stash, knit, repeat

When I’m knitting Seraphim, which is really pretty easy and mindless to knit, I imagine myself in this alternate life. In it, I can pull the shawl around me for warmth as Jon and I walk along the ocean at Lover’s Point at sunset. I can wear it with a great dress and strappy sandals, because we can escape toddler-home for awhile and be glamorous. And folks, this shawl is going to be glamorous!

Of course, there’s my real life to contend with. I had a very nasty stomach flu this week and went THREE DAYS without knitting a stitch. I swear, the shakes at the end were from knitting withdrawal, not lack of food or water. So I’m still about 18 rows from the end of the shawl.

Aaaand, we also don’t have a regular babysitter here, le sigh, so my fantasies of a stress-free glamorous evening out are a little far-fetched, too. But hey, a girl’s gotta dream. And the grandparents will visit eventually!

I’m still hoping to get the shawl finished tomorrow so that I can cast on some Jaywalkers for the Quick Fix knit-a-long. The next two days should be relaxing, knitting-filled ones. If everything goes according to my fantasy-life plans. :)

(Oh, and the ladybug set has found its way to the recipient. Her mother, a knitter, is such a thoughtful soul and sent me pictures of her little girl wearing the sweater! I’m so lucky.)

Know what I mean? Days when you look around at your stash, at magazines, at your works-in-progress, and all you see is the same project, stretching from here to eternity, blah blah blah. The only antidote is the rush of a quickly-finished item. Baby hats whipped out in a day, socks that fly off the needles, a one-skein wonder…

Sometimes we all need our FO fix to keep us motivated and happy. This spring is an especially good time to give into the urge: Roza’s Socks, Acorn Hats, Monica, not to mention all of the old favorites!

So join me in making April the month of the quick knitting fix. I’ve set up a knit-a-long blog and a flickr group to share experiences and photos. And if you don’t have anything in your stash that tempts your tummy, consider asking Ellen to hook you up–she has some really unique and beautiful yarns, including the yarns I’m trying to decide between:

(That’s JuJuKnits, CTH, and J. Knits sock yarn.)

Leave a comment here or at the knit-a-long blog to join, and spread the word!

Surprise, surprise, traveling alone with a toddler doesn’t really count as a vacation. I did manage to get some knitting done, though. I finished the swatch I was knitting for Seraphim:

And I started the shawl. I’m currently nearing the end of the second chart, and I have to say, these were a good two weeks to be away from the blog. Because even really nice yarn gets old when you’re knitting a huge, shapeless blob of stockinette.

I am alternating balls, both for the dye lot issue and because there was a small amount of pooling in the swatch. Not something that would necessarily happen when the stitch counts are increasing every row, but hey. You never know. I really love the way it’s shaping up. The yarn has a beautiful sheen, and the color is just gorgeous. (”Java”, for CTH fans.) I have 64 more rows to go before the shawl is finished, so hopefully it won’t be too much longer before the guest bed is stepping in as a blocking surface.

Next, I’m excited to knit up some of my leftovers from sweaters into wee vests and sweaters for Jacob, and I absolutely need some hand-knit socks for my tootsies. I think April will be all about instant gratification, chez stash. Anyone interested in a Quick-Fix Knitalong?

*****

I had a great time hanging out and knitting with my partner in crime. With the two of us together, shopping at my favorite vacation yarn stores, you know there was some stash enhancement going on.

(And there’s more, if you can believe that, winding its way to me through the post.) I have a project planned for the tweed but not yet for the Lacey Lamb, which is just divine, let me tell you. As I was lovingly placing them on the shelf in my stash closet, I realized the time had come to catalog the stash so that I know what I have and what I planned for each yarn when I purchased it. How do you all keep track of your stash? I’m thinking about a spreadsheet, embedded with photos if I can figure out how to do it.

Guess what’s done?

Patterns: Peapod baby set by Kate Gilbert (free on the Interweave website); Ladybug baby set by Dale of Norway (I have a pamphlet collection, but I hear it’s been published in a book, too).

Yarns: Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere, 4 balls total for the smallest size; Dale of Norway Baby Ull, quantities specified in the 6-month size

Time Elapsed: Under a week for the Peapod set. It’s a very quick, enjoyable knit. Knitting time and finishing time combined on the Ladybug set ran around a month. There is a lot of finishing.

Modifications and Notes: I didn’t make any intentional modifications to either set. I had a few minor “adjustments” here and there, but nothing really worth writing up or repeating.

I really enjoyed knitting the Peapod set. It was fast, the construction is fresh, the yarn is really very soft for cotton, and the end result is cute as a button. There’s not that much to say about it, really, and since it’s so quick the FO page is a little sparse, too. There are some close-ups of the buttons over there, though.

Really, I have more to say and more pictures to show for the ladybug set. I am very pleased with the finished product, but I can’t say that I enjoyed knitting this set. I prefer fair isle without long floats, and with only 2 colors per row. I find it very zen, and I’m in love with the complicated-looking results you can get without any difficult work. The ladybugs were basically the opposite of that–simple looking little bugs that took a lot of finagling and still aren’t as even as I’d like them to be. I’m also not generally a knitter who avoids finishing, but even for me the task was a little much on this project. All edges have faced hems that need to be knitted and then sewn in, the steeking and associated sewing/facing are another couple of hours of finishing, the pompon… oh, and while this is fine for me, it’s all on US1 needles. So just know what you’re getting into, if you choose to knit this project.

(iPhoto unwedged itself and I managed to save some of the steeking pictures after all, by the way–they’re at the FO page.)

All that said, though, it’s by far the most special baby gift I’ve ever knit. It has a tremendous wow factor.

Hopefully I’ll get pictures of both babies wearing my hand-knits, but until then? Bear play-date!

*****

And tonight, I drag my sleepy toddler onto a red-eye to fly to Maine. I cast on for Seraphim last night, to knit while I’m there. Actually, I cast on for a swatch. I know, I know, finished size doesn’t matter. But I wanted to get familiar with the lace pattern and make sure I like the fabric before committing to it. I’ll be without regular internet access in Maine, but don’t feel too sorry for me. I’m knitting Seraphim in the Cherry Tree Hill fingering-weight silk hubby got me for my birthday last year:

Speaking of the silk, the two hanks are from different dye lots. They don’t look that different to me, but do you all think I should alternate, just to be sure?

See you all on the 20th!

I took hundreds of pictures. iPhoto (which I have used happily and error-free for literally years, by the way) took one look at the roll of steeking pictures TOTALLY FREAKED OUT and crashed, hard. This is all I have left to document the steeking experience.

The very first practice seam on the very first practice steek on my swatch.

SIGH.

I heartily apologize for the lack of photos. The sweater is fine, I’m in the process of sewing in the sleeves and doing the seeming-hundreds of small finishing tasks on it right now. It’s really a busy little sweater pattern. I’ve pompomed, I’ve hemmed, I’ve sewn and sewn and sewn. I hope to have an FO shoot to show you tomorrow or the next day.

Steeking was an interesting experience. I would do it again, but I wouldn’t say it was fun. I actually got a little sick to my stomach, looking at the ladybug sweater before making that first cut. But sewing knitted fabric wasn’t actually all that difficult, and it’s not like the seams need to be perfectly straight, since they won’t show in the end. So I guess the recap is: Not as bad as I feared, everything came out fine, but I did have a celebratory glass (or two) of champagne once it was finished because it was pretty nerve-wracking.

I finished the peapod set (holy CUTE, Batman!), and should have an FO shoot for that, as well. Hopefully tomorrow or the next day, because Wednesday night Jacob and I hop a plane to Maine, where I will have little internet access. We’ll be back the 20th, so keep blogland warm for me while I freeze my butt off! I’m looking forward to some great knitting on this trip, though. I should get to meet my best knitting friend from nursery school for a couple of knit-dates, and I’ll be knitting up my birthday silk from last year into Seraphim. I *can’t wait* to see this gorgeous stuff knit up!