting (not stripes)

I'm Too Tired to Be Coherent

Sitcom already needs to be rewritten. Yarn is much stiff and my hands are cramping.

One day knitting and I've already gone through a skein and a half. Yikes.

A Pattern for a Blog

~~1. Create Blog~~ (blogger is a good place to host you)
2. Make it pretty
3. Write a lot about a lot of stuff
4. Start pimping yourself
5. Continue pimping
6. Become well read as well as well loved
7. Cast off and run into the knitting sunset
8. Cut yarns, sew seams, block and model!

Hey, I'm half way there!

So, I've become slightly more organized. My knitting patterns have left the folder where they get kicked around, stepped on and bent to move to a 3 ring binder, complete with dividers, where I'm sure they will get kicked around and stepped on. But now they have more protection and I can at least pretend I'm more organized.

Also, I will be exceptionally organized with Molly's new shirt. I'm writing the pattern as I go along, so I'll know what the hell I'm doing. Read what I got here.

In yet another move which will prove that I will die sad and alone, I've created Cabbage Patches and Koala Bears, a new memory blog.

Sitcom Slut!

I have yarn for Molly's project! I'm knitting at Molly's today, so I'm testing out the yoke on a cat blanket. It's a big wave.

Worked over 10 stitches
1: k4, p2, k4
2: p3, k4, p3
3: k2, p6, k2
4: p1, k8, p1
5: p all
6: k4, p2, k4
7: p3, k4, p3
8: k2, p6, k2
9: k1, p8, k1
10: p all

I just made a kitty hat for Kati, sometimes known as Kittenlid. It's completely finished.

I started it yesterday.

I am such a weirdo.

Uck.

So, I went to the LYS today to try to find yarn for Molly's sitcom slut. Talking to the ladies while glancing through the black and commenting on the pretty but $12.50 a skein yarn. I say something along those lines and hear:

"We don't knit because it's cheaper. We knit because it's unique."

Excuse me? I knit because it's cheaper and unique! I can make stuff unique to my body and that costs about $20. Icylove cost about $18 for yarn, and about 75 man hours. My sitcom cost about $15. You can make baby blankets for $10. My yarn for Cherry Twist cost me a grand total of $7. (It's in its 5th incarnation now too)

I'm not a yarn snob. I'm kind of the opposite, since I hate the way some wool feels. I see absolutely nothing wrong with using Red Heart TLC (which isn't the yucky feeling kind) or Lionbrand. If it only costs $5 a skein, why not?

But then, I know people who think it's fine to spend $100 on yarn for one project. They're just not me or my cash strapped friends.

PICTURES!

Lots and lots of pictures.

For instance, icylove is almost finished in terms of pattern. Picture below:

And here's my mom and I in our matching hats:

Hope to finish typing out the pattern tonight. WHY didn't I keep track of the stitch count when I was making the darned thing?

New and improved icylove pattern here. Still no pictures, and I need to take some time to sit and count a lot of tiny stitches. And you know, fix those last few glitches and cut ends. Did I mention I've already moved on?

The Cherry Twist, v 1.0

Version 1 of Cherry Twist:

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Well, it was an ugly day for me, but still...

The cut was good, but the size 13 needles and doubled yarn made me look way bulky. So, ripping out and trying again with 8s. Of course, if I go down to 7s, I don't have to resize... (4 stitches an inch in 13s double stranded, 4.5 stitches an inch single stranded on 8s) Interesting...

My god! What was I thinking?!

I went to Joann and Michael's to look for yarn for Molly's shirt. Bought some buttons, but no yarn.

But I could have bought yarn for the breakfast bag. D'oh!

Argh!

Cherry Twist is finished. I tried it on.

Too large in the shoulder cape, the doubled yarn does not look attractive. Would probably look better in single strand yarn.

Three days of knitting down the drain.

On the bright side, only three days of knitting down the drain.

Knitaholic!

OK, scary thing is I'm almost finished with Cherry Twist, having decided NOT to wait for the pattern author to get back to me and just be 2 stitches short. It's only about .5", so not a big.

Then I ordered personalized labels for my finished projects.

It's official.

I have no life and will die alone.

Email away!

Written to the author of the Cherry Twist Pattern:

Anyway, I'm currently making an incarnation of Cherry Twist and I have a question about the stitch count. I'm making an extra large, and I'm in the waist shaping right now.

According to the knitty pattern, I'm supposed to do 6 row decreases at 4 stitches a row to go from 106 to 88 stitches. The problem? That's 24 stitches, and would have an actual count of 82. To get from 106 to 88 would be a 18 stitch decrease total- which, of course isn't divisble by 4.

Basically, HELP! What am I supposed to do?

Cherry Twist! (Pt. II)

I just started the body of the Very Cherry Twist from two knitty's ago. It's very fun. I ended up double stranding the cotton and going to size 13s to get gauge, but I definitely have it.

I'm knitting it as an XL, which is for bust measurements 42"-44". With a bra and a deep breath, I'm a 42." Here's hoping this works.

In other updates:
I really really really want to start Molly's slutcom. Alas that I still haven't made it to Michael's with her to go over yarn and buttons. I even photocopies what I want to the yoke from the library today.

I'm out of the homespun I need to finish Ma's stash hat. It was Molly's. I assumed she had more. I was wrong. I guess I will buy myself a skein and then give it to Molly so she can knit blankies for her kittens.

I can't start Mom's forsythia because the pattern book has vanished off the face of this earth. Do you have it?

All of these are reasons why I'm making the cherry twist.

Cherry Twist!

I'm always amazed that you can go from this:

to this:

in about 2.5 hours.

This will turn into Cherry Twist from knitty when I run out of projects. Which may be now.

Also, cute stash hat pictures here and here.

The unthinkable has happened.

I have nothing to knit.

What?! Dear gods, why? But it is true. I can't find the pattern for Mom's forsythia, I'm out of neutral for Mom's stash hat, and while I've pretty much designed sitcom slut, I'm picking up the yarn tomorrow. I could probably swatch the sweater I want to make for myself, but I'm not going to start that project for at least a month. I could rip out the original forsythia and start Cherry Twist, but that's in Mom's room, and she's asleep.

I have nothing to knit and an hour of television left. This is terrifying.

Forsythia

The Plan:
Turn this:

into yarn and reknit completely. Luckily the sleeves are already ok. Now I have to pick out stitches. I hate that.

Icylove pics coming, I swear. Rough pattern is up here, but no pics there either.

I feel like such a blog poser for having an angelfire page and using the html generator and not buying my own domain name and things like that.

Then I realized. This is a KNITTING blog. I already AM a poser.

Making Mom a rainbow stash hat.

Have sketched out sitcom slut and the screw you old navy sweater. Which will probably be made with this blue wheel of worsted wool my aunt gave me for xmas two years ago.

Eh. I'm just tired and a little grumpy.

I made me a rainbow stash hat. It is tremendously large. Now my mom wants one too.

I didn't know my mother WORE hats!

Edit: Here's a picture...

No! Arg! Arg! No!

Icylove is finished. I did the last of the sewing last night and heard the Hallelujah chorus singing. I tried it on. It fit. There's just one problem.

The arm holes are just leetle too small. This leetle too small is enough that it occasionally feels uncomfortable and tight and possibly restricts my movement, but not a lot.

Correcting this would involve unsewing the sleeves, unraveling the front and back and making the arm hole decreases like 2 or 3 rows earlier. If this were cloth, I would simply cut half an inch deeper. Grrr. Grr, I say.

Perhaps I can sew myself a new seam, and hopefully I won't have to reknit the sleeves.

It's only with my left arm, too. Argh, argh, argh.

Knitty's Surprises?

I hadn't seen knitty's surprises. But this is the cutest thing I've seen in a while. Alas the rib cage measurements only go up to 36" and I'm a 37". Perhaps when I lose an inch or two and don't abhor cotton dk anymore, this will be worthwhile. (After I finish icylove and Mom's forsythia, dk is stupid and I don't like it anymore)

Good News!

So, I have to finish the last sleeve and do some sewing and... ICYLOVE WILL BE FINISHED.

I'll have to make a pattern too, and try to figure out how to resize.

Oh right...

And in other news...

Have taken lots of icylove pictures. By the time I post them, no one will remember what I was talking about.

Wonderbras are detrimental if you're trying to centering knitting on your boobs.

My Denise Kit arrived. The Denise Kit is the sexiest knitting item I have ever seen. My brother wanted to know how needles can be sexy. He does not understand the power of the Denise Kit sexy. Alas that it starts at 5s instead of 4s.

DIE ICYLOVE DIE!!!

In the past few days I have:
-ripped out sleeves (about 2 more times)
-finally finished one
-sewed it onto the shirt
-tried it on
-realized the shoulder seams were too large
-ripped out and reknit the back and front to make it the right size
-sewn the shoulder seams
-lost 6 rows and redid the shoulder shaping
-resewn the shoulder seams
-redid the neckline
-ripped out and redid the neckline cuz the first time looked sloppy

I swear, this project will never, EVER be finished

And the fact that Highlander is on at 1 in the morning is very bady for my sleeping schedule.

I have had more sleeve issues- ripped out and restarted about 4 times.

Finally decided on the half sleeves even though the lj knitting community was horribly against it. Just goes to prove I will ask people's opinions and then completely ignore them. Yay!

Finished the sleeve and sleeve cap to realize I'd made the cap about 1.75" too long. Oh wait... The sleeve cap and the arm holes are supposed to match up? Surely you jest?

Trying again. Will see how it works. Serves me right for having frickin' huge arms and needing 96 stitches for them.

Well, I guess it worked, Knitting Goddess. So, you get a stash hat to go to charity. I'll start it soonish.

Swatch before wash: 6.5" x 5"

Swatch after wash: 7" x 5" (after some tussling)

Let me just say: Waaaaaaah?

I've realized I post nothing but pictures of myself.

I'm sort of sorry about this. But then I'm knitting only for myself right now. When Mom's forsythia project gets finished, hey, there you go. Or Molly's sitcom slut ever gets started. Right.

It also states in my 100 things that I'm vain. So what do you expect?

I think it's about bed times.

Icylove: The Entry

Right. Mad icylove drama. Mad, mad, mad icylove drama.

First, just in case you were wondering, this is what icylove looked like in k2p2 rib and about a size too large.

Right. Not flattering. And yes, that is my bra. It's called clear straps.

So, after knitting abour about 11 hours yesterday, I finished icylove (well, the body, not the sleeves), sewed it together and tried it on. Decided the hearts were not high enough on zer bosoms, ripped out a couple of rows, did the back shaping and resewed. Much bettter. Added the collar as well. Here are the two side by side:

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You'll agree, the second is much better. It's so pretty!

Have enough yarn for full sleeves. Was originally thinking half. Decisions, decisions. Of course if I do full sleeves, I'll want to put hearts on them too. =)

Minor panic attack. Realized while I swatched icylove, I forgot to wash the swatch. I'm making this out of 100% cotton. That shrinks. Does mercerized mean preshrunk? Yeah, I didn't think so either. Fuck. Made a new swatch, just dropped it in cold water with a dollop of woolite, forgot about it for 15 minutes, and pulled it out. Original measurements? 6.5" x 5". Currently? 7"x4.75". Still damp as well.

Dear Knitting Goddess,
If you make this work out, I will be your best friend forever and ever and ever and my next project will be a charity project (and also probably a hat). PLEASE?
Love,
Xtina.

Knitting Goddess #9

Thursday, July 31, 2003

Fair Isle is Annoying But...

Knitting FUN! (note capitals showing use of sarcasm)

Tuesday, July 29, 2003

I'm Too Tired to Be Coherent

Monday, July 28, 2003

A Pattern for a Blog

Sunday, July 27, 2003

Sitcom Slut!

Saturday, July 26, 2003

Friday, July 25, 2003

Thursday, July 24, 2003

PICTURES!

Wednesday, July 23, 2003

The Cherry Twist, v 1.0

Monday, July 21, 2003

Argh!

Knitaholic!

Email away!

Sunday, July 20, 2003

Cherry Twist! (Pt. II)

Friday, July 18, 2003

Cherry Twist!

Forsythia

Thursday, July 17, 2003

Wednesday, July 16, 2003

Tuesday, July 15, 2003

No! Arg! Arg! No!

Saturday, July 12, 2003

Knitty's Surprises?

Friday, July 11, 2003

Good News!

Wednesday, July 09, 2003

Oh right...

DIE ICYLOVE DIE!!!

Sunday, July 06, 2003

Thursday, July 03, 2003

Wednesday, July 02, 2003

Things to see...