An Addition to the Flock

About a week ago I finished a second Butterfly for my best friend. Posts about it had to wait until it was received, but now my own little suspense hell can be banished by flaunting it all over the internet.



Isn't she adorable? ^_^


In case you wanted a brighter shot of it.





Pattern: Butterfly from Rowan 37

Yarn: Approximately 400 yds of Handpainted Yarn's laceweight wool in "roanoke."

Needles: US 8 for the frill and body, US 3 for the picot bind-off and the straps.

Modifications: Knit in the round, altered the sizing to be S at the bottom and L at the top. I also made it smaller and used US 3s instead of 7s for the picot bind-off.
Notes: The pattern was much easier the second time through. This one only took me a couple of weeks, as compared to the month+ of the first one. I also taught myself to knit backwards in order to avoid switching around the needles constantly while doing the straps.


I knew I'd love this pattern enough to make 6 of it. ^_^


Anyway, on to what else I've been doing. I've of course been working on the Adrienne Vittadini Lace and Ruffle Cardigan, although only at work. It's just too much mental effort to work on while watching movies or surfing the net at home. The only time I have to work in it is during my break at work or when I don't feel like doing anything other than knitting, which is rarely. Picture 11" in mauve lattice stitch and you'll know what my progress looks like. Because it's sort of anticlimactic at the moment I don't feel the need to post a picture, but I promise I will once the back is done.

I've also made progress on my Colchique. The front is done and the back is temporarily stalled 7" in until the rest of the yarn I'm using for it unkinks enough to be usable. It's hanging in my very steamy bathroom as we speak, not exactly relaxing the way I hoped it would. I suspect I'm just going to end up winding it into balls without caring about its kinkedness. I also hope I'm going to have enough yarn for it. The stuff I'm using is discontinued; 10 skeins won off of ebay last year and made into Berrocco's Tatania pattern, which wasn't as nice as I wanted it to be. So far I managed to make the front and 7" of the back of Colchique without even touching Tatania, but now that I've had to frog it to make any more progress I'm starting to worry about how much yarn I have left. The skein wrappers were useless in that all the information they gave about amounts of yarn was "50 grams," so I'm really winging this. If worse comes to worst I can always shorten the sleeves, but one of the biggest things I like about Colchique is its ridiculously long thumb gusset sleeves, which I'd hate to sacrifice. If I try to work this out rationally it goes something like this:

-I used a little bit more than 3 skeins of yarn for the front of Colchique, which had to be modified to accomodate the boobage.
-My back has no boobage, so it should take 3 skeins or a little bit less.
-That leaves about 4 skeins, or 2 apiece, for the sleeves.
-If I make the sleeves simultaneously I won't have to worry about ripping either one out to make them even.
-I really, REALLY hope 2 skeins +/- is enough for each abnormally long sleeve.
-Oh crap. The collar.

Gee, that went well.


Ugh. In order to not think about the Colchique for a little while and have something fairly mindless to work on while watching movies I started the Pomatomus socks. I'm using the remaining skein-and-a-half of Silja sock yarn left over from my ruffled gloves. Which are not in here, but can be found on Craftster. So far I'm loving my new 40" size 1 circ which allows me to magic loop both socks simultaneously and the stitch pattern, which is unique and fun to watch while not being too difficult or tedious. If there's good lighting tomorrow I'll take pictures, but right now it would be just my worktable and uberwattage spotlight and it wouldn't be very flattering, so you'll have to trust me when I say that they look really good so far.

The Start of a Flock

Pattern: Butterfly from Rowan 37
Materials: Approximately 400 yards of Handpainted Yarn's laceweight wool, about 300 seed beads, size 3, 7, and 8 circular needles.
Guage: This thing is so stretchy it doesn't even matter. Besides, how often do I actually swatch? o_O
Modifications: Knit in the round instead of flat, straps solid instead of tied (yes, I know there are little bows. They ended up too long after blocking and I didn't care to shorten them.), a little extra room added for the boobs.
Thoughts: After I got used to the pattern this went surprisingly quickly. I love how it turned out. It's a gorgeous, ethereal, complex-looking FO with a minimal time investment. Because I've planned on making more than one Butterfly from the beginning I've also planned on making each one with slightly different construction details. I think I'll make the next one flat and use a smaller needle for the @(#*%ing picot bind-off. Hell, I may just use a smaller needle for the whole thing. I also want to try the tiny crochet hook method of attaching the beads.

In addition to the two Butterflies I already have yarn for (both for me), I've ordered enough yarn for 3 more, all for other people. Hopefully when they're all done I can get a picture of them as a flock. ^_^



So the Butterfly is done and the Jaywalkers are stalled. Of course I needed a new project, so I started in on the immense challenge of simultaneously translating and knitting this gorgeous French pattern.



I joined the knitalong sometime last year, and it's so far been immensely helpful. They've managed to translate a large portion of the pattern into English and even though I haven't been working on Colchique for more than a couple of weeks I've kept track of enough posts to not be completely lost. So far the only real downside to this pattern is that it's a terrible strain on my fingers. Because it's knit with worsted weight yarn on size 4s the resulting fabric is ridiculously dense. Pretty, yes, but very, very tight. After realizing that I can't work on Colchique for more than a couple of hours each day I decided that another project would have to be started to give my joints some relief.

In the middle of my search for the perfect pattern salvation found me in the form of a surprise package. Apparently my Unconditional Swap recipient loved her stuff so much that she felt the urge to repay me in kind. Her package contained an altered tin that she'd made from one of the Altoids tins I sent, handmade purple stitch markers, purple glass gems, 2 balls of a chunky mauve cashmere blend (CASHMERE!), and something I've been lusting after for almost a year.



Yeah, you heard what I said. Adrienne Vittadini Spring '05 pattern book featuring the utterly gorgeous Lace and Ruffle Cardigan, pictured on the cover. Oh. Baby. I spent a few days drooling over it, then put it on the shelf while I mentally went through my stash to find a suitable yarn. Nothing was really coming to mind until I reached into one of the stash crates to get another skein for Colchique and espied a cake of purple cotton that had once been part of a huge thrift store sweater. Ah-HA!

Last night I finally swatched (shush, I know.) and, having gotten gauge on the first try, cast on. The stitch pattern is fabulous, even though it took me the better part of the evening to work through 2 12-row repeats and I couldn't really do anything else while working on it. It may have to be set aside for awhile when the yarn for more Butterflies arrives, as I have self-imposed birthday deadlines to meet, but I'm going to try my best to have it done before Spring gets here.

@(#%@&^#$!!!!!!!!!

This was apparently the wrong year to make a resolution to not buy any more yarn until my stash is no longer all over the floor.

A Crewneck in Disguise

My tripod finally arrived and, as promised, I took pictures. So without further ado, the nameless mohair sweater.



Pattern - Some random pattern from the Fall 2005 issue of Family Circle Knitting. I have no idea who wrote it or even what the pattern is called.

Materials - Almost 7 skeins of Cervinia Softer knit on US 5s.

Modifications - Additional length in body and sleeves, waist shaping. I should have modified the neckline too.

Review - Nice mindless knitting. The stitch pattern of the sleeves kept this from being nothing more than mindless stockinette, and I like the construction (knit top-down, sleeves first, then each side picked up from the sleeve edges). What I do not like, however, is the neckline. I was expecting it to be, well, more like the one on the model. I can't do a great deal about it now, but I'm going to see what effect removal of the neckband has. Neckline issues aside, this is soft, warm, and fits well.



By the neck time I post I should have some completed Jaywalkers to whore out, as well as another pattern for you to guess.











Holy shit, I wrote "neck" up there, didn't I? See? See how I keep dwelling on it? Something must be done!

Lace, Ladders, and a Bit of Blinding Ignorance

Having designated the Butterfly (yay, you guessed correctly!) my "work knitting," I've made not as much progress on it as I would like, but it's enough to whore out, I think.



It's always enough to whore out.


But it still looks like a crumpled mass of purple ramen, so to satisfy my growing urge towards a spray bottle and iron, I decided to pin out the lace to see how it might eventually look.



Oh............fuck.


Apparently my stitch markers are causing the "side seams" to ladder. The @(_#%^@)*#% Stitch Markers!!! I mean, those St st blobs look bad enough on their own but are sort of unavoidable when one takes a flat pattern and knits it in the round without an excruciating amount of mathematics, but seriously now, LADDERS?! Way to smack a huge neon "HEY THIS IS WHERE THE SIDE SEAMS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE" sign on my gorgeous Butterfly! Arrrgggh...

My only plan thus far is to block the everliving crap out of this thing when it's finally done. Hopefully with patience and a lot of steam I can coax those laddered stitches into conformity, and if not, well, you see those 2 lovely balls of yarn in the background? Guess what they're going to be. ^_^



I promised you some painfully blinding ignorance too, didn't I? I'll try to transcribe this as accurately as possible.

The Scene - I'm sitting in front of the TV at work, watching some horrendous movie on Bravo and happily knitting away on Butterfly. A woman who has just placed a carry-out order and must now come to grips with the new 15 minute hole in her life spots me and wanders over.

Woman - ...I guess I'll come watch some TV. sits down

Me - I warn you, this is an absolutely terrible movie.

Woman - giggles

a few minutes go by and the movie gets worse

Woman - What are you making, a bag?

Me - Actually, it's a camisole.

Woman - What?

Me - A camisole.

Woman - What's that?

Me - It's like a tanktop but...lacier.

Woman - Ohhh, so is that, like, sewing?

Me - .........................No, it's knitting.

Woman - Oh.

silence ensues

Guess the Patterns!

That's right, it's time to guess the patterns I'm currently tackling. Why am I currently tackling new patterns? Well, because I finished that nameless mohair sweater and have yet to take decent pictures of it. I'll try again when my new tripod gets here, although I can't make any promises about lighting.



Right, so, Pattern 1:




aaaaand Pattern 2:



I'm going to see if you can get them right before I go and give you a hint.

I am Such a Slacker

Oh.....oh dear. I haven't updated in a month? At least I knew when I started this thing that there would be long periods of time between entries, but still, seeing the archive dates next to each other really makes it sink in.


In my defense, I spent the last month frantically making all sorts of things and, well, it's not as if anyone reads this anyway. Good. Now I feel better about being lazy in this one respect. I'd love to show you all the lovelies I made for people, but somewhere in the midst of the gifting scramble I had the brilliant idea to hold off on pictures until things had been received, and the pictures never actually got taken. Now I have to contact everyone who got handmade stuff and demand pictures of them or decide that I don't care that much about flaunting their gifts all over the internet.


Astoundingly, I managed to knit quite a bit for myself in the midst of all the madness. I finally figured out why the Corset Pullover pattern hated me and ultimately decided to attach the straps to it in the way I'd imagined raher than the way the pattern dictated.





I'm sorry, that's a horrible picture. >_<


Anyway, I absolutely loved the stitch details in this. The twisted rib has one of the most awesome textures ever, the columns of slipped stitches form a nice, neat border between things, and the plain stockinette side panels prevent added waistline chunkiness. I also loved the lace on the sleeves, even though it was eerily similar to the stitch pattern for the Adrienne Vittadini Eyelet Cable Jacket which has been put on indefinite hold (more about this later).





I haven't quite figured out a decent format for project details yet, so please bear with me.


Pattern
Corset Pullover. Written by Robin Melanson. Published in Interweave Knits Fall 2004.

Materials Used
4.5 skeins of Lion Brand Cotton in black on US 5 circular needles. The cotton is sort of heavy, but it works with the stitch pattern beautifully and didn't cost me a ridiculous amount of money. It also made seaming much easier than it usually is and was substantial enough to not make my hands cramp up while trying to hold onto it. If I could have afforded a silk/cotton blend I would have definitely gone that route, but I'm pleased with my cheap-o yarn selection.

Time
I honestly have no idea how long I spent on this. I've always had a lousy sense of time, but I get so wrapped up in knitting that it makes it impossible to keep track of any increment smaller than months. I suppose for this reason it's a good idea for me to post in here on a regular basis.

Modifications
I chose to make this in the Medium size, but added some extra decreases and increases both to make this large enough in the boobage area and to make a finished shape that followed my curves closely. The suggested length of not-quite-hitting-the-top-of-the-pants would have looked ridiculous on my elongated hourglass shape, so I added a good 4" to the overall length. Speaking of length, I would have liked the sleeves to be a bit shorter. Mine ended up longer than they were supposed to, so if I ever made this again I would space the decreases a bit closer together. I would also read the pattern thoroughly before even casting on; I didn't notice the "at the same time" instructions until I was well past the point where they applied and ended up frogging half the front as a result.
I noticed that a lot of people decided to leave off the cinch straps, but I have a fondness for hardware on clothing that cannot be dimished by lousy model photos and illogical strap placement. The d-rings combined with the lacyness and black make me think that this is what Lip Service knitwear would look like.




Well, that wasn't the only thing I was selfishly knitting. Having finished my gothy sweater I raided my stash for ideas and discovered the 13 skeins of black Cervinia Softer I'd gotten on sale from smileysyarns.com. Mohair is not something that lends itself to any old pattern, but fortunately I had one laying around that it was born to be used with.



At the moment I've gotten all of the knitting done with the exception of the neckline edging. That and seaming are all I have left. I actually wouldn't be nearly so far along on this if I hadn't had travel complications. Being stuck in an airport on standby for 4 hours means that I got to knit something like 9 hours total on Dec. 22nd. I finally gave it a rest when my right pinkie refused to stop aching, but continued to work on it at a leisurely pace for the entire week of my vacation until I ran out of yarn a few hours before my return flight. I finished the body of it last night and would be working on seaming right now if the ball of my thumb didn't ache and I wasn't drunk on Dayquil. Expect to see it done within the next week.


Also in progress is the uncomparably gorgeous Butterfly. I couldn't exactly afford the recommended kidsilk haze, but handpaintedyarn.com's lace weight wool was suggested as a more affordable substitute. I spent something like 2 hours just scrolling through the different colours and drooling. Having finally settled on 3, I reasoned that at $5.95 for more than enough yards to make the camisole version of Butterfly I could easily afford all 3. This of course means that I will be knitting at least 3 of this pattern, although most likely more. You see, I think this would be perfect for my mother and best friend and sister, even though they all live in the sweltering wasteland that is San Diego. I should perhaps use something not as warm for their versions, and they're all "autumns," so the 3 decidedly "winter" colours I got will apparently have to be used for.....er......me.



This is, by far, the most complicated pattern I have ever attempted. It's also the first lace knitting I've ever done, and even after the relative thinness of the Softer yarn this stuff feels like thread. Delicious purple wool thread, yes, but still !%#!&^# thread. Reportedly the frill is the worst part of the whole pattern, however, so once I've finished and grafted (*retch*) it into a circle this should go a lot faster. I've decided the make this first one pretty much exactly as the pattern intended, although I refuse to graft more than I absolutely have to, so the frill is being done in one long strip. Other than that I'll probably just make it a bit more roomy up top for the boobs, but if the lace is really stretchy I can probably leave it as is.



Oh, I also made some armwarmers a while back.





They are, to date, the most useful thing I've knit. I wear them almost every day at work as a defense against the bipolar climate control that interprets 70F as "alternately 50F and 90F." They're toasty enough to banish goosebumps but easy to slip off once the in-store temperature reaches its "sweltering inferno" setting. They're more or less based on the Hurry up Spring armwarmers from SnBN, albeit longer, black, and done in a smaller gauge. I used some random sport weight acrylic for them which, while not the softest or prettiest stuff in the world, is warm, durable, and washable.


Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about the Eyelet Cable Jacket! Right, so it's knit up, seamed together, and I've done one side of the ribbed neckband, only to discover that I've run out of yarn. Normally this would be no big deal. I'd go to the store, buy some more, and resume knitting. However, the yarn for this project lived a previous life as an ugly XL GAP sweater that I picked up in a thrift store to recycle. Because it was an XL I figured I'd have more than enough yarn to knit the size small jacket, but apparently I made an error in calculations somewhere. Now the only way this jacket is going to get done is if I miraculously manage to find another GAP sweater that was made with the same kind of yarn. Considering that I live out in the middle of nowhere and rarely have the opportunity to go thrifting, this is not likely to happen any time soon.

Damn you, recycled sweater.

It's Not a Cinch

ARGH! SO CLOSE! Yes, I know I should be working on presents, but this is just so pretty and I'm so close to finishing it! I just can't for the life of me figure out how to attach the cinch straps! This damned pattern says to sew them into this one particular column of stitches, which I understand. Easy, no problem there. But then it says to sew up the sides, "catching straps into seam." WHAT THE FUCK?! How....wha...ARGH! Goddamn, I really hope there's some blindingly obvious answer to this that I'm just not seeing because someone needs to point it out to me.


Damn you, lovely, frustrating pullover! DAMN YOOOUUUUU!!!

THE LIST

Now that my swap's over I can really buckle down and make some holiday gifts for a bunch of people who probably won't appreciate them nearly as much as their requests would lead one to believe: my family.

So far my gift list looks something like this:

~Edit~
Thanks to an unusually productive conversation with my mother I now have wonderfully specific ideas for everyone on my list!
~Edit~

Mother - A handmade sweater. How someone who knits and crochets can view this as a reasonable request absolutely baffles me. I'll keep it in mind for 2007, but shall have to keep pestering her to provide me with an alternate gift for this year. Ah-HA! She has expressed a desire for massage/bath&body stuff.

Father - What on earth does one give to the man who already has everything and doesn't really give a damn about most of it? The Monty Python DVD boxed set, apparently.

Baby sister - A knit sweater/jumper/dress. This one is reasonable. After all, she just turned 2. I've almost completed her gift, in fact. Just have to finish seaming. I'd say something more specific, but shall withhold details and pictures both until after the holidays, just in case.

Other sister - Well, I made her clothing for her birthday and she claims to have worn it several times already, so it would appear that another step in that direction would be met with gratitude and approval. Now I just have to come up with specifics. Nevermind, she already has tons of clothes on the way. Bath products for her instead. Maybe a camisole top to match her birthday skirt.

Brother - Alcohol. Goddammit, I really don't want to encourage my 19-year-old brother's substance abuse, but the only other idea I've had (a cock sock) has been stolen by my sister. He actually requested a sock (the left one), which is how the whole cock sock idea came about, but in the past, when he's asked for seemingly ridiculous things and received them, he's always seemed to conveniently lose them within a matter of days. Civ 4! And the cock sock, since I don't trust my sister to actually finish one.

Mother's Boyfriend - Hat and scarf set in a dark brown, dark green, or black. Easy and done as of 15 minutes ago.

Aunt - A tattoo design. So far she's specified a size and tentative style/theme. She and I have always been the "black sheep" of the family and have a sort of running joke about her being my "real mother." She's requested a tattoo that will somehow represent that outsider quality, but I haven't put enough thought into it to come up with anything yet.

Best Friend - The real challenge here is to figure out what not to give her. She's so easy to make or buy things for and so damnably cute that I'm tempted to just spoil her rotten. At the moment I'm leaning towards something stenciled, but that could always change depending on what inside jokes we come up with in the next couple of weeks.

Cousin - We're not terribly close mostly due to age and geographical distances, but I'm told he likes anything to do with video games. A gift for him should be quick, easy, and storebought.

Great-aunt - She reportedly likes stationary, scented candles, soaps, and small earrings. Her style can be best described as "conservative." No problem here, thanks to her list of specifics.

Maternal Grandmother - She's been sweet enough to send me giftcards for my last couple of birthdays, even though I neglect to keep in touch with her. I feel bad about being socially lazy and want to make it up to her, but so far she hasn't e-mailed me with any requests. Sources report that she enjoys travel, cooking, and gardening. An assortment of seeds has been suggested.

Paternal Grandmother - Same deal as the other one. I have a slight advantage here, as we share a healthy genetic dose of creativity and artistic ability. Travel, cooking, and gardening also. I'm seeing a common theme here.


And that's that. As you can see, I've made not so much progress and December starts tomorrow. Unless I want to end up giving a lot of last-minute purchases I'd better start getting some good ideas. Please, help me.

~Edit~
I got some help! Ideas are always appreciated, however.

Yay, She Loved it!

Also, I have a disturbing and horrible secret to share with you: I rap about knitting. Yes, that's right. Rap. Behold:

It's charted this time
for more complex stitches.
Lemme lay out a rhyme
'bout the twisted rib, bitches!

The TWISTED RIB!
Makes the hos come a-runnin'!
The TWISTED RIB!
This fucker's just stunnin'. ^_^



Don't judge me. >_<

The Unconditional Swap

I signed up for the November installment of craftster's Unconditional Swap, in which one chooses a person who has already joined the swap and posted 3 wishes for crafted items. One then selects one or two wishes from the person's list to fulfill and does so within a two week period. One then posts one's own wishlist, but is not guaranteed any wish fulfillment. Anyway, the girl I selected wanted a hobo bag, little tins to embellish, and a brooch to hold her shawls closed. I chose to fulfill the bag and tins wishes by making/assembling the following:


I gave her several tins and oddments to adorn them with, as well as two hobo bags. I couldn't decide between the two ideas I had, sooo.....she gets both.



I'm particularly fond of the grassy one. I love the way the stencil turred out, the closure, the lining, everything. It just looks so polished.


But I have to admit I had a lot of fun with those ribbons. And the fabric was so bloody SOFT.



Anyway, I hope she likes her stuff. I stalked her for several days before I figured out what to make and I really did put a lot of effort into it. I also hope she takes better pictures, as these turned out not as good as I would have liked.

A Negligent Beginning

Hello. I'm Juniper and I've decided that this will be mostly concerned with my knitting. As soon as I figure out my way around this blog program I'll get some pictures and links up. Until then, I post regularly in my SG journal.