Tentative progress

OK, I've been chugging along on the back of the Leo sweater for hubby. Sadly, ribbing on size 4 needles moves slowly so its never very exciting for blogging. However, I was bound and determined to finish the back before the weekend so I could justify adding another project to the needles.

What's stopping me? I don't know what to do next. I have followed the instructions but I have never done a sweater in pieces before. The only sweater I have finished was done in the round and the other sweater is still in the UFO pile so I don't understand what this means:

"Reattach yarn and work left shoulder to match right shoulder..."

Below are pics of what I have so far.

The view of all the stitches on some waste yarn:

A close-up of the bound off stitches on the right hand side:


So, where am I supposed to reattach the yarn? Am I supposed to pick up the bound off stitches? Since I can't picture how this next step is supposed to work, I don't know how to proceed.

ETA:
Never mind, the wonderful knitters at Knitty Coffeeshop pointed out that I missed the instructions right before the shoulder shaping where I should have bound off some stitches for the neckband and should only have been working on the last 35 stitches or so. Guess its a good thing I have all that experience ripping out knitting since I need to frog the last 7 rows.

The hunt was on

The shawl knew I meant business--I was not going to be denied. Here it is trying to get away:



It even tried to hide in the stash, the oldest trick in the book.

It knew its days were numbered.

I was victorious, and the shawl...well the shawl had to face *severe* blocking.


Mwahahaha!

Shawl 4, Knitter 0

OK, so when I frogged the edging, I thought I was being all smart by measuring roughly how much yarn I used, plus a little more. (I used the Vickie Howel tip of cutting a piece of cardboard 18" long so that each wrap equals a yard.) I then re-wound the ball of yarn from the end of the ball marking the end of the yards needed for the edging. The plan was to knit repeats until I saw the marker and then I would start the edging. I was able to add two more pattern repeats before I noticed the marker in the yarn. Things were looking good. Unfortunately, the first time around I did not actually cast off the edging. So I was cruising along when I realized that I had about 2 feet of yarn left and still had to cast off 250+ stitches.

Rip, rip, rip.

Trying to avoid frogging too much, I only frogged back to the eighth row of the edging pattern. I left out rows 9 and 10 (just a repeat of the previous two rows) thinking that this had bought me enough yardage to finish the edging. Once again, I thought all was coming together. I even went up a needle size to make sure that I cast off loosely enough. Again, there was about 2 feet of yarn and still half the number of stitches still left to cast off.

Rip, rip, rip.

I thought, perhaps if I didn't go up a needle size, then I would have enough yarn. Nope.

Rip, rip, rip.

OK, so obviously I will have to rip out one of the pattern repeats. So out come all 11 rows of edging. Stupidly, I counted six pattern rows for the main pattern. I forgot to include the purl rows. So when I picked up the stitches, I realized that I had not ripped back far enough.

Rip, rip, rip.

So now I have finally ripped back to the actual end of the previous repeat. I have picked up 200+ stitches again. I am going back to make sure I didn't drop any YOs along the way. Then I will attempt the edging again. I am determined to finish this tonight. Of course, if I screw up again, I'm not sure I can face more frogging and picking up stitches. (Don't anyone say anything about the lack of lifelines--somewhere the Knitting Goddess is laughing at me.)

I should have just accepted the fact that there would be left over yarn and then I could have been done last week. Of course, it would have bothered me to know that I could have added another pattern repeat. Its a sickness I tell you.

Who can resist?

Really, how could I not take this quiz? (Found this quiz by following links from Sean's blog.)

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Mohair.You are a warm and fuzzy type who works well with others, doing your share without being too weighty. You can be stubborn and absolutely refuse to change your position once it is set, but that's okay since you are good at covering up your mistakes.
Take this quiz!








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For real, next time there will be actual knitting progress. I had an interview yesterday that I spent many days worrying over and prepping for. In the end, I think I just did OK. I got the distinct feeling that two of the four interviewers were not super impressed with me so I'm trying not to get bent out of shape over it.

On the plus side, hubby and I celebrated 2 years of wedded bliss on Sunday. Life is good when you find the right person to share it with you.

Knitting slacker

Um, still no real progress to report. I had gotten to the point where I thought I was running out yarn for the flower basket shawl. So, I started the edge rows and got all the way to the end and realized that I still had plenty of yarn. All I can say is that those skeins of Lorna's Laces Helen's Lace have a ton of yardage for the money. Of course, all that leftover yarn was going to drive me insane so I ripped out the edging (if only I had put in some lifelines) and then spent some quality time picking up the stitches and making sure I hadn't lost any. Basically, it looks about the same as last time.

However, what I have been doing is working on my submission for Glampyre's contest. I think I am happy with the tank top design. I'm not sure about the rules for showing the designs so I'll wait until she picks a winner and then maybe I'll post it. Who knows, if it doesn't get selected maybe I'll actually try to create the pattern myself.

One Skein Exchange

I have never participated in any of the secret pal exchanges out there. Honestly, I've been a little intimidated by all the great and thoughtful packages I have seen others receive and just wasn't sure if I had what it takes to be a good pal. Then along came the One Skein Secret Pal Exchange, only one skein of yarn that you have to send in June and July and then a knit (or crocheted) gift made from one skein sent in August. Surely, even I can do that.

In response to the questions my pal, YourKitchenChick, sent me, here are my responses:

1. Which yarn is most like your personality (you can be specific or general with your answer- brand, type, color, fiber, whatever)?
I would describe myself as pretty down to earth, practical, and easy to get along with. So in terms of yarn, I'm guessing that would translate into something like a wool/cotton blend in a nice solid, basic color like grey or taupe. Of course, I do have a fun side and tend to be attracted to bright reds to contrast against the practical colors.

2. What is your favorite color yarn to knit/crochet with?
I tend to buy muted colors, like mauve or lavendar but also like bright reds.

3. Have you ever used variegated, or magic, yarns?
I have used variegated yarns for baby blankets (usually very subtle changes) and for a couple of shawls. I don't usually like them for clothes. Then again, I haven't tried so I might like it after all.

4. Do you tend to favor certain fibers when choosing yarns?
I used to buy more wool yarns, but since moving to Florida I've been focusing on cotton and cotton blends (usually cotton/acrylic). I'm starting to branch out into other natural fibers like bamboo, soy, and linen.

5. Do you prefer to work with center-pull or traditionally wound balls of yarn?
I usually prefer center-pull balls.

6. Have you ever worked with organic yarns or are you interested in trying them?
I have never worked with organic yarns but would definitely be interested in trying them.

7. How many and what projects have you made in the last year?
If we start with January of this year, I have not actually finished any projects but currently have about 4 things on the needles. For 2005, I think I finished 4 projects (shawl, baby pants, 2 baby blankets). To be fair, I just got serious about knitting in the last year.

8. Will you be knitting any gifts this year?
I am working on two sweaters for my husband. Other than that, I don't have any plans for any knitted gifts.

9. What is your favorite one skein project?
I don't have one.

10. How much yarn do you have in your stash and how do you store it?
I am frightened to think of how much yarn I have...I probably have about two bins full of yarn and each bin is about the size of a paper box. I usually buy yarn with a project in mind so I know that I have enough yarn for two sweaters, a large stole, a couple of tanks, and some acrylic yarns for baby blankets. They are all stored in plastic ziploc bags in plastic bins.

11. Do you have a yarn in your stash that you love so much you can never use it or part with it?
I don't think so.

12. Do you knit less or differently in the summer?
This is my first year in Florida so I'm knitting tank tops for the first time. I'm also avoiding knitting anything in a heavy wool unless its for felting.

13. Do you belong to any knitting groups (online or offline)?
I belong to the Hurrican Knitters yahoo group and the Knitty Coffeeshop. I just found out about a local knitting group that is starting so I'm hoping to attend that group next week.

Too cute



Gratuitous photo just because they look cute sleeping.