Moving Forward With The Back

 

I've made it to the division between the fronts and back, and the pattern has you knit the back first, so that's what I'm doing.  The back is bigger than the fronts (although if you added the two fronts together, it would be the same size as the back, but that's not how my mind works), so (in my mind), I'm finishing the biggest part first.  The sleeves are knit top down with short row sleeve caps, so I have to finish the body of the cardigan before I can start those.

At some point (and it's looking like sooner rather than later), I need to find a button for this.  There's a single button at the neck, so it needs to be the perfect button.  It's the only decoration on a sea of stockinette, and while I don't want it to be too flashy, big, or just take over, I don't want it to get lost either.  I'm looking for the Goldilocks of buttons - just right.

Camp Loopy 2013

 

I've got my yarn for the first project of Camp Loopy 2013!  This first challenge is to knit a project using 375 yard or more of a single skein of a fingering or lace weight yarn you have never used.  I chose Mini Maiden from Hand Maiden Yarns in Peacock.  (I realized this morning that I might already have some of this in my stash, but I know that I have never actually used any of it.)  My hiking group is the Mt. Fiberopolis group.  (They divide all the campers up into smaller groups to keep the camp chatter on the Ravelry group under control.)  My original pattern choice is for the Bias Before and After Scarf.  It's the kind of simple project I know I'll wear a lot, and should be perfect in the multicolored hand dyed yarn.

I've since added Rondelay (which is an elongated shawl that would wear like a scarf) and Rufflebye (which would wear the same way) as possibilities.  These two shawls would be a little more interesting to knit, and while they're not difficult, they wouldn't be strictly auto-pilot knitting either.  The scarf would be pure auto-pilot knitting.  Looking at the schedule around here for June, the scarf will definitely be doable (the first project is to be knit June 1-30).  The shawls might be doable.  On the other hand, it's possible I could fizzle out on the scarf where the shawls have enough going on they might keep my interest.  Or the shawls could take too much attention, which I might not have time to deal with, so they might get pushed to the side.

See where I'm at?  I'm going to sit down this weekend and read through the shawl directions (I've already bought all three patterns) and see how much actual undivided attention they'll need before I finalize my decision.  If you guys want to weigh in on the comments, feel free!  The more opinions, the merrier, right?

Have a great weekend

Stockinette

 

Stockinette is perfect for picking up and putting down.  It's perfect in it's simplicity, when life is crazy.  It's perfect for right now.

Caleb has been doing scales in band.  For anyone who has never done band or music, scales are the DO-RE-ME-FA-SO-LA-TE-DO things, like in Sound of Music.  You can play a scale in any key, and learning scales helps you learn the notes in that key (which helps when you play music in that key).  It's not the most interesting thing to do, but scales are important building blocks for learning music.  As I explained to Caleb, scales are dead easy to play, but because they're so simple, any missteps, timing issues or other problems stick out like a sore thumb.  So while they're easy to play, they are hard to play perfectly.  Learning to play scales perfectly, while not very exciting, will translate into other parts of playing music and will pay off for the music student in many other ways.

I realized that stockinette stitch is kind of like playing scales in knitting.  It's an easy stitch to do - one of the first we learn, but if it's not knit perfectly, our mistakes are very obvious.  Other, more complicated stitch patterns can camouflage tension issues, whether they're overall tension issues, or just tension differences between the knit and purl sides.  With ribbing, cables, or lace you notice the pattern, not the fine details of the knitted fabric.  Even garter stitch brings a texture to knitting.  Stockinette, as it should be, is smooth, unbroken, and perfect.  If it's not, it really sticks out.

Of course using handspun yarn, I'm really noticing all the inconsistencies there too.  No pressure!

Virtually No Progress Has Been Made on This Sock

 

Yet, I worked on it yesterday afternoon.  Apparently, I can't keep a simple knit, purl pattern in my head long enough to get across the instep stitches.  It's not like I have to think for the sole stitches - they're just stockinette.  Of course I wouldn't discover my mistake until after I'd come around on the following round.  Then I was faced with the decision to tink back the round and reknit or switch every stitch as I come to it, and then work it.  I'm not really sure which one is faster, I just know that neither is fun in black yarn.

I also realized that I should at least get this first sock finished before Camp Loopy starts this Summer, but I'm not sure if that's going to happen or not.  Yes, it's that time of year - Camp Loopy time!  The first project was announced yesterday and I've already placed my order and have a plan.  If you've never done Camp Loopy, it's lots of fun, and I've found all the challenges do-able during the past two summers.  I'll post my project details once the yarn gets here (probably later this week), if you're curious.

This Weekend

 

This weekend we had a family adventure!  We went to Scarborough Renaissance Festival.  It's just south of Dallas and runs every weekend of April and May.  It was perfect weather - sunny and breezy, and there are lots of trees all through the site.  We really enjoyed it, and even Caleb had fun (and admitted to learning a few things - accidentally of course).  The only thing I got pictures of was the birds of prey demonstration, but we ended up being in a really great place - right next to one of the bird handlers (falconers?)  The demonstration is done by Last Chance Forever, a bird of prey rescue and rehabilitation center.

 

The falcons were fascinating (there was also an owl and a vulture, but I didn't get good photos of them), but my favorite part was the Bald Eagle.  Getting to see one of these magnificent birds up close was amazing!

The day wasn't all about the birds though.  As anyone who's ever been to a medieval/renaissance fair knows, the people watching alone is worth the price of admission.  There were lords and ladies, wenches, pirates, fairies, elves, tree people, barbarians, gypsies, and a couple of hobbits.  There was even a dragon, who I'm kicking myself for not getting a picture of.  He had the most amazing costume - leather, covered in scales, and gold and green, and I'm really sorry I didn't get a picture, but I can try to describe the costume all day and it won't do it justice.  There was also way too much food eaten (much of it on a stick, of course), but these kinds of things must involve copious amounts of food on a stick to be properly enjoyed.

At the end of the day, Mickael spotted something for me, that I knew would be perfect for Ruby Mae (that's her name).  This little pewter pincushion!  Now she has a friend, even when Max is otherwise occupied!  I'll leave you with a bad iPhone picture of a Great Horned Owl.  He did that turning the head thing that owls do - Caleb was very impressed!

More Bags!

I've been on a bag making kick lately, but I'm having so much fun with them!  As a knitter, I can always use a bag (and let's be honest, I haven't met a woman yet who couldn't use a bag or two to corral her stuff, even non-knitters), and they sew up so quickly, why not make a bunch? So I did!

These three little drawstring/project bags are the one's from the Craftsy class (it's a free class).  Instead of piecing the exteriors, I cut both the exterior and interior fabrics to the same dimensions.  I think it worked out just fine because of the prints I used.  Max helped me thread the ribbons through, so that part of the bag making process took four times longer than it needed to, but I appreciated the help.  I would have also appreciated him napping through the whole thing, but I'm flexible and crafting with a cat is always interesting.

Then I made three little wristlet zipper pouches to hold notions/accessories/whatever to match!  This is the wristlet pattern I've used before, that seems to be out of print, but the same designer wrote this wristlet pattern which appears to be a replacement for the original pattern.  The zipper finishing directions are worth the price of the pattern alone!  (Or if you're looking for free, Craftsy has another bag class that has a zipper pouch.  I haven't made that one yet, but it's cute!)

Both bags are pretty easy to make, with the drawstring being the easiest.  The wristlet pattern is very well written with loads of pictures to explain everything, so even though it's a little more complex, it's not hard to make.  (I'd put the sling bag I showed the other day at about the same difficulty level as the wristlet, although it has curves while the wristlet has a zipper.)  I mention this in case anyone is learning to sew or is re-starting sewing after a break.  If you wanted to, you could make all three bags matching and have a set!  It would take 1-1/2 yards each of exterior and lining fabrics to do a set of sling bag, drawstring, and wristlet.  You'd also need some fusible interfacing, ribbons, and a zipper (and possibly more notions that I can't remember off the top of my head).

I'm not planning on selling bags, there are more than enough well established bag people on Etsy if you're looking to buy a bag, but those of you on my gift list might have bags in your future.  I'm seriously considering doing bags instead of wrapping paper for Christmas this year - I'm not very good at wrapping and I have serious issues with tape.  It's not pretty, me and tape.  If I did bags, then everyone would have something useful (in addition to the gifts, hopefully) instead of a big pile of garbage.  The Christmas prints are already coming out...

A Very Special Sweater

Caleb is learning about rocks in science right now.  His homework project this week involved a pet rock.  He had to find a rock and write about it, what kind of rock it is, do some tests on it, that kind of thing.  He also had to bring the rock into school and share his pet rock.  He needed to decorate the rock somewhat because pet rocks have decorations (regular rocks don't - it's an easy way to tell the difference if you are ever faced with the common rock vs. pet rock conundrum).  Caleb decided that his rock needed a sweater and asked me to knit him a sweater.  So yesterday, I whipped up a tiny, handknit sweater for a rock.  I had a blast.

I measured the rock's girth in several places, and figured out how many stitches to cast on using some fingering weight superwash wool (rocks appreciate easy care garments).  Then I decided to make the sweater ribbed since that would easily fit the rock and it's rocky curves and shapes.  Also, ribs are slimming - I didn't want the rock to look bloated in an oversized sweater.  I was originally going to decrease and go all the way over the rock's end (do rocks have tushies?), but then I realized it would be a rock sock, not a rock sweater, so cast off when I reached a place that felt like a sweater should end on a rock.  And if you're wondering about the color?  The rock's favorite color is red.  So is Caleb's but I'm sure that's just coincidence.

He'll probably have the only pet rock with a handknit sweater in Sixth Grade, but this is the kid who had a handknit hat for a potato a few years back.  I don't think I'll get to knit sweaters and hats for his school projects too much longer so I'm going to enjoy it while I can.

If you're interested in more of the latest rock fashions, check these out.  Aren't they gorgeous?  I think these would be wonderful for a pet rock in the Summer, nice and breezy!