Last Finished Projects

I figured these two projects would be the last of 2007. I actually wanted to finish a pair of Spey Valley socks I'm working on, but I just didn't have enough time. I did finish these two projects, the Puff Sleeved Feminine Cardigan from Fitted Knits, and the quilt. I used about 7 balls of Knit Picks Merino for the sweater and size 6 needles. I lengthened the sweater a little bit. I think I'm going to redo the neck, and make it shorter. But the sweater fits well, and it was a good simple project. The quilt I've been working on is done now. I think I started it in March or April, and then it sat for a while until I put on the back. My sewing machine has a hard time sewing a straight line lately, so the quilting and binding isn't great. I think for my next quilt, I'm going to do a sampler, so I don't have to do the same pattern over and over.
I've been designing a sweater lately, so that's been taking up most of my time. I found a good webpage for calculating decreasing, increasing, and other stuff. It's hard trying to figure out the math equations for some of that stuff. So this makes it a lot easier. For the next year, I want to finish all my single socks, and all the WIP's I've got now. It's starting to be a lot, so I can't start any until they are done. I also want to knit from stash for the whole year, which is definitely possible. I have a couple of projects lined up that will use size 2 or 3 needles, and that alone will take time. I also want to try designing more, doing more crochet, and doing a lace project. I also want to do more artwork. This year, I ended up doing a lot more knitting than anything else. I want to try focusing less on one thing. Well, those are my goals for next year, with knitting from stash being the most important. I will force myself to do that one. I just can't look at sales posted on Knitty or Ravelry, and I should be fine.

Demi Actually Progresses

I've finished the back and the sleeves, and started on the front of Demi. I had already gotten a lot of the front done, but it was in a smaller size and was starting to look too small. It seems like after I get through one repeat of the pattern, it goes a lot quicker, so I didn't mind too much to rip out the front. I'm surprised with how quickly the progress on this sweater is. I guess it's because it's in worsted weight. I still have some projects that are on #3 needles that I started earlier this year, that still aren't close to getting done. I quit working on them because it became tedious.

Joining in with Entrelac

I've seen a lot of mentions of entrelac lately, so I thought I would try it. It does look harder than it is. The hardest part was in the initial picking up of stitches on the purl side of one of the squares. I realized I had been picking up stitches in a certain way, so that it always seemed to show up as purl stitches on the right side of the fabric. I had to play around with it a little, but once I got that, it worked out. The other thing was finding the right yarn. I tried Rowan Tapestry, but it didn't stripe as much as I wanted, and looked too much like just brown. It looks good on the ball, but then the color hardly changes. It is really soft, being part soy and part wool, so I'll have do something else with it. I ended up using Noro Silk Garden lite, which is a lot better. It's soft and the color changes are noticeable, but still a little subtle. I don't want to look like a clown. Now, the only thing is getting more of it, since it's fairly expensive.

Gigantic Sock

I got a bunch of Mission Falls cotton on ebay for a really cheap price, so I started Mesilla. The start is different than I thought it would be, since it doesn't start in the round, even though it is top down. It's kind of hard to picture how it's going to come together, but I think once I start working in the round, it'll be more clear. I'm using the sea color, and I got enough so that I might also make a shrug from Interweave, which used this yarn.
I also finished the heel for the Baudelaire socks, and it's too big. It was fitting okay, if slightly loose, until the heel was done and now it's an inch or more too long. I think I might have to start over and redo it in a smaller size. I don't want to, but I kind of figured this might happen. I never can just do a technique or pattern I've never done before, and have it turn out perfectly. Maybe now it will be easier, since I know what's coming, when I make the second one.

Booga Bag Done

Here is my finished Booga Bag. I used Noro Kureyon and Patons merino wool, which felt differently. The Patons was done the first time I took the bag out of the washing machine, but after two times, the Kureyon still has stitch definition. I like how it turned out, except I would have made it a little bigger and the handles longer. I don't know what the ratio of how much it shrinks is, and I didn't want to make it enormous if i wouldn't shrink much. Other than that, I like how it turned out. I wanted to have a sort of stained glass effect, and it seems like it worked.

The Most Challenging Sweater

I started Demi from the book, Vintage Knits by Rowan. It is easily the most complicated project I've done so far. But I'm having more problems with Shedir and the Bonita shirt from Interweave. The only problem so far with Demi, is that some of the purls are in the wrong places, but the fabric is dark and I didn't want to start over. For some reason, it always seems to take me a few rows to get the hang of the pattern. One problem was that I wasn't using some way to mark the rows or what I just did. Then I remembered highlighters. It seems dumb that I forgot about using them.
So far, with the Demi pattern I can see what the difference between the knit stitch and knit in the back loop stitch. It really stands out more when you knit through the back loop. I'm using Rowan Yorkshire Tweed and it's fairly dark, so the pattern would be really hard to see, but the pattern really pops it out. The only thing is that every single stitch for the entire sweater is part of a chart, so it will take a long time. Shedir is going okay and I decided to knit through the back loop on that also, for the same reason.

Felting is Hard

I've been felting lately. I finished and felted Booga Bag, but I'm not sure how much I like it. I'm going to post pictures of that later, maybe after I've lined it. This is Patons SWS felted twice, which still has a lot of stitch defintion, but feels felted. I was going to put a zipper in it, but I think it's too thick. That's what happened to me before, where once the stitch definition of the fabric disappeared, the bag was ridiculously thick. It was literally and inch thick. I don't think I like felting that much, because it never works out how I want it to. I've been wanting to make Nicky Epstein's Floral Felted bag for a while now, but I don't want to put all the work into the intarsia, just to have it ruined during felting. Maybe using thinner yarn works out better, though.

Some Soy Wool

These are the latest knitting projects that I've worked on. One is the Bonita shirt, which has a really easy lace pattern. It isn't showing up well in the picture, but it does look crisp with the yarn I'm using. The pattern is easy to memorize, so it goes more quickly. I'm using Knitpicks Shine, which is soft, and doesn't seem like it will wear out too quickly. I've used the worsted weight Shine, and it seemed like it got too fuzzy too quickly. I also got this ball of Patons SWS, which is soy and wool. It is really soft, like mohair. I don't know what I'll use it for, but I like the colors. I'm going to felt it, to see what happens. The green WIP is the Lotus blossom tank, which has a lot more complicated lace pattern. I've heard that this pattern runs a lot bigger, or the lace really stretches, so I made the small, but it might still be too big. The lace part isn't too difficult, but I have to pay more attention. The bamboo yarn I'm using is definately has a different texture to it. It's more rough than cotton on my fingers, it feels silky. It's kind of strange that I'm knitting bamboo yarn with bamboo needles. I can't think of another material that would happen with. I've barely just done one repeat of the lace pattern, so this will probably take me until the winter. I want to make sure that both of these fit right, because some of the things I've knitted didn't fit completely well.

Branching Out Finally Done

I feel like I've been working on this scarf for over a year. That might even be true. It got tedious to do the same repeat over and over. I used the Elsebeth Lavold silky wool from the pattern Branching Out. Just in case there's a knitter out there who hasn't seen this pattern. I think this is my first finished lace project that's more extensive than fingerless gloves. I like lace knitting, but I can't see myself doing those intricate fingering weight shawls that some people are into. It might be fun for a while, but then it would take forever. I get too easily distracted by new projects.
Another thing I've tried lately is fusing on a quilt. It is easier than I thought it would be. You just use an iron on stabilizer, then attach it to the back of some fabric, then peel away the paper and attach that fabric to a base fabric. There are more complicated ways of doing it that involve making templates with freezer paper, but I haven't done that yet. I'm in the process of making a fused hanging quilt. It isn't all that great, since I'm just trying to learn the process now.