Mostly knitting, most of the time, Ivete’s knit blog

I am still not feeling 100% but I’m definitely better . . . I actually got tons of stuff done this weekend, including cleaning, finishing a few long-overdue FOs (stay tuned for photos of my Katherine Hepburn and the Koigu ruffle socks!) and starting one new project. BRIGHT socks:

(have to brag: this picture is a perfect representation of this sock!! Shock of all shocks!)

I thought it might be ugly while I was knitting it, but somehow putting it on changed the way it looks! I now LOVE IT, and it makes me smile just looking at this picture. The colors were yelling “Mexico!” to me so I am thinking of these as my Margarita socks (coincidentally my favorite drink, although most Mexicans never drink them), so it make me want to spice them up a bit, hence the stitch pattern on the leg.

This is yet another toe-up sock. I think it might be time to admit that I’ve been converted. Never say never.

I did more increases before the heel on this sock and that’s definitely better, but you can see from this picture there is still a decent amount of stretching out so in the next pair I will do even more increases. I am so happy I decided to try this weird gusset, the idea of being able to make socks this easily is really appealing!! I had stayed away from toe-up short row socks because of the fit at the instep, but now that I’ve figured out a way around that . . . well, now you know why I can admit to being converted!

After the socks decided to evoke Mexico for me I thought I needed to add a little sizzle to make them more Senorita-like (forgive the lack of squiggle above the N) — so I gave them a modified feather-and-fan leg, using only 11 stitches in each pattern repeat. I think it works really well with the colors!

Speaking of which, this is new-to-me yarn bought via Etsy. This is Twisted Fibers Arial sock yarn in the Guardian colorway. It feels a lot like Sunshine yarn’s Soft base yarn or Yarntini’s base, which is to say it doesn’t have that crisp, tightly-twisted texture you expect from yarns like Koigu and STR. It also appears to be a tiny bit thinner than other sock yarns, but I was able to knit the foot on my usual 60 sts so it didn’t make any difference. I like how it feels on the foot and how it knits up, and will be keeping my eye on the store to grab some more when it becomes available! I already have my eye on that Warlock colorway that’s their banner . . .

I did it! I made myself weave in those ends even though I really can’t see myself getting much wear out of this one now that spring is here. Mind you, I’m not complaining about Spring, don’t get me wrong! I really am ridiculously excited for spring, actually. But my project timing kind of sucks, honestly.

I knit this sweater in about a week, sewed it up, and then got distracted. It took a month to make me weave in the ends and block it, but now it’s done, and I love it!

Even though it looks pretty true to the original, I actually made lots of modifications on this one. Having seen many a Gathered Pullover on Ravelry (there are 363 of them in progress there as I type this), I had noticed an unfortunate side effect of that cable panel between the boobs: on several people’s FOs, the panel fell too low between the girls, resulting in (for those of us who are well-endowed on top) was a general saggyness that clearly didn’t reflect the person’s body accurately. I, being an odd bra size and a total bra-freak because of it, knew there was no way I would wear a sweater that made it look like I forgot to put my bra on in the morning! So I had to address that problem before it cropped its ugly head.

I ended up starting the cable 1.5″ higher than the pattern directs, which moved its center to about the height of the armholes. Which brought about an interesting challenge: the front was a good 4″ narrower than the back at this point, because the cable pulls in A LOT. I, and I’m confident all women, am bigger in the front than the back (I happen to be significantly bigger in the front, actually). So I knew there was no way I would knit a sweater where the back was wider than the front. I ended up moving the armholes back, so that the front had 2″ more stitches than the back, to make the width equal. This meant all kinds of changes had to happen to the armholes, so that the front armholes are shaped completely differently than the back ones.

Moving the cable up also meant I had to move the v-neck start up, which was fine with me. I also omitted that weird decrease/increase in the center of the cable because I knew I didn’t want the sweater to pull tight over the girls (see, I told you I’m obsessed) and I couldn’t see that it had any purpose whatsoever. In hindsight, I believe that row is meant to pull the cable pattern open more by distorting the neighboring stockinette . . . but I think you can see in the picture that the cable looks just fine without it.

I also changed the neckline decreases (had to since my v is shorter) and the neckline finishing. I tried to do the called-for edging but it looked dumb and made the v too shallow, so I went with one row of single crochet to finish the edge. Oh, I also added back neck shaping, although to be honest I didn’t even read that part of the pattern since I knew I had to adapt it, so for all I know the pattern calls for it, too!

One modification I should have made but didn’t was shortening the sleeves — I can’t explain why I didn’t do it, since I knew they would be too long, but there you have it. They’re too long. It’s ok, I can roll them up like they are in the picture and it doesn’t bother me one bit.

The yarn, Classic Elite Princess, is gorgeous by the way. It did grow a bit with blocking, so I would caution everyone to wash and block a swatch before they knit with it. I would absolutely knit with it again and am considering using it for a very big project I might take on after my wedding . . . and buying it from Webs makes it kind of a steal, so to me this is a win-win-win yarn. Soft, easy to knit, good stitch definition, amazing yardage, and not expensive! What’s not to like?

I’m probably going to wear this sweater as a jacket this week, just so I can get some use out of it before summer hits! NYC springs are notoriously short, after all.

Project specs:
Pattern: Gathered Pullover from Winter 2007 Interweave Knits
Yarn: 7 skeins Classic Elite Princess, color 3403
Needles: US size 7
Started: March 24, 2008
Finished: April 27, 2008

It started as an allergic reaction to dust and mold in an attic and basement excursion on Saturday, and now I think I might have a sinus infection. If it doesn’t clear up by tomorrow I am headed to the doctor . . . I feel like someone beat me up!

I know I’m really sick when I stay home all day and don’t get ANY knitting done . . .

Every day or so I think, “Self, you really need to do XYZ today.” And most of those days, I feel like I failed at keeping up with myself. It’s really starting to get to me. With spring finally peeking out, I have this overwhelming desire to get everything on track, organized and cleaned . . . but I seem to have way too many goals and not enough time or commitment to getting them all accomplished.

I did, however, manage to get one thing done this weekend! I got great picture of some new stitch markers  and got them listed in my Etsy shop! Here’s my favorite new set:

These pewter heart charms are just cute enough without being sickly sweet. I have to admit I kept a set of these for myself!

Photographing these sorts of things is always a challenge. I generally suck at photography anyway, but I think I may finally have figured out a few tricks to getting better digital pictures. The #1 thing I’ve learned is to take way more shots than you think you’ll need, so you have a bunch to pick from when you go to edit! That, and shoot in daylight and edit as little as possible in Photoshop . . . I kind of want to go back and reshoot my old, crappy shots, but enough is enough on the To Do list! Maybe if I ever upgrade my camera . . .

I am about to say something I haven’t been able to say in over 4 years:

Until this week, I had not bought yarn in over a month and half.

I know, shocking. You can pick yourself up of the floor now.

It’s not that I was consciously not-buying, it’s that I was busy doing other things. And I obviously have plenty of yarn already. And not having a discount anymore makes me think a little harder about buying stuff I don’t need and won’t be able to knit for a while . . .

Although that only goes so far. I can’t resist brand new yarns!

That’s 3 skeins of Koigu Mori, the new 50/50 Merino/silk blend that Koigu just released. It’s really, really gorgeous! Very soft with a wonderful sheen. This is color M223, bought at Purl, and it will become a lacy scarf. Eventually.

Underneath is a new novelty sock yarn called Flat Feet. This, my friends, is one of those products that I really wish I had invented! Not because it’s groundbreaking or anything, but because it’s perfect enticement for sock knitters — we always want the latest and greatest sock yarn, and changing it’s physical put up? So simple! So brilliant! I had to have it! Here’s the link to the manufacturer’s website if you’ve never heard of this. I’m not sure I’ll be able to knit with the kinky yarn without driving myself crazy though, so I may hank it up, prewash, and then knit. But hey, I’m crazy like that.

BTW, I’m doing some blog redesigning, so please let me know if something looks wacky! The picture on the upper right won’t always be of the shawl, I just have to resize a bunch of other pictures to fit so I can rotate through them . . .

I just upgrade to the new version of Wordpress and when I reloaded my blog it was there, exactly the way it used to be. That never happens! Woohoo for Wordpress!!

BTW, if you see something waky or get errors, PLEASE let me know! I’m not naive enough to think everything will just work on its own. ;o)

I’m whipping through a pair of socks for Cookie, who is so brilliant and talented that she has sold so many designs she no longer has time to knit them up herself! Oh, how I wish I had that problem. Hah!

Anyway, I’m on a very tight deadline so they’re all I’ve been knitting since the package arrived last Monday. I’ve finished the gusset on the second sock so I think I’ll have the pair done over the next few nights, but to insure it I’m carrying them everywhere with me so I can work a few stitches/rows here and there whenever I can catch a stolen moment.
As usual, working solely on one project really gets things done! It’s funny that I’m continuously surprised to find this out. You’d think the first time I was able to finish a project in a week (or a weekend) that the “AHA!” moment would have sunken in, but somehow it hasn’t . . . literally every time I am still surprised at how quickly I can finish something, and I always think, “Hum, maybe I should do this more often!” If only I weren’t so fickle.

It’s also surprising just how much sock knitting I can do on the subway and subway platforms. Even with this highly-patterned sock, I was able to do a full 8 rows during one commute when I was lucky enough to get a seat (believe me that is very rare!). I’m thinking I should maybe carry a sock around with me always, in order to make a dent in the ridiculous sock yarn collection I’ve amassed over the last few years. Hum. Will have to seriously consider that one!
Speaking of which, the second sleeve on Gathered was almost done when the sample knitting arrived. I intend to go right back to it and finish that sweater after I send the socks off. And after that, I’m going back to Katherine Hepburn — when I put her back down last time, I had finished the knitting, sewed her up, struggled and finally finished the buttonholes, and tried her on. She fits, she looks good, and she took one fewer skein than I expected. All that’s left is weaving in ends and sewing on buttons (I even already bought them!). I might have 2 sweaters finished by the end of this week! And actually, now that I think about it, the second Koigu ruffled sock lacks for only a ruffle . . . so it could be 2 sweaters AND a pair of socks! That’s nuts! (and brings us back around to the great thing about having lots of projects going at once — you can finish 4 in a week with little effort!)

I got sucked into the post that ate my brain (Ravelry link), that’s where. I spent almost all my free time this past week reading through the 4,000+ posts about the Mystical Creation Yarns debacle (summarized on this website if you don’t have Ravelry access) — I just couldn’t tear myself away! After a few pages’ worth of posts, when I realized just how many there were, I knew I had to pick up something to knit while reading. I had been half-heartedly knitting on a Gathered Pullover which happened to have been left near the computer . . .

4,000+ posts later:

Yup, almost an entire sweater. I can hardly believe it myself. Adam kept trying to pull me away from the thread and yet every time I updated him on the latest unbelievable turn of events, he had to admit he, too, wanted to know what happened. So I kept reading. And knitting. I finally finished the thread yesterday at about 1:30am, took this picture and posted it to the thread, and went to sleep. Got up this morning determined to actually finish this sweater, it’s so close! It will forever be associated in my head as the MYC fiasco sweater! I am just about done with the sleeve cap on the first sleeve now, and intend to keep knitting and hopefully finish the sweater this week. We’ll see how that works out.

Oh, you want project details? I’m using Classic Elite Princess in color 3403, a silvery grey heather. This yarn lasts forever! So far I am only on the 5th ball, and I’m more than 2/3rds done. It’s kind of unbelievable, really. The yarn is quite nice, too, it’s a funny dry texture that’s somehow very cozy and soft at the same time. I am expecting it to bloom a lot with washing and it’ll probably get even better. This is my first time using this yarn and I definitely see myself knitting with it in the future!

Over last weekend I also finished the first Vesper sock:

Toe up again, with a short row heel again, plus a small gusset. I know, apparently I’ve been converted to a toe-up sock knitter. Never say never, right?

I made these a bit longer than my usual socks because I figured there was no reason not to — especially with self-striping yarns, it is so easy to figure out just how far you can knit, I decided it would be silly not to! All I did to find out was count the stripe repeats I had already knit, then rewind the remaining yarn while counting THOSE stripe repeats, then figure out where halfway was and knit till I got there. The second sock will hopefully be exactly the same. When I get around to making it, that is.

I really like this yarn and definitely see myself ordering it in the future. The thing you can’t see online is the variegation in each stripe. I tried to capture it in daylight but my camera skills leave a lot to be desired, hopefully you can see what I mean in this shot:

See how each stripe is actually shades of the color? Not at all what I expected but so pretty and subtle!

I’m on a finishing kick over here! (not that you’d know it from my Ravelry page)

Last night I finished the second watermelon sock and I LOVE THEM! They’re ridiculous and bright and happy, and therefore perfect socks.

The fit is a little off on these, I probably should have short rowed more on the heel to make it narrower and taller, and these do not have a gusset so they are quite tight across the heel. No matter though, I will certainly wear them! In fact, I’m wearing them to work today!

The bind off I’m also unsure of - I did a sewn bind off and while it looks great on and is stretchy enough, it looks strang OFF the foot and is kind of bothering me.

Project specs:
Pattern: Toe up socks, 60 sts around with short row heels
Yarn: Yarntini Strawberry Daquiri and Koigu P539 for heels
Needles: US size 1
Started: October 2, 2008
Finished: March 21, 2008 (actual knitting time: 10 days)

Up next in socks:

Vesper Sock yarn in Neopolitan! I’m starting these today!

WARNING: Wedding talk ahead. No knitting in this post. I’m going to start posting a bit of what I’m doing for the wedding, but I promise to use appropriate subject lines so those of you who aren’t interested can skip the posts, ok?

So today I got the new Lucky magazine and this issue’s shoe spread is filled with ankle strap flats! SO PERFECT because I decided a month ago that I will be wearing flats to the wedding — which you wouldn’t think would be such a big deal, but you would be surprised at how many people seem downright insulted by the idea! When I told my friend Anne, she responded with, “What do you mean, flat? Like, flat flat?” (Anne reads this blog: Don’t be mad at me Anne!) My mother responded, “But they’re so casual and you’re having a formal wedding, you just won’t feel dressy without at least a small heel!”

To these all all the other objections I calmly explained that Adam is only an inch taller than me and I don’t want to be taller than him in the pictures.

These discontinued Kate Spade skimmers could be perfect for someone in the same situation:

After the nay-sayers had to back down due to my obviously good point, I shocked them further by revealing that I plan to wear NON-WHITE flats. My mother thinks this is insane. Even Adam had his doubts. But I don’t much care, because I hate white shoes and I think that most of them look orthopedic, or like nurse shoes, or like street-walker shoes. The ones above are a rare exception, but look how much cuter they are in RED:

Believe me, if this shoe was available in my size anywhere online (and I searched a LOT), I would already have bought it!

Even Anne had to admit the sad state of white shoes when together we went to a huge shoe store and looked at, and dismissed, literally every pair of white or off-white shoes they had. And don’t even get me started on the sad white shoes available direct from the bridal store . . .

So I feel perfectly justified and even, dare I say it, reasonable, in my unorthodox idea of wearing non-white flats to my wedding. My dress is covered in lace and the bridesmaids are wearing purple . . . so I have no idea which pair of non-white flats I’ll be wearing, but there are lots of options.

I might consider sandals like these:

I know these are white but I like the gold details!

Or slingbacks like these:

Although I’m not a big fan or yellow and I’m not sure about the flower . . .

Or something cute and funky like these:

Although, again, I’m not too sure about the color although I love the style!

So to sum up:

I’m looking for FLAT, dressy shoes in a bright color. They need to be comfortable with cushy soles, and I’m pretty sure I want them to have a back of some sort so they stay on through much dancing. I also want the front of the shoe to look like it could be a heeled shoe, so that when my toes peek out from under my dress it doesn’t look like I’m wearing flip flops or something . . .

I may have added a whole mess of possibilities to my Flickr account . . . should you be interested. BTW, click on any picture to go to a website to buy the shoes . . .

And if you come across a pair you think I’d want to see, please let me know!