And She Knits Too!

I heart Roam

I love my new sweater.

Laura's design was fantastic to knit, the shaping is fabulous and the finished product fits me perfectly.

The zipper sewing worked on the first try and the only hard thing was getting some good photos (I decided to stop trying and just blog it).  I finished it last Wednesday and have worn it every day since.

And the Briar Rose Fourth of July yarn is fantastic.  I loved working with it, love the colours, love how it feels.  I want more!

"I love it when a plan comes together." *

(*Geek points to anyone who knows that quote--circa the same time as my wood panelled basement)

Roam(ing) Around the Earth (Stripe Wrap)

My predictions of having Roam to wear by the weekend went awry.  I love the look of attached i-cord, but I don't seem to be so good at attaching it.  One the first attempt one side was longer than the other, so I tried a new stitch picking up tactic (ie paying more attention to the stitches I pick up) and now they look the same. 

I'm giving them a wet block just to set everything right and then I'll be joining Emily (also making Roam) and Keri (Central Park Hoodie) in a little zipper sewing party later in the week.  Coincidentally, we all used Briar Rose yarns, so we all have very pretty sweaters too.

I believe this is the first time either of them has sewn in a zipper and I surprised myself when I went into the cedar chest and found five sweaters with zippers.  In fact, I don't own a cardigan with buttons.  I've made some, but haven't kept any.  Weird, especially since I hate to sew.

I'm not spending this waiting time idly.  Earth Stripe Wrap is back in production and I'm trapped in that gorgeous halo of Kid Silk Haze again.

Roam-ing through the weekend

Long weekends are good for the soul.  Long weekends in February are also good for the sanity.

Even this long weekend which ushered in a 7 day stint of single-parenting was a good thing--especially when you have a pile of DVDs to placate the kids and a sweater to work on.

Roam is almost done.

Even though I haven't blogged about it much (or really anything much--work is rather busy right now), I've had a lovely case of knitting monogamy and I'm in that "gotta-get-it-done" space with this sweater.  I finished the last front piece, the hood and the seaming this weekend.  The ends are woven in and I'm on the last bit--the i-cord fronts.

I  want to give a big nod to Laura for designing a beautiful sweater and for writing a great pattern.  The little details really show on this sweater.  I was planning to skip the icord fronts, partly because my attached icord sucks (I'm doing better this time, but it's still not as nice as I would like) and partly because I'm lazy.  I planned the fronts so the yarn switching happened on the seam edge meaning I would have nice facings for the zipper, but once it was all done I see how the firm vertical line of the i-cords really ads to the design.  And will be really slimming  They also look nifty in hand-painted yarn.  So they stay. 

Consider the heap o'Roam sweater a teaser--I want to do a proper reveal (you see I'm also watching too much HGTV).  I also need to find the right zipper and put it in.  I'm not sure if a coloured one will work so I'll probably go with brass which is easily found at my local Fabric Land (must remember to pack my swatch tomorrow so I can get the zipper on my way home).  I'm hoping to have it done for the weekend because I'm also feeling the desire to finish my Earth Stripe Wrap and I don't want the fiddly parts of finishing Roam to languish while I work on something else. 

Look before it's gone

Motive and opportunity ran into each other during the kids' skating lesson and I snapped an outdoor picture of Roam-in-progress.

Then Fate swept in and let me know that I casted on 4 fewer sts than I needed.  I can analyze  volumes of data, yet cannot count to 55.

There is no photo of me ripping it out.  Fuck.

I'm almost back to the 12cm mark where I noticed this and I'm glad it was the left front and not the back.

In other news, there's still time to vote for the Canadian Blog awards.  I'm a finalist in two categories.

Best Personal Blog

Best Activities Blog

Also, my pal (and nominator) has a blog in the Best Business Blog--Canadian Silver Bug.  Check it out. 

Why Alternate?

Right now I'm totally into knitting Roam.  It is a pattern that my Briar Rose Fourth of July yarn was waiting for and the results thus far are gorgeous.  Laura is a fantastic designer and I love the little touches she adds to the shaping that give it that extra style.  And Chris over at Briar Rose is on my short list of favourite handpaints.  Keri just made the Central Park Hoodie using her yarn and now I covet that as well.  Chris' use of colour is beguiling to me--I just want to see how things will turn out while I'm knitting.  Keri pinned what keeps me knitting--I'm all about colour. 

Another thing to like about my yarn is the 500 yard put ups.  That makes for few ends and some big balls (sorry I have AC/DC in my head).

Notice anything?  Yup, they look mighty different, but they're from the same dyelot.  I don't know anything about handpainting yarn so I don't know why it turns out this way, but one thing is clear from seeing these side by side: alternating skeins is a must since one ball reads red and the other says green to me.

It does make this project not so portable, since these balls are about the size of a large grapefruit.  But the results are very pleasing.

And there's no pooling, another peril of handpaints.  I bet alternating two different skeins of yarns with harmonious colours could be very interesting.  Something I might try on a pair of socks sometime.

Knitterly Week

It's been a busy re-entry into work/life here at And She Knits Too.  Monday's return to school and work and the routine went pretty well, probably because poor Craig was home sick but able to get dinner on the table early.  Everyone is a bit tired though and it seems like there is a billion things going on; Brownies and Beavers, curling bonspiels, work, housework, new exercise routines (those holiday pounds--yuck) and a bunch of Knitterly events.

Last night I hung out at the Purple Purl and it was packed.  There was even a crew from Space TV doing a bit on technology and knitting.  It gave me a chance to do a few inches on Roam. 

Tonight there are meet-ups at the Spotted Dick and Lettuce Knit which I will probably forgo in order to catch up on laundry and bake cupcakes for Emma's birthday party tomorrow night.  We decided to do the big party at a great (cheap) play place with 20 screaming and crazy children.  I must remember to buy some beer to drink once it's all over.  I swore I would never do this, but I have learned that all resolutions before children are void--we all say things that seem so smart before we're parents that seem so dumb when we're actually parenting.

Friday is Drunken Knitters and Saturday is the opening of In the Loop (formerly Alterknits).  I'll probably go Friday and want to go Saturday, but I should also do some work on Knitty and a conference abstract.  I'm feeling the grind starting again and it makes me a bit harried.  I'm not sure how it gets so busy; it just does.  Perhaps I just need to dwell on it less (or ignore the laundry and the state of my house).   And, realize that none of us can do it all and have everyone pare down a bit and just relax.

Substitute Pictures

I'm turning into a really bad blogger.  Mostly because I blog so infrequently, and when I do blog I don't even have photos.

Case in point: Yesterday I had a bunch of friends over for an afternoon Stitch'n'Bitch.  It was a fun luxury for me to have a weekday afternoon to play with friends; many of whom have flexible jobs so they can do this when they want, a few like me who have school holidays and some who decided to play hooky (hee hee).  We ate goodies like Elizabeth's scones with Jacquie's hot chocolate, compared fibers, watched Denny spin pretty things, witnessed Keri's (yes, that Keri) seaming gone wrong and had a nice knitty afternoon.  Amy had some cool tools, another Keri had nice yarn, Kim showed off her new gorgeous hand dyed, handspun scarf, Petra is getting the knitting bug and lovely thirteen year old Allison kept my kids busy playing. 

I made good progress on my second Roam sleeve and didn't take a single f-ing picture.

So here are some substitutes:

Roam sleeves.  I love the colour so much I immediately casted on for the back.  I was planning on getting back to the Earth Stripe Wrap, but I'm liking this more.

Grey Mist.  6 long rounds until I split the body and sleeves.  Yum.

And my plan for the children if they don't get along. 

A two-week holiday may be too long for them.  I'm trying to be a good parent and cut back on the tv and PS2, but right now, I suspect that's all that will keep them from bickering.  They got a bunch of toys for Christmas but don't want to play with any of them.   All my suggestions to "I'm bored" are met with resistance.  Maybe I can convince them to play outside, or lock them in a closet.

Hallelujah, they went outside.  There is no yelling.  Back to Roam. 

Weekend Plans

It's the Thanksgiving Weekend in Canada.  We're not so enthusiastic about Thanksgiving as our neighbours to the south, but it is the last of the long weekends for a while and that is cause for celebration.  We actually had our turkey dinner tonight (the actual day is Monday) and now I'm seeing a free and clear weekend.

For Roam:

 

And to finish Sherbie

I've had all the pieces done since August, but it's been far too hot to think about a bulky wool sweater (no matter how nice Iro is).  Now I'm looking forward (to Rhinebeck) and the possibility of cool mornings (next week maybe, we're still having mid-day highs of 25C and above which is weird) and a new Fall sweater would be great.

And I might even get out the Grey Mist Bohus.  Seeing Stephanie's is motivating me.  She's the one who offered to let me "just knit a few stitches" and got me hooked. 

Actual knitting content (even if it is slim)

I actually got to knit today.  Emma had Brownies tonight and I spent a lovely evening in the park watching Xander run amok with yarn in my hands.  I've only knit about 5 inches on my first sleeve of Roam and I'm in lurve.  The Briar Rose Fourth of July (which I have called Rhinebeck) is beautiful and squooshy and the seed stitch is showing off the handpainted colours beautifully.

Sure, I have other projects on the go (some are just waiting to be sewn up) but I'll stick with this one for now.  I've decided that since my knitting time is so thin, the trick is to knit what I feel like knitting and savouring it.  I might actually be turning into a process knitter.