Joe Loves Martha Scarf

Once upon a time, I was in a yarn store (hard to believe, I know) and I decided to buy some yarn for the Go Go Garter Scarf from SnB. But when I got home, I discovered that the pattern called for a super chunky yarn and what I bought was only chunky. I really wanted to make the Go Go Garter Scarf from super chunky, but what to do with the chunky yarn?

Like most middleaged geeks, I looked for an answer on the Internet. When I found a likely pattern, I printed it out and got to work.



Now, many knitting patterns tend to be rather terse if not downright vague and/or written in a secret code that only advanced knitters know. But this pattern was incredibly detailed, explaining every step of the way. Where did I get this pattern? Why, it's the "Basic Scarf" aka "Knitting 101" pattern from Martha Stewart. And then I knew this scarf was for my brother because Joe loves Martha.



The original pattern was all one color in a worsted weight yarn; mine has
color blocks in Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky. Despite the garter stitch border, the sides curled stubbornly. I tried blocking it by pinning and spritzing, but had to resort to a full soak to get the whole thing to lay flat.



And because everyone "borrows" Joe's stuff, I added his name, using the letter templates from here. This was my first attempt at monogramming. Originally, I tried knitting in two colors, but abandoned that in favor of stitching the letters after the fact. Still, it took me over two hours (and we won't look at the back). No wonder I put off finishing projects. At least, this one will get into the mail before spring.

Orange and Lemon Sherbet Legwarmers

Actually, these are the "Roller Girl" legwarmers from Stitch and Bitch Nation, in rugby stripes of Plymouth Yarn Encore.



Since I have been size-challenged regarding legwarmers (see example), I actually knit a gauge swatch, which encouraged me to drop a needle size. Also, I chose the "small" size.



And yet, the ribbing still seemed too stretchy, so I frogged and restarted, using elastic thread in the ribbing. The only colors of elastic thread I could find were white or black, so the thread shows a bit in the ribbing, but maybe it will work its way to the back of the fabric. The thread does not make the ribbing tighter, but I'm hoping it will keep the ribbing from stretching out too much. FYI, each leagwarmer used 90 yards of elastic thread.

Sew, *Unsew, and Sew, Repeat from *

I consider myself an apprentice knitter. I try to pick a variety of patterns in a variety of yarns and needle sizes, to get a wide range of experience. So, when I saw the "Soft and Warm Baby Hoodie" in Lion Brand Microspun, I decided to make one for my pregnant hair stylist's baby. The pattern is graded "easy" and since I had taken an "advanced beginner" knitting class where we made a baby sweater, I thought this should not be too difficult.



True to expectations, knitting the pieces was not difficult, as the hoodie is all garter stitch. The yarn produced a soft, smooth, shiny fabric, but I found Microspun to be splitty and snaggy to work with. I started on circular needles, but switched to straight needles when I reached the armhole shaping. Were I to make this hoodie again, I would leave the body on the circulars and knit the armhole shaping all at once, as the weight of the fabric pulled on the armholes. And I would knit the sleeves at the same time, to save counting rows and obsessively comparing one against the other. But still, none of this was particularly challenging.



I hate doing the finishing work on projects. My coffeetable is usually littered with almost-done projects: a scarf awaiting monogramming, legwarmers with ends to weave in, and now hoodie pieces waiting to be pieced. There they sat, until about a week ago, when I realized my next haircut would be my last with Monica until she returned from maternity leave. Maybe I better finish up that bugger.



The baby sweater we made in class was stockingnet, and sewing the seams seemed relatively easy. Well, I discovered seaming garter stitch is another matter altogether. Baffled, I consulted knitting reference book after knitting reference book for instructions and clues. Initially, I tried weaving the seams to minimize bulk, but the seams seemed too weak, so I unwove that effort and switched to invisible seams.



Sometimes knitting directions seem rather vague, and the finishing directions are no less so. The pattern said, "Sew sleeve seams." So I sewed the sleeve seams, then tried to set the sleeves into the armholes. The armholes were too big. After a brief struggle, I unsewed the sleeve seams, set the sleeves into the armholes, then stitched the sleeve seams from wrist to armpit, including a little side seam to reduce the armhole size. Then I stitched up the back seam of the hood.



Hmmm. Those little side seams made little dents in the line of the hoodie. They had to go. Fortunately, I had already practiced weaving seams, so I unsewed the little seams and wove them up. There. That's better.



By now it was the night before my hair appointment, but I was in the homestretch. I decided to apply the sleeve strategy to the hood, so I unsewed that seam, stitched the hood to the neck, then stitched a new seam in the hood. After weaving in the ends and attaching the buttons, I was done!



As I drifted off to sleep that night, I realized with a start that the hood was wrong: because of my hood-attaching strategy, instead of going up the back of the hood, the seam ran from the crown to the front. Groan! I decided instead of walking the dog in the morning, I would unsew the hood.



Now, invisible seams are neat, both in appearance and concept. But in the process of sewing and unsewing the seams on this hoodie, I discovered they are a bitch to unsew, especially once the ends are woven in. Fortunately, the unsewing and resewing of the hood went so well Thursday morning that, except for a few loose ends, the sweater was complete by the time I had to leave for work. That evening I wove in the last of the stray yarn, wrapped the sweater in tissue paper, and tucked it into a bag from my LYS. Whew!



One lesson I have learned in my apprenticeship is to use inexpensive yarns, so if a project turns into a big, fat failure, the lessons learned cost me time but not a lot of money. The only problem with this philosophy is that sometimes cheap yarns look, well, cheap. Since Monica chose not to learn the gender of her baby, I picked lime green for the hoodie. Now that it was finished, I couldn't decide if that shiny lime green looked cute or gaudy.

Oh, well. Monica acted pleased with the gift, but in the back of my mind I was wishing I had chosen another yarn or another color, or had done a better job. I guess our almost-successes are what keep us coming back again and again to the needles.

Snow Day

This is a first. Not only are schools and government offices closed, but they sent us home from work. I thought about cleaning out a closet or mopping the kitchen floor, but that Fat-Bottom Bag was calling to me: I'm almost done - you can finish me today - it won't take long.

This pattern from Stitch 'n Bitch Happy Hooker does work up quickly, once one gets past the first row (check the errata) and once one's hands become accustomed to the cramp-inducing herringbone half-double crochet stitch and once one remembers to do the hhdc instead of a hdc (a lot of the Taupe Beast was in hdc).

Yesterday I came within two rows of being done when I ran out of yarn. What to do? Should I buy a third skein of Lion Suede? (For two short rows?!?) Should I frog and try a smaller crochet hook? (The size-I felt small enough.) Should I frog partway and eliminate two of the long midsection rows? I decided to sleep on it.

Today, with a suddenly free day ahead of me, I decided on option three. By noon, I had finished the body and was ready for the handle flaps. After lunch, I added the flaps and handles. After a nap, I removed the handles and put them on again. Then I decided to make an i-cord with a contrasting color of Lion Suede; abandoned that effort because I didn't like the color. Then I decided to make an i-cord of green Plymouth Yarn Encore worsted; I threaded that onto the bag below the handles. Then I decided, with the wintery weather outside, to create a bit of spring inside and make a flower. After perusing my Pattern-a-Day Knitting Calendar, Stitch 'n Bitch, SnB Nation, and SnB Happy Hooker, I chose the 5-petal flower from the Head Huggers pattern in SnB Nation. Creating that little red flower from more Encore worsted took two tries. Stitching something yellow into the center took about an hour because I kept undoing and redoing it. Finally, I decided less is more.



So, now it is after 6pm and I somehow managed to spend the whole day finishing up a simple project. And I'm not sure I'm finished. Should I line the bag? Maybe a daisy would be better than the red flower. I could make some leaves to add to the i-cord to make it more stemlike. That green doesn't really stand out.

Hmmm. I think I'll sleep on it.

The Taupe Beast

Weighing in at four pounds, the Taupe Beast!



I started this afghan in a previous lifetime and took at least a century to complete it, but finally, finally it is finished (except for fringe, which the recipient chose to forego as she feared her cats would chew it and urp). Now I can get on with the rest of my life.

This afghan's proper title is "Ivory Elegance" from A Year of Afghans Book 5 (Leisure Arts). I used Caron worsted weight acrylic yarn in the one pound skeins (four of them!), color Taupe 511.

What made this afghan impossible challenging:

• The rows ran the length of the afghan, so undoing mistakes frequently meant undoing a lot.
  
• The stitches used were single crochet, double crochet, half-double crochet, and triple crochet.
  
• The chevrons were created by double crocheting in front of or behind a triple crochet, a hand-cramping manuever if ever there was one.
  

And yet, I am contemplating creating a belt from this very design. I guess I've grown accustomed to its face.

Cabin Fever

For the third time this week, I stopped at Joann's, but this time I had a finite shopping list in hand: elastic thread, belt buckle, jute, beads, purse handles, and buttons. I needed only one spool of white elastic thread for the Sherbert Legwarmers and planned to pick up one of the black as well, but all they had was white and only three spools, so I took them all. (Is that proper crafting etiquette? To leave nothing for the next person?) No luck on the belt buckle for the Belt de Jour, as my belt looks dressy in black lamb's wool and the buckles at Joann's were definitely for the denim and rhinestone crowd. It took me a while to find the beading section, where apparently jute has been replaced with hemp, and I snagged a bag of turquoise beads as well; my plan is to make a belt using the stitch pattern from the Taupe Beast, studding it with turquoise, to wear with jeans. I was not impressed with the selection of purse handles, but they were on sale, so I grabbed a pair of 6" ones in wood for the Fat-Bottom Bag. And I had difficulty deciding on buttons for the baby hoodie: the yarn is snaggy, so I wanted a smooth shape; the yarn is bright and shiny, so I wanted an assertive color; I also wanted something cute. I managed two requirements out of three. Then I left, without buying any yarn!

Angie's Dishcloths

Angie has a new home! I brought her housewarming dishcloths and she gave me bran muffins, coffee, and Airborne for my recurring virus.

The "Seaspray" and "Maize" colors would have been better matches for her kitchen decor, but I didn't know and I was tired of those colors, so she received "Periwinkle" and "Sunflower" - two bright spring colors to counteract the brutal weather we are having.

Double basket stitch (multiples of 6) from Knitting Stitch Bible (p. 35)
K2 border on left and right is separate from the pattern stitch, so I kept it separate in the directions

Lion Brand Cotton color 183 "Periwinkle"
Needle size: 7US/4.5mm
Gauge doesn't really matter

CO 40 (If using long-tail caston, start with row 2)
Row 1: k2, knit to last 2 stitches, k2
Row 2: k2, *k5, p1, repeat from * to last 2 stitches, k2
Row 3: k2, knit to last 2 stitches, k2
Row 4: k2, *k5, p1, repeat from * to last 2 stitches, k2
Row 5: k2, knit to last 2 stitches, k2
Row 6: k2, k2, *p1, k5, repeat from * to last 6 stitches, p1, k3, k2
Row 7: k2, knit to last 2 stitches, k2
Row 8: k2, k2, *p1, k5, repeat from * to last 6 stitches, p1, k3, k2
Repeat rows 1-8 until lentgh is approximately the same as width
BO
Weave in ends


Knit and purl stitch (multiples of 4) from Knitting Stitch Bible (p. 38)
K2 border on left and right is separate from the pattern stitch, so I kept it separate in the directions

Lion Brand Cotton color 157 "Sunflower"
Needle size: 7US/4.5mm
Gauge doesn't really matter

CO 40 (If using long-tail caston, start with row 2)
Row 1: k2, *k2, p2, repeat from * to last 2 stitches, k2
Row 2: k2, *p2, k2, repeat from * to last 2 stitches, k2
Repeat rows 1-2 until length is approximately the same as width
BO
Weave in ends

How To Tell When Length Equals Width
This is simple. Just fold the side of the dishcloth along the needle.

Cabinwarming Dishcloths

One of my New Year's resolutions - my only New Year's resolution - was to do something fun each month of the year. January's fun thing was a makeup session for Women's Weekend, at the Cabin, which is a real log cabin that has been modernized (i.e. electricity and running water) and is now more comfortably furnished. In celebration of the new furnishings, I brought a pair of dishcloths. Unfortunately, I forgot the camera, so no pix - sorry! To make up for my lapse, here are the instructions:

Dishcloth #1

Lion Brand Cotton color 186 "Maize"
Needle size: 7US/4.5mm
Gauge doesn't really matter

Diagonal structure stitch (multiples of 8 + 2) from Knitting Stitch Bible (p. 36)
K2 border on left and right is separate from the pattern stitch, so I kept it separate in the directions

CO 38 stitches (If using long-tail caston, knit a row or start with row 2)
Row 1: k2, k1, *p2, k2, repeat from * to last 3 stitches, k1, k2
Row 2: k2, *k2, p2, repeat from * to last 2 stitches, k2
Row 3: k2, p1, *k2, p2, repeat from * to last 3 stitches, p1, k2
Row 4: k2, *p2, k2, repeat from * to last 2 stitches, k2
Repeat rows 1-4 until length is approximately the same as width
BO
Weave in ends


Dishcloth #2

Lion Brand Cotton color 123 "Seaspray"
Needle size: 7US/4.5mm
Gauge doesn't really matter

Textured stitch (multiples of 7 + 6) from Knitting Stitch Bible (p. 41)
K2 border on left and right is separate from the pattern stitch, so I kept it separate in the directions

CO 38 stitches (If using long-tail caston, start with row 2)
Row 1: k2, knit to last 2 stitches, k2
Row 2: k2, purl to last 2 stitches, k2
Row 3: k2, *p2, k2, p2, k1, repeat from * to last 8 stitches, p2, k2, p2, k2
Row 4: k2, *k2, p2, k2, p1, repeat from * to last 8 stitches, k2, p2, k2, k2
Row 5: k2, knit to last 2 stitches, k2
Row 6: k2, purl to last 2 stitches, k2
Row 7: k2, *p2, k2, p2, k1, repeat from * to last 8 stitches, p2, k2, p2, k2
Row 8: k2, *k2, p2, k2, p1, repeat from * to last 8 stitches, k2, p2, k2, k2
Row 9: k2, knit to last 2 stitches, k2
Row 10: k2, *k2, p2, k2, p1, repeat from * to last 8 stitches, k2, p2, k2, k2
Row 11: k2, *p2, k2, p2, k1, repeat from * to last 8 stitches, p2, k2, p2, k2
Row 12: k2, purl to last 2 stitches, k2
Row 13: k2, knit to last 2 stitches, k2
Row 14: k2, *k2, p2, k2, p1, repeat from * to last 8 stitches, k2, p2, k2, k2
Row 15: k2, *p2, k2, p2, k1, repeat from * to last 8 stitches, p2, k2, p2, k2
Row 16: k2, purl to last 2 stitches, k2
Row 17: k2, *p2, k2, p2, k1, repeat from * to last 8 stitches, p2, k2, p2, k2
Row 18: k2, *k2, p2, k2, p1, repeat from * to last 8 stitches, k2, p2, k2, k2
Row 19: k2, knit to last 2 stitches, k2
Row 20: k2, purl to last 2 stitches, k2
Row 21: k2, *p2, k2, p2, k1, repeat from * to last 8 stitches, p2, k2, p2, k2
Row 22: k2, *k2, p2, k2, p1, repeat from * to last 8 stitches, k2, p2, k2, k2
Repeat rows 9-22 until length is approximately the same as width
BO
Weave in ends

Rescue LYS

While making my way to the needle rack at my LYS, I passed the sock yarns, and there, there, there was Sensational Knitted Socks. I not only was able to hold it and leaf through it before deciding to buy it, I also supported a locally-owned business. My house is small, so I must limit my book purchases to those I am likely to look at more than once. This one looks like a keeper.



Now I Hate Blogger

Blogger forced me into upgrading to the new version. The old version works fine, I don't want a Google account (a requirement - one more id/password to keep track of - gah!), and I'm new enough to blogging that change unsettles me. But recently, when I tried to log into the old Blogger, I kept winding up at a page that announced (rather arrogantly, I thought) that my blogs were being upgraded. I tried to complain, but the contact page is not really a contact page. I waited a few days to see if Blogger would relent, but no. It seemed my only choices were to never update my blog ever again or move to another blog host (more change - gah!) So I gave up and upgraded.

As a fellow Hoosier once remarked, I'm not against progress, as long as nothing changes.