FO: Habu shoulder bag

The monkey is off my back. My oldest WIP is a FO! Oh the relief.

Habu Kit-13S shoulder bag…this was a kit from KPixie from well over a year ago. It came with 2 little cones of yarn, and I have no idea how much I used, because there still seems to be plenty left! I used US 5 needles throughout, and made no mods.

This took a long time because of the tediousness. The tedious tediousness. The paper needs extra handling when knitting, and it would sometimes become tangled with the silk strand. On the needles, it was extra effort to make the stitches with this unusual yarn pairing. But in the end, it was worth it! (Note to subconscious: would you admit it if it wasn’t?) My knitting groups Spring Cleaning knit-along was just the kick in the pants I needed to complete this!

When I came home yesterday, N surprised me with a “just because” gift. He’s so sweet that way. He said it’s just because, but also because he was just gone for over a week and he’s noticed I haven’t gotten many packages in the mail of late.

A sweet reversible project bag (he is fully aware of the “never too many bags” theory of life) in just my colors and inside were tucked fabulous stationary and gift tags from Knitterella! The project bag did not have a tag, so I suspect it is locally made (which would be too cool!). He found these at my LYS in South Pas, Abuelita’s. I love the fabric that bag is made of. It’s soft and slightly heavy and I think a cotton or cotton blend.

What he didn’t even realize is that this was especially well-timed. This is normally the hardest part of the year for me for missing my Mom. Not only because of Mother’s Day, but more so because she passed shortly after on May 14th. This year will be the 10-year anniversary of her death. I just can’t believe it’s been 10 years.

On another, happier, note, N’s just recently finished another music video, for Pierce the Veil. It just premiered on Fuse. If you are curious what N does, here’s the video (feed readers may need to click through to see it if it’s not showing up).

He did almost everything on this one; he wrote the treatment (idea), co-produced, and was director of photography, director, editor, and color corrector! (Yes, I’m a little proud *blush*). It was mainly shot in downtown LA under the 4th Street Bridge.

Old and New

First and foremost, thank you all very much for the wonderful comments on Jemima! It cooled off yesterday (it even rained last night, which is unheard of for May!) so I was able to wear it once again. I’ve never been so thankful for overcast skies.

As I Spring Clean my WIPs, I have attacked my oldest WIP, the Habu linen paper/silk bag -

I started this in April. 2007. It’s just so darn tedious! Once I decided it would be finished, I powered through it. I think I knew if I set it down for any length of time I may not pick it back up. I have a three more seams, a dunk, et voila - what I hope will be an equally functional and funky small bag, perfect for toting knitting projects!

To counterbalance working on the oldest WIP, I started a brand new one. Well, I needed to justify starting a new project in Spring Cleaning month somehow, right? Oh yeah, I also needed a travel knitting project. Yeah.

Anywhoodle, last weekend I started the Tahki Classic Boatneck Pullover in Rowan Handknit Cotton in a deep indigo -

I first swatched on US6 and did get gauge, or very nearly, but I felt the resulting fabric was just a little stiff. I swatched on US7 and this fabric, well, this fabric was just right. Loose enough to drape and move, but tight enough to (hopefully) avoid super-dooper cotton garment bagginess. However, my gauge was also 1/2 stitch less per inch. The pattern calls for 5 sts/in, I am getting 4.5 sts/in.

So I threw caution right into the wind and took a stab at rejiggering the pattern for this gauge. I think with these numbers I will get a sweater with around a 34″ chest (an inch smaller than the smallest size) with the cables and pieces in proportion. But I’ve never done something like this for a whole sweater. With arms and everything. My fingers are crossed.

By some groovy cosmic coincidence, Bron also cast on for this last weekend. So we are having a wee knit-along we have dubbed “Boatneck for Two”. Sounds romantic, huh?

Materfamilias has tagged me with an interesting little meme:

1. Pick up the nearest book.

2. Open to page 123

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the next three sentences.

5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

Since my desk sits in the same room as our bookcase, there are many books about the same distance from me, so I picked the first fiction title I came to on the far right side.

The book is The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov (1972 hardcover book club edition, I might add - I was a small collector of Asimov for several years :)), and here are the sentences:

“There was one period of her life when she had been driven to almost hermit-like isolation to escape. If she had begun with a liking for aloneness, that had confirmed it. And being alone, she found consolation in the rocks.”

Hmmm.

As is my habit, I am not tagging forward on this meme. It’s open to anyone who would like to share something in their reading repertoire!

I am leaving Friday afternoon to visit Indiana for my nephew’s college graduation. I’m so proud! I’ll be back late Monday, and I will have internet access, but I don’t know if I’ll be posting during this time or how often I’ll be checking email. I hope to get plenty of travel-time knitting in on the cotton pulli in particular!

FO: Jemima

Finally, FO pics!

Reading the new IK! With a strap slip. Oops. The only negative I can find with the fit is the neckline is a smidge too wide. But only by the barest of smidges.

• Jemima by Anna Bell
• RYC Cashsoft DK, 6 skeins lavender (806) and 0.5 skein grey (505)
• US8 and 6
• Size between 36 and 38
• Mods: Knit arms and sleeves in the round, added about an inch in length to the body, sewed the contrast raglan placket in on all sides, used only contrast color for neckband

I started out making the size 38, after swatching and getting gauge on the US8s. There was supposed to be 5 or 6 sets of increases in the body, but I noticed after only 2 increases that the size seemed much larger than would be expected by then. It was already at about the width I wanted, so I stopped after those 2 decreases. I still followed the directions for the 38″ size for the raglan shaping. Because of the fewer number of stitches, the raglan length was about an inch shorter, but it looked like a length that would fit me well, being of small torso. This looser gauge resulted in a more immediate bagginess right above the waistband.

Since I knew my gauge was a bit larger, when I started the sleeves I opted to follow the 36″ size. Also, the raglan length for the body actually ended up closer to the 36″ pattern size in length, so I hoped this would fit better.

Before blocking, it was short in the arms and body. When wet, it grew alot. I swear the arms were a foot longer. But a ride in the spin cycle and a 5 minute toss in the dryer got the size back in the ballpark, and I laid it flat to dry to size.

I had fit concerns the entire time because of these spur of the moment size changes. Really, the fact that it fits so well is a goodly portion of sheer luck! I think the fact that it’s a simple shape and a loose fit helped alot, which I crossing fingers about while knitting.

But this taught me a sound lesson in paying attention to what is coming off your needles, not just what the pattern says it should be, and how well that length/width/armhole depth will actually fit on your body!

It drapey fabric in the Cashcotton is like a cloud. So lightweight and soft. I love it!

My Spring Cleaning WIP-warpath continues with major progress on my oldest WIP (really nearly UFO status) - the Habu small handbag in linen and paper. I’m about 80% done! Having this done will be such a load off. That thing has been staring at me for the longest time!

Happy Sunday! I hope you find some time to knit

High Time for WIPs

Beginning today, my knitting group has started a “Spring Cleaning” knit-along for the month of May. It’s a month to focus on WIPs and clear some out, so that we can all recklessly cast on for more projects this summer.

The first WIP that is getting attention is Flutter. I returned to her after Jemima and am just at the 50% mark ~

It looks like it will be about four feet long in the end. Just long enough!

I did wear Jemima to work yesterday, planning to have a colleague take at least some “in the office” snaps. But the day flew by and we never got the chance. On the bright side, it passed the “day of wear” test. It’s like wearing a cloud, light and soft, and will be in heavy rotation whenever the weather permits. N will be home Saturday, so pictures will likely be had on Sunday.

Speaking of the office, over last weekend I was keeping an eye on the Sierra Madre fire that started Saturday. It wasn’t a whopper, as these fires can go, but many people were evacuated. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured. However, I apparently didn’t have a strong sense of exactly where the fire was because when I arrived at work on Monday morning, I was stunned to first smell and then look up from the parking lot and see flames. It was right there. Essentially a few miles down the road and up the side of the foothills a bit. Most of Pasadena and adjoining towns are actually built on the valley floor next to the foothills. I could see it from my office as well. The developed areas a distance into the valley floor weren’t really in danger, but it was disconcerting to know that this was going on right outside my window.

Back to knitting news, shall we? The Knitty surprises just went up! A nice pair of socks and a classic cardi.

Also, WEBS has listed their anniversary sale yarns for May, in addition to the “staples” that are continuing on sale from April. Some incredible deals! I held fast in April, but I may do a spot of shopping. I do have a gift certificate Since March 1, I started keeping track of the number of skeins I have stashed on the 1st of each month. In 2 months, I have used 14 skeins! I’ve made a little room for more yarn.

It appears that another online knitting mag/store, The Garter Belt, has gone the way of the dodo. According to Elizabeth Morrison in a Ravelry thread, a frequent TGB contributor, the domain expired in March. You can read more about it here. I browsed around Ravelry and all of the primary contributors that I can remember either have their designs on Rav or on their own sites. Designers on TGB included, in addition to Elizabeth, Wendy Bernard, Marie Grace Smith, Rebecca Hatcher, Wendy Wonnacott, and Cindy Guggemos (links to each of their designer pages on Rav). A google of each of these names would quickly find their sites, too, if they have them. A lot a great designs from these ladies!

N took my little point-and-shoot and left me the SRL. I know some people will think I’m nuts, but I mostly find it heavy, awkward, and I dislike having to squint and look through a viewfinder. It does take a mean picture though. The sun was setting as I was taking pictures of Flutter, when I spotted a new iris bloom in a shady corner:

An Iris douglasiana ssp., a native California iris. Nothing brings a smile to my face faster than seeing a new flower in my garden!

Dunk

Jemima is heading for the dunk tank!

As you can see, I ended up seaming the raglan placket in without buttons and used only the contrast color for the neck. I’ve just now taken it out of the sink and it grew like mad. A spin and a toss in the dryer and we’ll see what we have!

Nate’s off on biznaz for a week, so I’m not sure how I’m going to get FO snaps of this.

I think I’ve solved my travel knitting dilemma - whew.

I figured one project should be a sock - perfect potable knitting, yes? Plus I haven’t had a sock on the needles in a spell so I am good and ready. I considered Monkey’s, but eventually decided I didn’t want any patterns that required a chart. I wanted patterns I could pick up and put away at a moments notice, work on in line, and possibly while half asleep (that last one is tempting fate, isn’t it?).

But, buuuuuut, not be boring. Hard to fit that bill.

Ta-da! Tidepool Socks by Rainy Day Goods’ Mary-Heather, a lovely local chica who also happens to be the LA office of Ravelry! If you ever have the fortune to meet MH in person, do check her glasses. This girl has the best eyeglass collection I’ve ever seen.

Back to the socks, it’s a straightforward 1X1 garter rib, but in sock weight yarn it yields a pleasing bumpy texture. It’s simple but sweet. Perfect! Also sweet is the option of a picot cuff - my first! It nicely breaks up the color bands in this variegated yarn, Seacoast Handpainted Panda (wool/bamboo blend) in Silver Leaf.

For only being 30% bamboo, this yarn has a slightly dry and decidedly crunchy feel. But in a good way! I’ve never felt anything quite like it. I think it will be perfect for warm weather, when you don’t really want warmth but protection from air conditioned drafts.

The other pattern I’ve chosen is Tahki Yarns’ Cotton Classic Pullover, now free here (pdf), and originally featured in the Spring/Summer 2007 Vogue Knitting. TSC has a whack of free patterns, some very nice, some a little unusual, here.

I’m going to try Rowan handknit cotton. I have a bag of this dark indigo shade. It’s about the same weight, and the pattern called for a 100% cotton yarn, and a more slippery mercerized one at that, so I have high hopes! I love the idea of a classic pulli in an indigo-colored cotton.

I thought I was traveling next weekend, when it’s actually the week after next. But it’s nice to have these decisions made early!