And She Knits Too!

It's about the process, it's about the process...

Butterfly is still in her cocoon.  I started seaming last night and the sleeves are too long.  I shortened them by about an inch but apparently that wasn't enough.

I understand that to be "fashionable" they should cover the knuckles like the model, but I got stuff to do with these hands (that doesn't involve lounging and looking vacuous) and they need to be free. 

In an attempt to avoid any reknitting, I took Claudia's advice and a crochet hook and did a slip stitch seam at the back where it met the collar to try to pull in the back a bit (she did it on the shoulders, but the effect is the same).  I did take her other advice and tightly mattress stitched the shoulders so they wouldn't stretch, but didn't take Theresa's advice and bind of the back stitches and pick up instead of leaving them live for the collar.  It helped a tiny bit, but not enough.  So I decided to sleep on it.  Instead of throw it out the window to teach it a lesson (it was really cold last night).

Then, I was woken up at 2:30 am by a sick Alexander (yes, again--the flu this time--high fever, runny nose, cough) and we're home together today.  Poor little guy, seems that he's run down with all the demands of school and daycare and he's catching everything.  We sat together on the couch this morning watching kiddie shows while I undid the sewing and the sleeve cap and reknit the sleeve.  I'm in the process of sewing it on now and it will be much better. 

I'm proud of myself for not living with it, but a bit pissed about all the little things in this pattern that seem to need to be tweaked.  Here's a list of suggestions from my experience and those I've found in other blogs:

1. Bind off the back neck stitches and pick up those stitches for the collar--the firm edge will add stability.

2. Do NOT use a three-needle bind off for the shoulders--again for stability a firm backstitch or mattress stitch is required.

3. Unless you have very long arms, shorten the sleeves by at least an inch (mine are 19 inches from the armpit to the longest point which matches the length of my favourite sweaters).

4. Bind off the collar stitches really loosely or else the back of the collar will curl.  I redid mine 3 times (something else I did this morning), finally achieveing success by using a 6.5 mm needle.  The collar has to cover your shoulders and run along most of your back and needs a rather loose edge.

5. Cast on all pieces loosely or your points will curl.  They did block out, but the looser ones look the best.

6. Check the errata because the collar instructions are incorrect in the pattern.

That's a fair number of hints.  I really do like the sweater, but we're having some issues since there have been so many little problems.  I concede some are of my own making (I suspect my gauge on the zigzag bits was too tight which is why I needed the required 13 balls even though I shortened everything), but many are the fault of sacrificing good finishing details for expediency or some other reasons that I don't understand. 

I think I'll cast on some nice, boring, easy, familiar socks tonight. 

Success!

Lookie! I finished the collar!

I found the yarn at Romni yesterday and got to work last night (though I wonder why they told me they didn't have it when I needed that other ball last week).  I figured things were looking my way when it turned out to be the same dyelot (again, the other one was too), and I found another ball of the pink mitten yarn in the same dyelot too (wasn't so lucky with the brown, but on two different mittens, who'll know).  And, when I started the new ball on the collar, the yarn was at the exact point where my working yarn stopped--how lucky is that?

And, I the rest went without a hitch.  I have to say, it's a helluva huge collar.  Now I'm resisting the urge to blow off the day and sew in the sleeves.  I better leave the house soon before that's what happens.  Good thing the collar is still wet.

Collared

I am not happy.  The collar on Butterfly is causing me serious difficulty.  First, in my haste to get it finished (to wear to some holiday parties) I forgot about the errata page Theresa warned me about and realized the collar was backwards about 5 rows in.

Then, with that fixed, I realized that I missed some instructions (or they were missing too) and I hadn't added the garter stitch edging to the collar.  So rip again. 

Then, many rows later, I come to the realization that I don't have enough yarn to finish.  Remember how I called around Toronto looking for one more ball of Kureyon?  Well, I should have bought 2.  Desparate at 11pm on a Saturday night, I start gathering the little bits of yarn I had and spit splicing in an absolutely denial-based attempt to get the collar bound off, understanding that it was 2.5" short, but it would "be okay". 

It wasn't okay.  The collar is too short and I need more yarn.  I re-checked Theresa's blog archives and apparently I cannot read.  I took this:

"I've gone through a whole skein of Kureyon and there's still and inch or more to go."

to mean I needed one more ball.  How did I do that?  Will I ever finish this sweater?  Village Yarns is closed today (and I'm a bit embarassed to call and see if they have another ball--I'll get over it, but I would like the yarn today).  I'm trying to think if I missed any local shops or if I should open my search a bit and visit the Greater Toronto Area.  Crap.

Did you see?

The Supreme Court of Canada has told the Government that they can change the legal definition of marriage to include gays and lesbians!!!!

Now the government has to actually do the right thing and get on with it.  Write your MP and tell them to vote yes when the bill is introduced (likely next week). 

Colourwork crazy

So I'm getting ready for bed and I notice a possible catalyst for my recent desire to do colourwork. 

The duvet cover is from Ikea and we bought it a few months ago.  Craig picked it out and I wasn't sure about it at first, but now I see that this is a knitter's duvet.  All those Scandinavian knitting motifs--it almost looks like a Dale of Norway chart.

It's also a nice background to my emerging Nordic mittens.  I noticed my gauge was off so I started using smaller needles (2.25mm) a few rows into the pattern, but we're not going to tell anyone are we?  Here's a picture of the palm and the nifty thumb gusset. 

I love knitting this and watching the pattern evolve.  Though I fear that I won't have enough yarn.  On the advice of my not-so-local-yarn-shop I only bought one ball of each and they're getting eaten up fast (why I though 220 metres of yarn would be enough is beyond me).  Fingers crossed because I really don't have time to trek all the way back out there.

Hands, heart and head

I managed to finish the corrugated ribbing last night and do 7 rows of the pattern.  I'm already dreading the second mitten because that ribbing takes a really long time.  Now though I want to get knitting because the pattern is challenging and interesting*. 

And, I got my hair cut.  Actually, I did it on Thursday and it took me this long to like it.  I liked the easy wash-and-go part, but feel like I went from sophisticated to overly practical, but now I'm over it (well sort-of).  Even though I'm a hair-cut whore, I'm not that picky about it between trips to the stylist. 

So here it is.  Not exactly like those pictures of "the stars" I posted below, but it's close enough and I like it.

*That's the heart part in case you missed it.

Look ma! I can do it with one hand!

I learned a new knitting skill today that I really like--Norwegian Purl.  It was recommended for the Nordic Mittens I started today and allows one to do corrugated ribbing without having to bring the yarn in front.  It took a bit to get the technique down, but now I like it. 

I'm also trying to knit with both strands of yarn in my left hand and well, I'm not liking that so much.  They keep getting tangled.  I tried stranding one colour over my index finger and the other over my middle finger, but that never worked.  I think I'm going to go back to two-handed fair-isle, holding the pink yarn which is Norwegian purled in the left hand and the brown in the right. 

All this experimentation didn't yield much knitting.  10 measly rows--out of 29.  Yikes. 

The planning, the knitting and the never ending

I know I haven’t been around blog-land the last few days. Things have been busy around here. The kids went off to their grandparents’ cottage on Thursday and so Craig and I have been going out a bunch--because we can.

I have been knitting a wee bit though. I spent some time on Colourwork Classic tonight and it’s coming along nicely.

I also managed to get to Village Yarns to buy that last ball of Kureyon for Butterfly. I also picked up some Debbie Bliss Merino DK to make the mittens in the latest Interweave Knits.

I was inspired by Stephanie’s gorgeous mittens and with her “you can do it” encouragement, I decided some new mittens to match my new down coat were in order. (Mine’s brown, even though they don’t have that colour on the website). Now I just have to decide if I want pink with brown accents or the other way around.  I decided not to get stripey with the background colour because I couldn't come up with a combination I liked and well, buying 5 more balls of yarn seemed a bit crazy for first-time fair-isle type mittens. 

I didn’t have time to start the mittens because I was finishing the last piece of Butterfly. However, I made an annoying discovery whist laying it out to block. It’s not the same size as the other pieces. It’s too big. Crap. Something went wacky with my gauge on this piece during the chevron bit. I counted the rows of the first piece and the second one is the same number of rows, but is too long by about ten. And it’s too wide too. So I have rip the whole thing back and start this piece again. So much for having a new sweater to wear this week. I could have used one--it’s getting downright wintry outside.

Well, I'm out

First, I was starting this entry just as Lost was ending and I had to stop. It was really good.  I'm liking how this show is playing out, interesting stuff.  Must also be because I'm having West Wing withdrawal.  I don't have cable (don't like the idea of paying for TV) and my local station has stopped playing it for some reason.

Now back to the knitting.  I'm out of Kureyon and on the search for one more skein of 148.  I'll call Romni (everyone closer doesn't have it) tomorrow and see if they have it, and then try to find the time to go fetch it.  Work is crazy right now and a trip out is hard to manage.

Or, I could see if Village Yarns has it and stop by on my way to the airport to get Craig.  Actually, I wasn't planning on picking up Craig (his company can pay for a cab rather than me spend an hour in the car), but since the shop is close to the airport I might make an exception. 

The good thing about being out of yarn for Butterfly is that I can pick up Colourwork Classic again.  I'm putting the "u" back in.  I can't stand the way it looks without it.