Frogs, Candy and Baby Goo

Picovoli and I, it's not as if we've broken up. We're just on a break. You know the kind of break where you keep going back for more torture only to repeatedly go right back where you started, and in the end you have no option but to retire (a skein of yarn) defeated. Yeah you heard me, there have been so many rips one of my skeins had to be given an honorable discharge. And that, well that just ain't right!

Fingers, toes and every other appendage crossed, I think I may have come up with the magic combination of increases, decreases and shortrows (yes, all within the same row) to make this work. It's Tim Gunn time. If this doesn't happen soon it's never gonna, I'm going to throw on some picot edges in defeat and relegate the sweater to the bottom of the drawer. I never understood sleeveless sweaters, even in cotton, but now I think I'm getting it. They're just too damn hard to knit!

Anyway, in other more sprightly news, Annie the fearless leader of Sit n Knit New York is having a baby! Probably right right this second, but hopefully not til March 17th so I can win the Yarn Pool we have going..... The group had a baby shower in the wee unborn bairn's honour this evening. I think my gift may have caused some confusion since I am the only English member of the group but let me explain. These are Jelly Babies, a gooey English candy that are traditionally eaten head first:

And this is my knitted version, courtesy of Jean Greenhowe's Little Knitted Gift Dolls:

It's made out of cotton and stuffed with polyfil because, if my friend's six month old is anything to go by, this thing's going to get gummed good and proper come teething time.

I hope that clears up any confusion :)

Can you see it?

The seven hours of knitting I did this afternoon? I'll give you a clue, it isn't the extra inches added since last you saw it, it's not even the sewn picot hems and woven in ends. Nuh huh...

Still looking?

Take a look at the left sleeve cap. Yeah, that, those few measly little rows took me an entire afternoon. OK, so I may have stopped for the odd cup o' Joe and cookie, but seriously that's all I have to show for my Saturday.

I guess I could have made life easy for myself by employing Google to find out how exactly one attaches a sleeve to a top-down raglan, but since nothing in my life seems particularly easy at the moment, I figured I may as well try to muddle through it as best I could. Four rips and some quick basting stitches later and by Jove I think she's got it!! It's the little victories that keep us going.

That and yarn.

It's been a shitty day

... ergo I just bought a hundred bucks worth of yarn. So sue me.

Yarn, the ultimate placebo? I think so at least.

In which I alienate you all with my Englishness

There used to be a comedy show in the UK called "The Fast Show". In one particularly memorable episode the "Ain't Milk Brilliant?!" guy was parodying cricketers for being affraid of bad light. Now I understand why the cricketers were so scared...

BAD LIGHT! BAD LIGHT!

I think play would be stopped after this one. BAD LIGHT!!!

The fit, however, is marvelous. I threw in a few extra decreases and may well throw in one more when I reach the hollow part in my back (that's how I define my waistine). Hurrah for well written patterns!!

Progress Shot- Picovoli

Please forgive the crappy styling of this "taken with the bed as a backdrop" photograph, it was the only way I could get close to the real colour of the yarn! I'm chugging along nicely and should soon be starting the waist shaping, ooooooooh.....

When x+y doesn't = z

At Sunday's Sit n' Knit meet up, Penelope asked me whether I'd get empty-needle anxiety now I'd finished up my socks. I blithely said I wouldn't, I'm too busy with school and reading and blah, blah, blah......

I NEED YARN NOW!!!

But the yarn, she isn't cooperating. I have 9 balls (900m, some number near 900 yards) of Debbie Bliss Cathay in a gorgeous plum colour. I had initially thought that I'd like to make a Picovoli but that would only take 4 or so balls and did I really want two of the exact same thing? Eh, maybe I could knit it a smidge longer and add 3/4 length sleeves. But no. I can't get gauge. In fact I can't get anything like 22st to 4", more like 24". So I tried a needle size bigger, the fabric got a little too drapey.... and the stitch number stubbornly stayed at 23/4". Gah.

The thing is, there seems to be some kind or vortex surrounding my body that messes with measurements and the space time continuum. Measure around the boobs and I'm 34". Knit a sweater that when laid flat is 17" across the bust and when it's worn, it's too damn big. So what's a girl to do except bust out her rusty math. Bear with me.

Keep in mind that Picovoli has 2" negative ease. If the recommended gauge is 5.5 stitches per inch but I'm getting 6st/inch, that means I'm losing about 3" in overall diameter on the bust if I knit my size. (Given gauge 88st at 5.5st/inch = 16" x 2 = 32", 88st at 6st/inch = 14.666 x 2 = 29.333"). If I knit the next size up and keep the math the same I end up with a chest measurement of 33". But then there's the whole warping of physical versus observed measurements and the fact that I'm supposed to have 2" of negative ease. But is 2" a bit much to stretch a fairly dense fabric? I am asking for it to get all warpy?

Maybe I'm making this too complicated, it is after all a top-down shirt so I could shape as I go along. Obviously this doesn't fit well with my super-obsessive, must be in control self but I might just have to go with it.

Made in and by and for

Here's an incredibly glamorous picture of my newly finished socks fresh off the needles and freed from the final weaving in of ends at the Sit n' Knit New York Sock Meetup. (Photo courtesy of Annie). Please note the beautiful arrangement of my discarded socks in my scuffed boots and the fabulous way my pasty white legs show off the details of the lace. Classy.

Pattern: Stockings for a Young Lady from Knitting Vintage Socks. I'm telling you, just buy the book already.

Yarn and Needles: Hand-dyed 100% super wash merino in the colourway "Christina" (hence the post title) by Ruby297 from Etsy. I really got my bang for my buck with this yarn, I think I probably have about a third of the skein left despite knitting the longest socks of my life. The needles were my one and only pair of dpns, Susan Bates #1s.

Modifications: I added about 15 rows of plain stockinette before the toe decreases and added maybe five more rows in between decreases to compensate for the fact that the pattern was written for a size 7 foot. For some reason while knitting the first sock (I blame snot) my brain forgot that I have size 8 plates o' meat and I stopped the lace when the pattern said to. But all in all I think I prefer my toes to be completely covered in stockinette, I have delicate little toes prone to rubbing so the extra cushion is always welcome.



I am completely in love with these socks. I feel we will have a long and happy life together, Hallmark style, although if they get me kissing teddy bears for Valentine's Day... it's OVER. Did I mention that I bought a pair of shoes specifically to wear the socks with?


In other news I sold one of my sock monkeys from my Etsy store today! Hooray! This was one of the monkeys I made for charity and so the proceeds will be going to FreshArtNYC. Although the monkeys haven't been making much of an appearance on the blog lately I'm still volunteering as much as possible and have made maybe two more monkeys already this year. I just keep forgetting to take my camera along to the sewing circle. Maybe I'll try harder next time....

With a nod and a wink to Mr Lloyd Webber

Off into the world we go

Planning futures, shaping years

Yarn (comes in) and suddenly all our wisdom disappears

Yarn makes fools of everyone

All the rules we made are broken

Yes yarn, yarn changes everyone

Live or perish in its flame

Yarn will never never let you be the same

Yarn will never never let you be the same

So I guess technically the whole knitting blogishpere is on a yarn diet this year, promising to knit from stash and drive all those poor, poor yarn stores who depend upon our addictions out of business. But not I! Oh no, I'm standing by my belief that humanity cannot live in a vacuum, that there must be equilibrium! Two pairs of socks either finished or nearly there means that the void in my stash drawer must be filled and hence, the Fearless Fibres deliciousness (Midnight Passion and Marrakesh colourways.)

Oh but now I see that sock yarn doesn't count. Hmmm, and there I was thinking I was being all noble for once. Eh, a girl needs her yarn.

She also needs antibiotics, but that's another story (as she wipes cough splatters off her monitor- ew!)

PS. My egg cups kiss. (My socks spoon, hahahaha!) Isn't that so gosh darn cute?

Issues

I'm watching Lifetime original movies. Somebody shoot me.



The sore throat sinus thing has me wiped out, probably because I keep waking up four times a night in pain, or coughing or both. Mooching around the house in jammies has afforded me some more knitting time on the lacy sock. Uh huh, yeah... all good until I reached the toe. This is the third reknit and it's still too short. I give up for today.