Back to reality

Thanks, guys, for the compliments on DD2's cuteness! I am actually quite surprised that we haven't all melted down into puddles around here yet, because she is cutecutecute like that pretty much all the time; and when you throw in the audio - adorable squeals and babbling - it just gets downright ridiculous. The best is when DD1 eggs on her giggles by making faces and jumping up and down. That's hands-down the BEST part of having more than one kid, when they find joy in each other. I am particularly lucky in that area because they adore each other. It's actually quite shocking, the lack of sibling jealousy/resentment in my home. (I am waiting for the other shoe to drop.)

(Okay, I'll pause here to get over my vorklemptness. Talk amongst yourselves. Startitis: sign of a creative and inspired knitter, or classic indication of a dilettantish procrastinator? Discuss.)

Alright, I'm back.

Although, speaking of cute, how great is this kid?

Well, as we all know, the crunch is coming down, with barely more than a month to go before The Big Holiday. Jo made me feel sooo much better about my current bout of Startitis by telling me I was not the only one. (Yes, I'm equally as bad!) The J really hit the nail on the head when she wrote, "non-pressure knitting isn't nearly so much fun as it is when you've got other things you should be doing!" How true it is. Lady, I'm sorry you are feeling a lack of inspiration right now...maybe you should try whipping up some Christmas knitting, that will probably make your other WIPs seem curiously appealing. Or, maybe look at other people's projects? (Hey, Elyse recently visited and found my Persian Tiles shawl inspirational, thank you so much, Elyse!) For inspiration, I prescribe a healthy dose of Ravelry. :)

Ragna for brother

No additional work has been done on this since the last entry, and I am resolved to keep it that way. I must admit that I had this crazy idea in the back of my head that if my gift idea for him this year didn't work out, I would somehow be able to whip up this sweater for him in time. (An intricately cabled sweater with a 50" chest and numerous other Christmas projects to complete. Yeah. My self-delusional abilities know no bounds.) However, I was fortunately able to get what I wanted to get him this year on eBay more-or-less within budget (a 1GB MP3/MP4 iPod knockoff...he will love it and I will be the best sister ever; it may even top last year's triumph, which was the Russell Peters 'Outsourced' DVD). Therefore, Ragna as a backup plan can now fall to the wayside.

Really.

Shut up, I'm serious.

Elizabethan Jacket for MIL

I did it. I got out the iron, ironing board and a wet towel, and did what had to be done. We now have pleats on the darts:



I also did a little steam ironing of the collar so it would generally stay put instead of sticking straight up.

As a bonus, I used the iron to hem the new kitchen curtains. They no longer drag on the ground - hurray!

I've also cut up the sleeve steeks. Next up: sewing them in. Blech.

Larry's Cabled Cashmere Pullover for DH

One sleeve down!



And one sleeve in progress:


(pictured next to sleeve #1 so you don't think I'm recycling photos)

Self-patterning socks #whatever for DH

I think someone's trying to tell me something. And that something is, "STOP WORKING ON THESE SOCKS ALREADY AND GET BACK TO YOUR PRIORITY KNITTING!!!"

First, as I mentioned in my last entry, I lost the fourth needle, so work stalled. But then I found it while taking photos for the blog, so work proceeded. Then I broke the tip off of one of the needles. Did work stall again? Hell, no. Turns out I can still use a DPN for socks if there's only one tip. Lifted increases are harder when the broken needle is the left hand needle, but it can be done. So I kept at it and made good progress. I really like the striping - I haven't even come to the end of a full colour cycle yet!



Unfortunately, yesterday evening I broke the other tip off of the same needle. And that definitely screws me.

Jack and Jill for DD1

I had originally started casting on with some leftover variegated yarn from another project. It's got lovely turquoises and lavenders in it, and it matched beautifully with some lavender sportweight that I have more than enough of kicking around in my stash. Alas, it became pretty obvious just casting on that there was not enough of the variegated left, so I had to try again with something else. Here's what I came up with:



Not bad. I think DD1 will like it. I just have to crochet the edges (including buttonholes) at the back, find some buttons and sew them on.

Inside-out comfort socks for BIL#1

Finished off the top ribbing on the leg today and cast off. I had DH (whose feet, as you may recall from previous descriptions of my detective work in this area, seem to be slightly longer and possibly thinner than his brother's) try it on. Alas, it was too long, although otherwise a good fit. I needed to remove six rows to make it fit DH, so I figured removing eight rows would be good for BIL. So I was faced with the prospect of cutting part of the foot and grafting it back together.

Most unfortunately, I decided to get fancy and graft before cutting. I thought this would make it easier. It did not. Once I got to the cutting part I found it was extremely hard to figure out where to cut, and I also found that some of my grafting had spliced some of the strands I was supposed to be getting rid of. All in all, it was an unmitigated disaster and I went through a fair bit of Grafting Hell before getting back on track. I now have one completed sock (although ends still have to be woven in).

Self-designed hat/mitts for Ariel Potwin

We got a call yesterday from my MIL, who told us that DH's cousin's wife had recently given birth to their second daughter. I had originally intended to make overalls for them, but I procrastinated on that way too badly, so instead I'm going to send them a hat-and-mittens set of my own design that I finished a while back but haven't given to anyone yet. It's very cute and I hope they'll like it.

Crazy

What does an intelligent, forward-thinking knitter, with seven urgent projects on the go and less than a month and a half to go before Christmas, do? Why, cast on two new pairs of socks that have nothing to do with holiday giving, of course...

Self-patterning socks #3 for moi

I couldn't resist starting to work with some of the sock yarn I treated myself to on my birthday, just to see how it would stripe. Well, this is how it stripes:



I'm not as crazy about it as the striping I had imagined in my head, based on what the yarn looked like in the ball, but I'm still going to enjoy the socks.

Self-patterning socks #whatever for DH

And after casting on the first ball of new sock yarn, well, the cat was already among the pixies, so what the hey, I cast on with the second ball, too. Work stalled, though. This is not, unfortunately, because I have the willpower and sense of responsibility that would enable me to resist a non-deadline project. It is simply because I couldn't find the fourth needle. I think I did spot it, however, this morning while taking knitting pictures.

Dumbass. Why do I do this to myself? Why?

But wait...it gets even better.

Ragna for brother

Knitters Attic is moving to a new location, and they had a pre-opening sale in the new spot this past weekend. I bought 10 balls each of Magic Garden Allsorts in a bright, strong blue, and Patons Canadiana in navy. The Allsorts doesn't really have a purpose yet, although I have generalized thoughts of making something really comfy and cosy for DD2.

The Canadiana, however, has a definite purpose. I bought it to make Ragna for my brother. I would have preferred to make it out of something more natural, but I had been forewarned (and strenuously so) by my mom that my brother's laundering skills are extremely limited. Apparently, he just dumps stuff in the machine without checking the care instructions. Anything requiring handwashing or, heaven forbid, blocking, was going to be ruined in very short order. So, acrylic it had to be. And at $2 per 100g ball for the Canadiana, I had my clear winner.

So yes, you guessed it, I couldn't resist and cast on for the sweater.

The pathetic thing is that this is going to be a gift for next Christmas. For heaven's sake, I have knitting time crunch for Christmas 2007 going on and I cast on for something planned for Christmas 2008? I suck.

The sweater, on the other hand, is looking pretty good. I'm working on the flappy bits right now to start:



I'm not enjoying the knitting as much as I could because the yarn is pretty squeaky. But the finished fabric feels good.

Fortunately, I'm not a complete moron. I do have excellent panic knitting progress to report as well.

(Oh, and Brigitte? This is all further proof that you should never feel bad about your WIP table. :)

Fair isle tank top

All sizes have been knitted! (Carrie K, there were five.) All measurements have been taken! All photographs have been snapped! This has enabled me to release the needles I was using back into the projects from which they were stolen. All that's left is to take the all notes I jotted down as I went, and incorporate them back into the pattern instructions; package all the graphics and photographs together; plug the pattern into Knitty's submission template; write up a submission email; take a deep, fortifying breath; and hit 'send'.

Elizabethan Jacket

A few more ends have been sewn in. What I'm really procrastinating about is taking out the ironing board and iron, wetting a towel, and pressing the pleats down on the darts. It will be a dull and awkward task and I'm not looking forward to it. However, it must be done, and then I can sew in the sleeves. Maybe I'll kill two birds with one stone and hem up my new kitchen curtains at the same time.

And thanks very much, everyone, for your comments and compliments on the project.

Larry's Cabled Cashmere Pullover for DH

Well, The J and Carrie K both like the striping on the sleeves exactly the way it is, so now that I've freed up the Denise cable for the project, I've forged ahead. We have sleeve progress:

Herdis for niece

This project is another winner of having finished all the sizes for the fair isle tank top - I was able to put the 4mm points back on the cable that was holding the left front of Herdis, and finish it. Actually...more than finish it, to be brutally honest - I went eight rows too far. It's supposed to be the same length as the back, and I miscounted how many rows I finished on the back, so... Well. It won't be that hard to rip back.

Pixie Outfit

This is doll clothes item number 2 of 3 (no, they are not Borg) which will be gifted to my elder daughter for Christmas. I originally started the project using some emerald green yarn from the stash. I thought I had enough, but as I ran out before even finishing the first leg, I was grievously mistaken. So I switched to some royal blue instead.



Want a close-up of those buttons? I made 'em myself out of polymer clay some years ago:



Just gotta sew them on and figure out buttonholes (the pattern tells you to crochet them on, but I don't think that will make the button bands match up very well), and then I'll be done!

Inside-out comfort socks

I ripped back what I'd originally done on the leg, and the heel, and then ripped back the foot to the correct starting point for the heel. I then did the heel a second time, and re-started the leg. I'm now working on the top ribbing.

Snuggly romper for DD2

And finally, we have a project that was finished long ago, but which only recently became the right size for its intended recipient.



I can't stand how adorable she is in this thing. It's pure cuddle inspiration. Okay, I can't resist. One more shot:

How it's going

Mendocino for DD1

I now have pictures!


'in action'


front


back

Fair isle tank top

Serious relief over here at Insanity headquarters. For awhile there, I lost the notes I took for the 24-month size. I looked all over in a bunch of logical (and some not-so-logical) places and I could not find the piece of paper. Finally I did a desperate hunt in one last illogical-but-sorta-logical place, and to my INTENSE relief...there it was. Phew! I did NOT want to have to make it again. I was worried that I or another member of my family had pitched it in the recycling.

Anyway, the 18-month and 12-month sizes have been done, measured and photographed. Next up: to rip back the 12-month size and start the 6-month size. I'm getting closer! I'm very excited.

Lacy Ribs Scarf

I came to the end of the ball and I'm not even at two feet on the scarf yet. So I think I'm going to rip it back (again) and re-start with one fewer rib pattern in the width.

Elizabethan Jacket for MIL

Coming along bee-yewtifully:



The collar is done, the button and buttonhole bands are done, and the front and back neckline steeks have been lashed into place. The monumental task of weaving in ends has begun, and I've begin to cut up armscye steeks in preparation for sewing in the sleeves (one of my least favourite sewing tasks in the world). My heart is starting to quail at all the sewing and weaving I have ahead of me, but we're definitely closer to the finish line now.

Branching out for DD1's teacher

Done! Here it is blocking:



Hey, the observant among you may ask, did she buy blocking wires? Nope! My husband made those wires just for me (he just cut off lengths of a sufficiently thick-gauge wire and filed down the edges so they wouldn't catch on the knitting). They work very nicely and I like them a lot.

The scarf itself has blocked out to slightly shy of four feet long, and looks absolutely delicious.

Inside-out comfort socks

My BIL#1 and MIL visited last weekend (yes, I hid both of their knitting project presents), and while BIL was distracted, I checked out his shoe size (8). Then I got DH to come over and try on his brother's shoes. The verdict is that BIL's feet are slightly shorter than my husband's, but also a touch wider. So I did a calculation about how many rows the heel would take before the turn, how much length that would work out to, and then figured out that I needed to start the heel shaping when the foot was about 8" long, based on the fact that I knew my husband's feet were 10.5" long.

Last night I turned the heel and was happily working my way up the leg when the subject of my husband's feet being 10.5" long came up.

"Where did you get that number?" he asked, surprised. I told him that I had measured his feet some time ago, and memorized the number.

We brought out a ruler. His feet are actually 10 inches long.

(insert your choice of expletive here - I was certainly thinking them all)

So I will be ripping back all the leg I've done, the heel, and some of the foot, until it's about a quarter- to a half-inch shorter than it was when I started the heel shaping the first time.

Grumble grumble.



Farewell.

Kilt hose

I brought the one sock I'd made into the shop and compared it with the original that the guy from the band left. It's smaller, so I figure next time I'll make it with 5mm or 5.5mm needles instead of 4.5. I left it there in case the guy comes back.

Foot-pampering socks for moi

This has been seeing some work when I'm stalled on other things and just want something quick to pick up. I think I'm going to start the heel flap at the end of the current colour stripe.