One Less UFO

Another project from last summer, that I finished up recently, was the Granny's Not so Square Bag from The Happy Hooker. It was basically all finished for months, but I was trying to find O-rings, which are impossible to find. I also wanted to line it, so it would be more sturdy. I ended up lining it with fabric and somewhat stiff interfacing, and putting in an inside zipper. That was difficult for me, and I had to do it a bunch of different times, because the pocket kept becoming inside out. Anyway, I really like how this turned out and it seems really sturdy. I used all the recommended yarns, Berroco Suede in Tobacco and Wild Bill Hickock, and Berroco Twist in Sprout, Sweet Violet, Soul, and I think Satin Beige. The inside lining is actually the more green color, and the blue areas on the bag are actually purple. Sometimes it bugs me that it's hard to get accurate colors in photos. The crochet part was easy, except the last part when you switch from the Cotton Twist to Suede, you are supposed to crochet around the surface of the granny square to outline it. I couldn't figure that out. But it's not noticeable. My next crochet project from that book is either Short and Sweet or Unseamly Sweater.

Demi is Done

I finished Demi, from Rowan Vintage Knits in January, after about 7 weeks of knitting. I used about 7 skeins of Rowan Yorkshire Tweed in Plum, with hardly anything left over. I used size 8 needles, although I think the yarn might work better with size 7. I didn't want to redo the pattern for a smaller needle size. Then I worked almost exclusively on this project, since I liked it so much. The sweater fits well, although my gauge must have been off, because it came out smaller than the size I knit (medium). It is a little more close fitting than I expected, but seems to work anyway. The main thing I modified was the size of the bobbles. Instead in row 1:I knit into the front, back, and front, of the stitch row 2: turn and purl across the three stitches, row 3: turn and slip 2 stitches together as if to k2tog knit the 3rd stitch and pass the first two stitches over the third. It worked a lot better. In the book I think the bobbles are five stitches and that was too big for me. The hardest part was the construction of the button area at the top shoulder, because I wasn't sure how it was supposed to connect. The button area is knit separately and sewn onto the top shoulder and the back later. This was a good project, because there was a lot of interest during the whole thing. There were a lot of ends to weave because of the button area, but the sweater turned out good, and the yarn gets softer after washing.

Mission Falls Wool is the Best

I finished Calorimetry recently. It was really quick and took probably an hour. I used Mission Falls merino wool. I got some mill ends of it from Ebay, and so far it is my favorite wool. It is really soft, and the stitch definition is good. I wish I could afford to use this for a sweater, but it's pretty expensive. For Calorimetry, I cast on 86 stitches, since I've heard that using the original pattern makes it turn out huge. I also did only about 13 of the short row sections. I have only done short row a few times, and in those patterns, they used a wrap and turn, before turning a and working the short row. I didn't see why, but now, I see that otherwise it creates holes. This pattern didn't have you wrap the stitch, so holes are created. I also finished half of Backyard Leaves, and I wish I had done both halves at the same time. I like the pattern, I just couldn't get myself to work on it for some reason. The pattern is difficult to see, but after it's blocked, it should be better. I also started the We Call Them Pirates hat, using Knit picks Telemark. I'm using a size 5 needle, and am actually going to use the hat as a swatch for Knit Picks Norwegian Ski Sweater. I had to add stitches to the pirate pattern (I have no idea why, since I should have fewer stitches), and am probably going to do one more repeat of the pattern. I think my colorwork is getting better, though. Another pattern I've had my eye on recently is Eunny Jang's Argyle Vest, since it also uses steeking, like the Knit picks sweater.

Early Spring Cleaning

I've been going through my yarn recently, and decided I will try to only knit from my stash for a while. I have enough for about four to five sweaters, six pairs of socks, and other random projects. The problem is that I will be really excited about a project, and I'll start it, then it will seem boring, or I decide I don't like it. I have a lot of skeins of different colors, so I'm forced into doing stripes a lot of the time. If I do decide to get more yarn, it will be for a solid colored sweater. I have to finish a lot of projects, though. It gets stressful when there is a huge backlog of unfinished projects piling up. It feels unorganized, and more like work instead of a hobby. I've also decided to work more on techniques.
The first thing I've started is just practicing stranded knitting. The main thing about that is, my left hand holding the yarn feels awkward, since I'm used to knitting with my right hand. I want to just practice knitting with my left hand in basic stockinette, and I think fair isle will be a lot easier. After that I want to try knitting without a cable needle. I've seen instructions, but I've never spent the time to sit down and actually learn it.
I can't post any pictures, because my camera is in the process of dying. It can turn on for several seconds, then the batteries die, even if they are new. It's annoying, because I haven't had it that long. But hopefully, I can get a new camera soon. I have three finished sweaters and a hat that I haven't posted, and several projects in process.

So Many Projects

I've been going through a lot of started projects, and there are a lot that need finishing. It's overwhelming sometimes, because I keep starting new ones, so they keep piling up. There are some things that I decided aren't working. One is the Lotus Blossom Tank. I really like it, but it won't fit me. If I redo it, I need more bamboo yarn. But I have to decide whether it's worth it to spend so much on something I might not wear. I get caught up in how good a pattern is to knit, and how interesting it looks, without making sure that it's something I'll actually use.
I want to just finish what I already started and only use yarn from my stash, with the exception of socks. I really want to make socks, and have started a couple of times, but they didn't fit. I decided to start with Widdershins, because I already have the yarn for that. The next thing would be to redo the Baudelaires, which are too big. I have to make gauge swatches for the yarn, since I don't know which size needles to use. I hate making swatches, but I think it necessary. I also got some Fearless Fibers yarn, but I haven't decided which socks to make with it. I'm also making progress with my entrelac scarf. I might put the Lady Eleanor (from Scarf Style) -style fringe on it, but I haven't decided yet.

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.

Increasing my Stash

I decided I need to work on my two color knitting, so I got the yarn to knit the Manresa legwarmers. I don't know if I'll wear legwarmers, but the pattern seems good, and I want to practice fair isle knitting in the round. A lot of the colorwork I've done is uneven and puckered, and feels awkward, so I want to practice. I'm using Andean Treasure, which is super soft, and fairly cheap, so even if I rarely wear the legwarmers, it won't be a big deal. I've a little bit so far and already the pattern will have to be changed. The needles used are size 7 and that feels too loose to me, since it's a sportweight yarn.
I also got some Andean silk to finally use on Backyard Leaves, from Scarf Style. There are a lot of patterns from that book that I like, and I want to try one before the winter is over. Andean silk is definitely soft and seems like it'll be good for a scarf, but I don't know how well it blocks. It seems like a lot of people have used Andean silk for their Backyard Leaves, so it must work. I only blocked wool and one time, an unfortunate blocking of Wool Ease, where I ruined the scarf. Acrylic won't block, and it got really flat and stretched out, and thin. I don't know what I was thinking, but at least it was only a ribbed scarf.

I've been focusing on the Demi sweater from Rowan Vintage Knits. I didn't finish my Nanowrimo novel since I wanted to work on this sweater instead. The plot didn't work and I just didn't feel like cranking out pages and pages of bad writing. So instead, I made a lot of progress on this sweater. I started out with the small size and realized it looked really small, and decided to start over, after I had almost gotten to the armhole shaping on the back. I wish I would realize things like this earlier. The second try actually went a lot faster, because I got the rhythm of the pattern down, so I didn't need to study the chart so much. My goal is to finish or mostly finish this by the end of December, so I can actually wear this when it's cold. This probably won't happen, but it is a lot faster than I lot it would be, so who knows? I'm using the recommended Yorkshire Tweed Aran in Wild Plum, and the actual color is somewhere in between these two pictures. I like this yarn, even though it isn't all that soft. It seems like it'll be really durable, and I like the tweed effect. I think the part that will be the hardest is the side closure at the neckline.

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.

Writing Progress

I started doing the Nanowrimo again this year, and again I'm far behind this time. I wanted to be ahead, so I didn't have to keep writing ten pages in one day, but that didn't happen. I have an outline of my story, but it's hard to turn that into actual events or dialogue. I tend to just follow my character around, like now she's walking out the door, now she's walking down the street, and now she enters the store, and so on. It's boring to write, but it's hard to know how to move the events along so it makes sense. It makes you see fiction in a different way, instead of as a reader, just following everything along. I've read a lot of books, so it seems as if it would be easy, but writing makes you think of the construction of the story differently. I hope I can finish it, because it is good when the plot kind of takes over, and I see relationships between the characters that weren't there before.
On the knitting front, I'm to the point where the heel shaping starts on the Baudelaire socks. I guess the whole heel shaping part is the difficult part of socks, so I'll see how that goes. I'm still working on everything else, and it seems like it's taking forever. I have about three or fours projects going that are on size 3 needles, so it seems like I keep knitting and never make much progress. Once these are all done, I think it might start a project with thicker yarns.

Fall Star Quilt

I recently finished my second quilt. The star squares were originally supposed to go on the outside of a center area, but it didn't look right. I had the black leaf fabric and realized that the squares would look a lot better against that instead. One thing I didn't do right was on the back fabric. I cut it too small, so I thought I would put in a binding and cover up all the extra space. I had left about four inches between the front and the back all around. I had already started quilting and had to rip out all those seams along the edge, and attach extra fabric to the back in strips. The whole thing was tedious, but it doesn't seem to show. So next time I know not to do that. Other than that, I like how this turned out. The fabric was a lot smoother and didn't bunch up during the quilting process, unlike my first quilt. I still want to quilt around some of the stars in the center, because it seems to make the quilt lay more flat. The whole thing seemed to go a lot more smoothly, compared to my first quilt. I have some Halloween themed fabric, so I was thinking about using that for my next quilt.