And She Knits Too!

Socky Saturday

Another finished object:

I think they're nice socks. The multi-effekts was a neat yarn and I hope my brother-in-law likes them. My next pair will be for me using something fancy like Koigu or Cherry Tree Hill. But I don't feel like working on socks right now--so it will be whenever the moods strikes me.

Wanting a simple project I started this:

It's Amy's lovely perfect pouch. This will be the bag to hold my phone and wallet to avoid another broken-doorknob fiasco. I love little bags, and I've been surfing for more kureyon colours to make a whole bunch of these. I think they'll make nice gifts for friends.

Between this and the repairs to Craigs vest (which I've been avoiding) I see lots of i-cord in my future.

Covetous

That word sums my current obsessions up perfectly. A knit buddy of mine used it and I knew it perfectly captures that feeling I get when I have to have something (not always yarn related).

In the last two days I've found two patterns that I'm totally obsessed with knitting. I must get the yarn and patterns for this blue cardi in Rowan Cotton Braid (see a bigger picture here):

And this lovely Dale cardigan, Ingeborg which I found via Wendy:

The problem is $$$$. Both of them are rather pricey. In the grand scheme of things I think I want Ingeborg more--it's a classic piece that would be a challenging knit and which I could wear for a long time (even to work when I have a job next year!) I've also never done a Dale of Norway pattern (though I have done some colourwork) and that's a knitting area I want to explore.

Now to figure out how to get it and when I'll have time to knit it! See, covetous.

Humbled

Wow! Thanks for all the kind words about Rogue. I blush.

No knitting content today. I developed a wicked headache yesterday afternoon, so once Craig got home I put the hood up on my Rogue and laid in the quiet dark until all the pain pills kicked in. I love this sweater. It's soooooo soft against my achy head.

I'm feeling better today. And I get to go out with my mom-friends for beers (we used to meet with our kids, but we now prefer to leave them home!) and show off my sweater.

Finished!

Hooray! I'm finished Rogue. The last bit was a struggle, but I'm happy with the result:

I really wasn't happy with the hem so I decided to rip it out and start again. No small feat when it's knit into the body of the sweater. So I boldly snipped and unravelled it from the sweater, and then picked up and knit back the hem to the right length, bound it all off and sewed it in. It worked perfectly, no biasing, no wonky cable sides, nothing.

Hemmed edges was just one of the many things I learned by knitting this sweater. I also learned about closed celtic cables and their structure, the perils of over-steam blocking, how to do a fab kangaroo pocket without sewing, and that I can be totally taken in by a sweater pattern--this was one of the most fun knits I've ever done. Here's some more photos from the side and back:

And some silly shots here and here (it really is hard to photograph yourself and get the lighting right).

Consolation prize

Rogue didn't dry on time for me to sew it up last night. So to console myself I started something new. The Classic Aran from Starmore's The Children's Collection for Xander. I'm using Peruvian Highland Wool I bought from Elann and it's knitting up nicely.

Doing Rogue has really rekindled my love of textured knitting so this sweater was the perfect next-project choice. Besides, it's also rather small so should knit up in a jiffy.

My other projects aren't being neglected. I did work on the socks a wee bit, but they just don't keep my interest. I also hand-felted and re-shaped the back neck of Craig's vest, which is now drying beside Rogue. The entrelac jacket is stalled though--too many other temptations.

I also did some blog housekeeping. My WIPs are now in their own photo gallery.

I also must say that I've shown tremendous restaint today. I have not gone to the basement to see if Rogue is dry. I'm pretty sure it is. I'll try hard to be good and work on it tonight, after thesis.

This close...

I grafted the hood. It was an interesting process of trial and error as I've never grafted knit and purl stitches before. The pattern indicated that I could graft or 3-needle bind off; I didn't want the seam so I opted for grafting. What I did was graft the RS just like normal, but when I came to purl stitches I flip it over, pulled the needles through and grafted on the WS, then I flipped and did the right side, continuing this way until I was done. Here's some pictures--I was alone so I did the best I could to show how I did it:
Grafting on the right side:

Grafting on the wrong side:

I also made sure that I grafted continuously so there would be no holes. This means that if the next stitch was a purl I still threaded the yarn through that stitch and then turned it over to graft. So half a stitch was done on the wrong side at each knit stitch/purl stitch change. I don't think I'm explaining it well, but it did work for me. Look ma no visible seams (I used a dpn to show the grafted part):

And here's the finished hood:

I was so psyched after this victory. I would be finishing this baby today. Then I tried it on. It seems I was a bit overzealous with the steam blocking and it was too big and not to gauge. So I had to wet it all down and reblock it. Now its sitting to measurements, wet, on my blocking board. I would rather this, than have it all seamed up and ready to go and have it too big. I'll put the fan on it and maybe I can sew on the sleeves tonight...well more likely tomorrow.

Hoodie

I'm done knitting the hood, let the finishing begin. The problem right now is time--or the lack thereof. Turns out the hood is a challenge--lots of grafting. And kinds I have never done before--purl stitches, live stitches to edge stitches. This is going to take some quiet time--that is, when kids are in bed.

But here's some pictures of the hood cables so you can see them. This one shows the left and right pieces together:

And this one shows the hood from a side view:

Pretty eh? When's bedtime?

A wee bit further

I didn't get in as much knitting time as I would have liked yesterday. Only about 20 rows on the hood. It sure is pretty though. So no pictures or progress for me. However I do anticipate finishing or almost finishing this baby on the weekend. Hooray.

Now it's time to get to the thesis. I am writing a few pages a day. But I want it to be more pages a day. Discipline, Steph, Discipline.

I managed to resist

I worked on my thesis like a good girl yesterday. I even wrote 4 pages. Like many things, it's the starting to do it that's hard. Once I'm into it, it's actually difficult to stop. In my pre-kid days I would just write and work until I wanted to stop, however long that would be. Now I have external constraints which mean I have to be productive in the time that I have. In lots of ways that's a good thing, it keeps me from writing lots of junk, and there's nothing like those happy little faces when I pick the kids up at daycare.

And, hell, I'm knitting more. I worked 30ish rows on the hood last night while watching my favourite tv night. The cables are evolving beautifully:

So, another day of writing and another evening of knitting ahead. Sounds like a good routine to me. And thanks everyone for the support. I know I'm bitching a lot about it (comes with the grad school territory), but I really appreciate the cheerleading!

Bad student! Get to work!

I finished the second Rogue sleeve last night. I set myself a bedtime, but when it came along I realized I only had 5 rows to go, so I finished it. This morning it was calling to me and I took 30 minutes to pick up and start the neck/hood. I swear I only did two rows and then I ran up here to blog and then get to work. It's pretty eh?

These are the days when working at home is tough. I would so rather finish this sweater than write my thesis. Hell I would rather do the laundry and clean my stove than write my thesis. I'm not at the point where I would rather get surgery without anesthetic than write, but I could see that day coming along.