baby sweater

So, my college roommate is having a baby, her first, and it's kind of blowing my mind that it's been over 10 years since we had ours.  Anyway, I'm making her a baby blanket and a sweater - both in Knitpicks Comfy.  The blanket is plain cotton squares in sport weight, nothing fancy, in ocean colors.  Lay it on the grass, throw up on it, whatever, just chuck it in the wash and you're good.  But I also got some fingering Comfy in cream and I'm going to make an aran baby sweater.  My big idea is to start with the bottom band and work a 2 inch cable band laid on it's side, then pick up and knit the body up.   I was thinking of making it button up the front, but maybe a pullover with neck-side buttons would be better.  I'm doing some checking about sizing here and think I'll start looking at some of my own books for sizing guidance as I start sketching.
We're going to have leftovers tonight - yum.

Doesn't look like much, yet I'm afraid of it

But I'm doing this sweater in modular prices and designing as I go. I'm using short rows for shaping of the arm holes and to give the bodice shape. Top is worked side to side and the bottom section will get picked up and knit down once I knit the arms on. Free form knitting involves a lot of ripping out but since it's mod pieces it's quick. I'll chronicle the construction.

Not sure this is a good sign

I'm going with 4's for the Glimmer. Nice hand, good variegation but ....
The gauge is 6.66 sts per in.

Glimmer

At soccer practice working on gauge swatch for my Paper Crane inspired cardigan.








The colors are richer and fuller than they look here. Hand will be important so I'm working Glimmer in 2,3, and 4. Meanwhile Kinsale dries on the back porch.

Chroma

Looking at the Ravelry boards, one sees that Chroma is a love it or hate it kind of thing. I love it, but I think appropriate use is important to maintaining the love. It's thick and thin, it felts if you look at it funny, it occasionally has big honkin' hairs in it. (All singles have that thick and thin thing I find). My only real complaint is the knots in the balls. Having to pull out lots of yarn to match up colors seems like a waste and hassle.
But the felting, that intrigues me. In the back of my mind I'm working up lined felted slippers and a felted vest.




Mmmmmm Lollipop ...

New yarn and stuff

More news at 11...

In the kitchen with Dinah

I used to sing that song a lot as a kid.
A very long suffering person I work and knit with has been making Rowan's Dinah for the better part of a year now.  This is the sweater.  I don't know why they photographed the poor model in that pose - makes her look kind of insane and the sweater really doesn't show to much effect.  But, if you have a Ravelry account, you can search it there under patterns and see some handsome FO's (finished objects).
Anyway, this poor woman I knit with is making Dinah with handspun, so not only has she had to redo the gauge, but handspun is wonky.  If you've ever knit with it you know; it leans, it does a craptastic job of making shaped sweater pieces, and so the whole project has been a nightmare, but she's almost done and it will be lovely when she's finished.
Perhaps I'm morbid but her struggles have inspired me.  I don't think I gawk at traffic accidents, perhaps I give myself too much credit.
I want to try Dinah myself and here's my materials list:

• Aloft black 
• Gloss blackberrry 
• And size 6 beads.

I think this pattern has a lot of potential, but is fraught with peril, too.  Here's why:
Color placement can wreck it - light on top, dark on bottom or you'll look like a house.  Too light of a color (pink) could make it look bed-jackety in a very unappealing way (for me).  I think those who have actual figures (I kind of look like a 12 year old boy) might want to avoid this pattern.  And for god's sake, don't let the change in fabric happen directly in the middle of your bust!  Doing that a.) draws attention to your boobs in a way that's just going to ruin conversations for blocks around and b.) will make you look like a house.  Think empire waist dress, not mohair waterfall off the chest.
So now that's I've tempted the fates in every possible way with my knitting arrogance, I'm going to make this puppy.  I'm going to reduce the poof a bit and use beads very sparingly to weight the curtain of Aloft.
And yes, this is going to have a bow!  If you know me, the bow idea will be a hoot and a half.
Happy Friday!
p.s. I'm working with my loud Aloft making a scarf - I'll take a picture soon, it's LOVELY - not sheddy, easy to work with, fantastic colors.

Fifteen inches

So I have another 5 to do before shaping the neck and shoulders for the back. Arans are a lot of fun once you get into them. Actually, everything is fun, you just have to mix it up with good timing.



Our oldest nephew is going to school in Canada. His birthday is in March. Maybe his birthday present will make the prototype for the men's version of this.

Back from the beach

We just got back from Hilton head. It was awesome.
















Oh yeah and I'm working on a new women's Aran sweater pattern.

Giving up on stuff

I have 2 sets of black yarn I want do something with; Suri Dream and Alpaca Silk.
I started with the Suri - I designed a sweater for it and got 2 inches in. I wasn't sure I was happy. I showed it to a fellow knitter who said "well, I guess you could pull it off because you're small".
And I knew - I hated it. I would look like Oscar the Grouch's cousin in it.
There is a reason there aren't many garment patterns for Suri Dream. Awesome for throws; not so much for a sweater.
I'm quite relieved, really.
More later ....

More swatching

I got a nice comment here about my swatch, and some really helpful feedback at the weekly knitting gang at work (there was a lot of love for the clear and light blue beads, the darker were seen to be too purple, perhaps).  I've decided that while my swatch had some things I liked about it, it was more angular than I wanted.  The pattern I came up with is nice, but it didn't look enough like waves, I wanted something more gentle, less corner-y.  So I have some more ideas to play with and I ordered some matte beads, I want to give those a try too.  Basically, right now I have a lot of variables to nail down, so there will be a lot more swatches coming..
I also want the design to have motion, I want to capture the idea of small breaking waves, but also open the design up to other colorways, like a soft green that would look like marsh grass:
For yarns I was thinking Eucalyptus maybe paired with Cattail for depth and for the beads some combination  of these:

 http://www.fusionbeads.com/shop/product/27642/
http://www.fusionbeads.com/shop/product/27663/
http://www.fusionbeads.com/shop/product/27560/
http://www.fusionbeads.com/shop/product/27641/
I also want to make the design so it can be scaled down, so there's a scarf version.  So, lots of swatches coming soon.  Free shipping = slow shipping.  Sigh.
I'm sure that so many options freaks some people out.  I find it totally invigorating - not in every aspect of my life, but I sure do love to design stuff.
Thanks for the help and input, pictures soon!

Still blocked

So I have a perfectly nice swatch of st. st. for my Comfy, but still no good application for it.  Something straight and hip length with a placket neck?  Close, but placket necks with clasps look kinda dumb in summer.  Laced placket neck?  Too informal?  Bah, humbug.
I think I should just put it back in the closet and get the Glacier scarf, frog it, and make another Diamond Scarf until I get inspired.
Just bought a mountain of beads - yay!  Spend those pattern proceeds!
Oh, finished my made up sock last night.  Fits like a dream and it is super comfy.
However, none of this is interesting enough to take pictures of tonight.
(Seriously, if anyone out there thinks they have a great idea for this darn Comfy, I wanna hear it)  :)

Stalled

So, I have some Knitpicks Comfy in October, it's lovely and I want to make a summer pullover.  Because I have concerns about it's durability, I want to use a stitch pattern that will keep it solid, so I was thinking a simple aran pattern.  I want the front and back to be basic squares with some shaping for a boat neck and then the sleeves will be basic with a center cable motif that will make a tab up the should seam and continue, wrapping around the two neck edges making for a decorative, non-traditional edging.
Not so big a deal, right?
Wrong.
I worked and did math and swatched and ripped out and did more math and restarted and ripped out and cast on again and ripped out again.  I've designed 3 different sets of cable configurations, and the first 2 have been non-starters.  Grr.  I think I need to use 4's on this yarn, it wants to be very loose no matter what I do, and I don't want a super loose hand on this project.
So, what I keep going back to because it doesn't make me mad, my socks.
Still using up sock yarn, I designed these from the toe up.  I just cast on 32 sts on scrap yarn and used the Nutkin heel/toe short row technique to make my toe, then picked the 32 original sts back up and worked up the foot.
I kinda like 'em.  Not even sure it's worth writing up this pattern (they're absurdly basic) but they calm me down when I want to throw my charts in the trash.

Lotus flower glove pattern now available on Ravelry

But not here yet.  I'm charging $5.00 for this pattern.
The difference between knowing how to do something and describing how to it to an unknown audience is huge.  How do you make fingers?  Ooof.  Well, done now and the prototypes are on their way to Elsie in the mail.

Designing a new thing with beads

So I have some Gloss in Winter Night and I've been thinking I want to make something with beads.  Maybe a wave motif.  But I'm kind of sick of shawls and scarves.  I'm having this itch to design a real piece of clothing with beads, maybe a cardigan?  I only have 4 skeins, though.
A vest perhaps?  Sigh.  I grew up in the 70's so I'm bell-bottom and vest averse, but maybe I can make it work.

Gloves need only 2 more fingers!

I did it

I finished and posted the pattern for the Peacock shawl. That took forever!
Teach me not to take good notes while I knit.
Right now it's on Ravelry, but I'll put a link up here too.

It looks great; as a graph

So, my pumpkin and orange bead shawl idea.
Yeah.
I graphed the whole thing out and now I've started a swatch.
I have this bad feeling that the graph looks cooler than the shawl will.
Hermmmmm. Must say, this is a first for me.