Progress report

I'm still here.  I'm still knitting, just not very fast.

Here is the final pic of the blocked Willow Cowl.

I still like the colors, but I also still think that is a lot of cowl for my neck.  I have not actually worn it yet.

This pic of the Any Way Wrap is four pattern repeats, I think.  Only 12 more to go!

I like Karabella Aurora 8, but it is very stretchy.  I'm thinking maybe it is not the best choice for cables, but I will reserve judgment until after the whole piece is blocked.

The Diagonal Cross-Rib socks feel like they are taking f-o-r-e-v-e-r, partly because I have been knitting DK socks lately and partly because the legs are 8 inches long.

Since I took this picture, I have finished the legs and moved onto the heel flaps.  After knitting one heel flap slipping stitches purlwise, I reread the instructions and discovered I was supposed to slip the stitches knitwise.  After a short internal debate, I started knitting the second heel flap knitwise, to see what the difference would be, and only later did I actually look up the errata for Favorite Socks.  There are quite a few corrected patterns, but not this one, so I guess slipping stitches knitwise is the intent.  I think it goes with the twisted rib better than the purlwise ones, but I'm not sure, which has caused me to stall.  Just pick one and go with it, lady!  It's only knitting!

An aside on the errata:  When I knit the Go with the Flow socks from this book, I complained about the gusset not looking right.  Well, guess what - it wasn't ME, it was the pattern that was wrong.  HA!  I feel vindicated!  Petty, but vindicated.

Not for the faint of heart

After an extended timeout, the wrap with the boo-boo in the moss stitch said, You'd better fix me or I will never be done.  I tried using my handy dandy seed stitcher tool - that only makes sense, right? - but the Karabella yarn is too stretchy and each column of stitches turned into a giant ladder.  Then I considered basting in a life line, but I could not figure out just where to put it.  The dark gray yarn did not help, either.  So I took a big breath and just ripped the fabric back about ten rows.  "Ripped" is such a violent word, though, as I was quite gentle.  Karabella Aurora 8 does not have much memory, but the stitches stood up well enough for me to get them back on the needles.  I tinked one row and was good to go.  Whew!

Meanwhile, I lost a stitch on the Diagonal Cross-Rib sock I had started.  This involved tinking a round or two, to determine just where that sucker was hiding, but the socks too are moving forward instead of backward.

That leaves the Bog Jacket.  Here we are talking black yarn and a feeble brain.  The latter belongs to me, but I think I am finally getting my mind around just what I need to do to weave garter together.  If the daylight holds, it too may be on its way to completion.

We won't mention the other WIPs that I was planning on finishing by the Super Bowl, which is NEXT SUNDAY.  If I were Toni, I'd be done.  She is the queen of completion!

Late xmas socks

Thanks to some excruciatingly long meetings at work this week, I was able to finish my SO's xmas socks.

Pattern:  Four-stitch ribbing pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks
Yarn:  ONline Supersocke 6-ply, colorway 1078
Needles:  US2 DPNs
Modifications:  Knitted on 60 stitches, which made the segue from gusset to foot kind of wonky because the pattern was for 56 or 64 stitches.

I've used this yarn before and wimped out by knitting just stockinette, but I really like it ribbed.  Besides coming in manly colors, the skeins are 150 grams, plenty for big manly feet.

And then, since I usually can't stand not to have a pair of socks on the needles, I started Diagonal Cross-Rib Socks from Favorite Socks.

I have knit several patterns from this book and like them all.  This one has the old Norwegian cast on, so that was something new and interesting already, and I like the cross ribbing.

Interesting but not too difficult.

Oh, NO!

I decided to take some progress pix of my current projects, and it is a good thing I did, as otherwise I would not have noticed this:

In case you can't see it, there is a big boo-boo in the moss stitch. At least the cabling looks okay.

And this old dog did learn a new trick, cabling without a cable needle, but I think the instructions in the issue of Interweave Knits I am using are backwards.

Having given up on the two-socks-on-two-circs for a while, I went ahead and started a pair on DPNs. I am using a 2x2 waffle ribbing stitch (from Sensational Knitted Socks), which is such a simple thing but I really like the result.

These were supposed to be xmas socks for my SO. I have a couple of long meetings next week, so he may get them by the end of the month.

Meanwhile, until I feel like repairing the Every Way Wrap, I think I will work on the Bog Jacket, which is what I should be doing anyway.

Old dog

I tried, I really tried knitting two socks on two circs, but it just isn't working for me. I'm using this book



and the instructions are detailed and easy to understand. But any time I might save knitting is spent needle and yarn wrangling. My circs do not have flexible cables, and I am guessing that were I to use two sets with flexible cables, I might have more success. Addis are probably the only ones I own that would qualify and they are currently occupied, keeping my place on a couple of unfinished shawls. So I will set this goal aside for a little while.

When I first restarted knitting, I was eager to try new stitches, new techniques, new yarns, new patterns. That fire seems to have burned out, though, as these days I am pretty content with garter stitching wool a majority of the time. And another turnabout is, I used to hate swatching and lately I find I enjoy it. What is up with THAT? I also like hand winding skeins and finished sock toes with the kitchener stitch. I know - what a freak!

FO and pics

I finished the blue BSJ.  Those buttons are not sewn on and will probably be replaced with something cuter, like sailboats.

Pattern:  Baby Surprise Jacket

Yarn:  Lion Brand Baby Soft

Needles:  US5 circs

Pattern modifications:  Added a collar.

I started out striping using a Fibonacci series - 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, repeat - but by the end was running short of blue yarn.  Also, I would not recommend so many 1 and 2 ridge stripes bunched together - I kept running out of real estate for weaving in the ends.

Update but no FOs or pics

Last Sunday was not a good knitting day. Everything I touched blew up in my hands. Even simple knitting felt hard. A good time to set the needles aside and watch a movie.

So no progress on the Bog Jacket. I am at the part where "thumb trick" stitches are removed and grafted, and since some of those stitches go right across my boobs, I want them to look perfect (the stitches, that is - my boobs are a lost cause). The black yarn is difficult for these old eyes to see, even in daylight, and nothing seemed to be working, so I gave up after several HOURS of struggle. Now I have a plan, though - kitchener stitch for garter. I am one of the few knitters on earth who likes kitchener stitch, so this strategy should work out fine.

Lots of progress on the blue BSJ. It is all knitted except for the shoulder seams and collar. Even the bazillion ends are woven in. I overdid the striping on this one, especially the one-ridge stripes. Less is more, believe me. Having the official A-B-C Surprise Jacket pattern did help, too. In fact, I'm itching to make myself a Surprise Jacket. Once the Bog Jacket is complete, of course.

Last night I gave two socks on two circular needles a try. Like anything new, it feels awkward. Maybe I should have started with one sock on two circs first. And it would help if my circs had more flexible cords; the 24" one coils up. This learning pair is in worsted. If I don't lose heart, there will be a second pair in DK.

And I think that is all for now. Enjoy your weekend!