Girl Who Knits

So sister/roommate Kara is out of town for 10 days. Leaving me the house to myself. I used to live alone so I thought it would be nice to have the place all to myself and that I would enjoy my alone time but frankly, I am feeling a little lonely.  I miss Kara...sigh. 

I also thought that I would be knitting like crazy.  I have been knitting but not crazy-like.  It has been pretty slow going on all my projects and for some reason I haven't been able to commit to one.  Each project is strewn about on the parts of the couch I am not sitting on, all screaming "pick me, pick me."  I just need to settle on something, buckle down, and finish.  Here are a couple updates:

Rambling Rose: I am on the left front (the part with the pretty rose chart).

What I have been working on the most is a new project...

Oh yes, I have joined the many ranks of the Green Gable-rs.  I love the color I found at my LYS.  It is Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Willow Leaf which is like a bright olive green.  The color in the picture is not quite accurate—it is a bit lighter in real life.  I am almost to the point where you put the sleeves on a holder.   I can't wait to get there because then I can really try it on.  I am loving top down sweaters mainly because you get to adjust the sizing as you go. 

Next up, I need to start my lace project for the Amazing Lace...my team introduction is soon to come.  So stay tuned for that.

Also, thanks to everyone for your encouragement on my Deep-V Vest.  This week I am going to embark on operation goodbye wings.  Cross your fingers.

As for tonight, I think I will get some knitting done.  The question is...which project?

So even though I had written off my Deep-V Vest attempt as an unfortunate, un-wearable mistake, I still check out the knit-a-long to see how everyone is doing. I mean, I still love the vest and I am planning on making another one come fall but I do still love the the one I made. I love the colors and I worked hard on it and the stitches look good but...it just doesn't fit well. I really had no hope.  That is, until, I read this post today on the knit-a-long.

It appears Marika had the same wing problems I did and I am cautiously optimistic about her fix.  So do you guys think this could work on mine? Is there hope after all?  I would have to frog the armhole ribbing and figure out how to re-pickup the stitches to the size I want it and then sew to secure it and cut the extra material. In my head it works but is there anything I am missing that I need to take into consideration? Should I try it?

I am relying on the greater wisdom of the blog world to give me advice. Of course if no one gives me advice then I will take that as a sign.  A sign for what I don't really know.  If you have any ideas for what the sign should be then you can let me know that too. 

Soon I will have news of another...yes, another...project I cast on for and another...I know, another...knit-a-long I joined.  I am crazy.  But I also found out I have 15 days of vacation that I have to use before the end of August or I lose them so it looks like I have some summer knitting days ahead. 

My first teammate for the Amazing Lace is...

the Baltic Sea Stole! 

It came down to Icarus and the Baltic Stole.  Thanks for all your comments, the advice really helped me narrow my choices.  It was tough but I settled on the stole because I love it and I already have the yarn (see right) I want to use for it.  That is Kaalund Expressions in Wild Oak colorway.  I know it is going to be difficult (lace pattern on every row!) but I am excited to see just how difficult.  I still want to do Icarus (and most likely Print 'o the Wave too) so I will be keeping my eyes peeled for great yarn to use for those projects.  Who knows, maybe the summer of lace will bring more then one teammate.

It is the sister/roommate Kara's birthday today (go and wish her a happy birthday!).  I don't know how I feel about her getting older.  Is it bad that her turning 27 makes me think that I will be turning 31 this year.  Yikes!  To sum Kara up, well there is no way to sum her up.  She is funny and beautiful and creative and clever and the best. roommate. ever.  I thought I was done with roommates but when both of us needed a place to live at the same time I felt right about living with Kara and am so glad I listened to my gut.  We are completely different and totally the same.  We share many obsessions including knitting, Gilmore Girls, and Baskin Robbins ice cream.  There is no one I would rather knit with than Kara.  I just love my girl.

Here are some pictures from yesterday's Happi-tiser (Kara calls them Happi-tisers because appetisers make her happy) picnic:

Good times at the park (Kara's the one with the tiara.)

My poor attempt at cupcake decoration...they tasted good though.

Niece Ellie loving her cupcake.

It was good times.

And finally...Mom.  For those of you that don't know, my parents live in Hong Kong.  So, they live far.  I miss them always but on days like today the distance hurts a little more.  If they were living near, today we would all get together for a big mother's day dinner.  Maybe we would sit outside because it has been so nice.  We would share inside family jokes and there would be lots of hugging and teasing going on.  I am sure at some point we would also watch the Survivor finale together (Kara, Dad and I have fun watching that show together.)  We are a close family and we get, love, support, and accept each other. 

There is one thing we all feel passionate about.  That is, our mother.  Mom is and always will be, the heart of our family.  She is smart, kind, thoughtful, and compassionate.  Everyone loves being around my Mom.  She is the best teacher I have ever had.  She is wise and is not afraid to share her mind.  She cooks, sews, reads, travels the world, teaches, adjusts to new cultures, worries over her unmarried daughters (think Pride & Prejudice), and delights in the successes of her children.  If I am blessed with a family of my own someday, I hope I can be even a fraction of the woman and mother she is.  I love you Mom.  Happy Mother's Day.

Yes, I joined another knit-a-long!

1. Icarus Shawl
2. Baltic Sea Stole
3. Print 'O the Wave Stole
4. Leaf Lace Shawl

All are beautiful.  You see my dilemma?  I need help.  So which is your favorite? 

As I write this post Kara, her (and my) friend Meredith, and I are singing Karaoke Revolution for the PS2.  Could there be a more amusing pastime?  What is funny about it is we are all singing slouched on the couch and I am blogging when it is not my turn.  We are very relaxed and efficient revolution-ers.  Right this second Meredith is singing "You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman".  Darn her, the crowd seems to be liking it.  Just as in American Idol, this game is all about song selection.  Kara is now singing Michelle Branch's "Everywhere".  A song she would never in a million years listen to on the radio.  She is doing good too.  Oh, it is my turn now...

...Aw yeah everybody.  I got a perfect score on "Time After Time".  I had to go with a ringer.  I am song selection queen.

So what have I been up to knitting-wise?...lots and lots of ribbing. 

First, there is Forecast...

This 2x2 ribbing actually goes pretty fast but since the warmer spring weather I have lost my motivation for this sweater.  I still want to finish it and love it but there is no way I will be able to wear it until fall.  So I am okay with a slow pace on this one. 

Next, there is Rambling Rose...

Okay, I am LOVING this sweater.  I know I am only on the back but the yarn is so soft and is knitting up so pretty that I am very hopeful this will turn out well.  I actually just finished the back ribbing last night.  This 1x1 ribbing knit on 1's was not so fast.  It would have taken me a lot longer if I wasn't so in love with the garment it is creating and am really excited to get to the front.  I want to wear this sweater while picking flowers in a field.  It seems like a sweater I could have deep, romantic, and meaningful thoughts in.  That is just how I feel about it.

So I am about to sing the final song in our last round of the game.  The problem is this round is random.  Meaning the game picks the song for you so forget about song selection.  Kara is singing "Pain"—a crap "hard" rock song.  Oh it is amusing watching her try to belt the chorus she doesn't know.  My turn again...

I got..."Play that Funky Music White Boy".  Junk.  This game was mine until I had to sing that one.  Kara won.  I was robbed.

I loved May Day in Hawaii.  Flowers, hula, and maypoles.  Sometimes I miss school since it would force celebrations on me.  I didn't even remember it was May Day today until someone at work mentioned it off-hand.  This weekend, however, I did notice spring had arrived.  I love my house.  I have only lived there since last June so I have been enjoying the surprises of spring since I have no idea what is going to bloom next.  Like take a look at the purple budded tree...

This bloomed almost overnight.  So pretty!

In honor of spring, one project I have decided to take on is planting a garden.  Now I have not done any form of gardening in the past.  In fact, I could be known as a killer of house plants—I just can't seem to keep them alive.  I have no idea why I think I can plant and maintain a garden.  I do have help though.  There is this nice retired guy who lives down the street...his friends know him as "the tomato king"...and he has volunteered to teach me.  He has given me advice, prepped the ground, and helped me plant my tomatoes.  Here is the garden as it stands today (tomatoes planted, everything else soon to be planted):

The blue plastic are walls of water that you put up to protect the plants from frost.  Those come down on May 15th.  I have yet to plant the rest of the garden...really need to get to that this week.  I am thinking beans, carrots, cucumber, squash, bell peppers, peas, and onions.  I think that sounds good but any suggestions out there?  What's that?  You want to see my tomato plant growing?  Well, okay:

The tomato king tells me I will have tomatoes from July until October.  I don't know if I would bet on it but so far I seem to be keeping my plants alive. 

This weekend I casted on for the decidedly spring project Rambling Rose.  I have miles and miles of ribbing ahead but I am LOVING the way it looks (pictures soon to come).  The yarn and color (Rowan 4 ply soft in #378 Daydream) is very feminine and I think matches well with the very vintage-y, girl-y accents of this sweater.  I think the season is propelling me to work on this sweater because it so wants to be worn while the flowers are in bloom.  I must work on it tonight. There I go...my own little May Day celebration.  Happy May Day everyone!

Leave it to my blog readers to put my problems with Size 0 needles in perspective.  Who knew there were size 000 or 0000 needles?  And who knew there were people that actually knit with these sickingly small needles?  I tell you, the lengths we knitters go...

And now, a mini-FO.  Just after I got my new camera a few months ago, I decided to knit a camera pouch for it.  It was a quick little pouch that I made up and got really excited about until I tried it on and realized that I made it a little too small.  I didn't want to bother making a new one at the time and so I have been using the too small pouch ever since.  My friend saw the pouch and asked me to make her a camera case too.  She is going on a trip this weekend and so I thought it was the perfect time to deliver.

The biggest problem I have with the pouch I made was that it keeps sliding off my camera while in my purse.  So I knew the case I made for my friend had to have a drawstring of sorts.  And then I knew what I needed to make...I have long thought the soft drawstring pouch on the cover of Last Minute Knitted Gifts was beautiful but hadn't really had a reason to make one.  So I grabbed some left-over Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in a silverish pink color and using US 6 double points, knit this baby up:

I made a few modifications to the pattern: I cast on less stitches, made the roll brim at the top a lot shorter, and did not add the fringe to the i-cord tie.  I love it.  It even fits my little camera perfectly.  I almost wish I didn't have to give it away.  But I think she will like it so I guess as long as my friend is happy I will be too. 

You know, I just find it hard sometimes to give away my knitting.  We spend so much time together.  We bond.  When I give a knitted piece away, I almost feel like a bitter ex-girlfriend.  "They will never love the knit like I did." Of course, most bitter ex-girlfriends are delusional.  In the case of giving a knitted gift to a non-knitter, I believe that statement is actually true.    Only a knitter can fully understand the time and effort that goes in to a knit project.  Truly, they won't love it like you will.  They can't.  But does that matter?  Probably not.  I am really just trying to justify keeping the pouch for myself.  I won't though.  Really it only took me about 4 hours so we are not TOO attached yet.  For you and I pouch, it will have to be a short love affair.  Adieu.

I never really understood the idea of size 0.  Doesn't zero mean nothing?  So how can someone wear a size nothing pant?  And don't get me started about size 0 needles.  I casted on for the Simply Lovely Lace socks from the Spring 06 Interweave using size 0 double points last night.  I am only a few repeats into the cuff and I have to be honest...I am hating it.  I don't know if it is the sock pattern or the size "nothing" needles.  Knitting it has been painstaking. 

I love the yarn.  Sweetgeorgia superwash sock yarn in Moss.  Love it.  So soft and the color variation is so subtle—it is just beautiful.  But I am seriously debating continuing.  Doing a simple sl 1, k2tog, psso takes forever.  I am thinking about frogging and re-casting on using 1's.  Do you think that will be better?  I can't imagine it would change the size too much.  I just don't want to knit something that I am not enjoying.  I don't know.  I think I will try again another night and see how I feel. 

Forecast is coming along nicely.  Here is the upper body finished:

I feel like it looks like a little child sweater in that picture.  I am loving this sweater.  So much.  First off, I have tried it on and at this point I think it will fit well.  I LOVE the texture of it.  All the purl stitches really work for the style and feel of the sweater.  The color is much deeper in real life and has some great yellow undertones to it.  I will try next time to get a better picture of the color.  The pattern is easy to remember and it has been really fun to knit.  I knit the upper body several inches longer then the pattern calls for and I am going to knit the ribbing at the bottom longer too.  I am wagering that the sweater will not be done in time to wear before it gets too hot but I am going to keep working on it anyway. 

This weekend I am going casting on for Rambling Rose.  So that should be fun.  More small needles.  Just as long as they aren't 0's. 

I don't know what to do with myself...I only have one project on the needles.  That's right...one!  Forecast is coming along great—I am loving the texture of the pattern—although I have had to ignore it a little to make 6 swatches for a finishing class I am taking at my LYS on Saturday.  I am very excited for the class and just know afterward I will be an expert finisher.  I just know it! 

I have been wanting to cast on for other projects but I think I have too many things I want to do and that is making it difficult to decide.  Plus sister/roommate Kara and I made a yarn diet pact that we won't buy any new yarn until Estes Park in June.  That's right...June!  I was committed until I saw Knit and Tonic's entry today.  How much do I love the allhemp6 cool hemp ponchette?  I love it...so much.  Pre-yarn diet Erin would have purhased the pattern and the yarn today.  Kara tells me I can buy the pattern but not the yarn.  Oh the agony.  What good is the pattern without the yarn?  Argh.  Hrumf.

So this leads me to my next train of thought, the projects that have been tempting me but have not yet made it on the needles.  Every day the list grows and alters.  Some of the projects I have purchased yarn for, others are just a glimmer in my eye.  Here it is as it stands today:

Socks (Due to a recent obsession with sock yarn, I must start knitting more socks.)

• Simply Lovely Lace Socks (Interweave Knits Spring 06)...love these and will probably make next with my sweetgeorgia moss yarn (see right and make sure you expand the picture so you can see the pretty blue undertones to the yarn—ohhh I love it).
• Evening Stockings (Knitting Vintage Socks)...I adore these socks, just haven't found the right yarn for them yet.
• Jaywalkers (Magknits/Grumperina)...this seems to be an initiation of sorts—all sock knitters must at some point in their lives knit Jaywalkers.  Plus I have the perfect stripy yarn (see right).
• Over-the-Knee Stockings (Handknit Holidays)...tried to knit these already but the yarn was all wrong on way too large needles so I frogged. 
• Mata Hari (Craftoholic...scroll her gallery to see the picture)...have some hottish pick Lorna's Laces yarn I am thinking of using for these.
• Springgrass (Craftoholic...scroll her gallery to see the picture)...v.v. pretty.
• Bed Sock (Knitting Vintage Socks)...I want to buy some nice cashmere as the pattern recommends.
• Hedera (Knitty.com)...a lot like the simply lovely lace socks, perhaps too much?
• Pomatomus (Knitty.com)...I love how unique this pattern is.  Perhaps I should use my Sundara Cherry Blossom? (see right)

Clothes/Sweaters

• Rambling Rose (Rowan 39)...bought Rowan 4-ply Soft for this sweater in color #378, Daydream (see right).  I want to start pretty soon.
• Streakers Shrug (Interweave Knits Spring 06)...love this but no yarn yet.
• Somewhat Cowl (Knit and Tonic)...great work top but again, no yarn.
• Argyle Deep-V Vest Revisited (Eunny)...want to knit one that fits this time. Maybe I need to choose different yarn? 
• Bonita Shirt (Interweave Knits Summer 06)...can't really tell if I like this yet since all I have seen is the small preview picture but I want to make a good summer top and this one looks pretty.
• Beth (Rowan Ribbon Twist Collection)...I have been wanting to knit this one for a while but just don't want to spend the money to knit it in Ribbon Twist...and yet I like the ribbon twist look so I am stuck.  Still want to knit it though—any good substitutes? 

Scarves/Wraps

• allhemp6 cool hemp ponchette (kpixie.com)...my new obsession.
• Trellis Scarf (Interweave Knits Spring 06)...have the most beautiful Schaefer Anne sock yarn (see yarn) that I want to use for this or another wrap.
• Icarus Wrap (Interweave Knits Summer 06)...again, have only seen the preview but think it looks gorgeous.
• Branching Out (Knitty.com)...have long wanted a nice lace scarf and love all the versions of this one I have seen all over the blogosphere.
• Dad's Sharfik (Grumperina)...bought some knit picks Andean Silk yarn in Slate for this one. 
• Baltic Sea Stole (Fiber Trends)...do have some gorgeous Kaalund Expressions yarn in the color Silky Oak bought in New York that I could use for this (see right).
• Print O' The Wave Stole (Eunny Jang)...could use the Kaalund for this too.

I am thinking I should always have a sock on the needles and 2 other projects (one big, one less so.)  That sounds about right to me.  So what do you think?  Which projects should I put on the fast track?

I can't sew.  I knew this and yet I still choose a knitting project that involved me having to sew.  Perhaps I was in denial—I must have thought the bag would sew itself once the knitting was done. 

It all started when Kara put some gorgeous yarn in my stocking at Christmas.   Classic Elite Miracle in this cool orange color called Cuban Sunset.  On a whim I choose the Accessories Pouch pattern from Handknit Holidays and started knitting over the holiday.  The two panels knit up pretty quickly and they turned out great I thought.  Then I was faced with the inevitable reality, I had to sew it.  Oh, I distracted myself for a time with buying the lining and zipper but then I had to buckle down and actually do it.  I enlisted the help of a friend who sews and sat down to her sewing machine.  She started by guiding me and then she stepped in to fix a mistake of mine and then she just took over and did it.  I was thrilled with this set-up. Only problem was that the zipper was the first part that was sewn and it was done by me and it was done poorly.  Initially I thought I could live with it but I took the clutch home and stewed over it and then my perfectionist tendencies took over and I knew I had to fix it.  Or, erm, I should say, my friend had to fix it because goodness knows I couldn't do it.  Anyway, months later the clutch is finally done.  My friend returned it to me yesterday and I was able to seam it up last night. 

Here it is:

Pattern: Accessories Pouch

Source: Handknit Holidays

Yarn: Classic Elite Miracle, #3385 Cuban Sunset, 2 skeins

Needles: US 5

Alterations: I added a third row of the scallop pattern to make it more of a "clutch" and less of a "pouch."

Notes: I love it!  The yarn is perfect since it has these great yellow undertones to it that give the scallops a lot of depth.  Plus it feels very silky.  Perfect for a night time clutch. 

I tried to get an action shot but I am taking pictures during lunch at my cubicle so all shots of me holding the clutch turned out miserably.  I was going to ask someone for help but really, how do you explain why you need an action shot of your knitting for your knitting blog to a casual co-worker. 

Take a look at the inside (complete with sample items the clutch could potentially hold one day):

I love how it turned out.  I would make more...you know, if I could sew.  Someday maybe...someday.