stash, knit, repeat

…FOs are soon to follow.

I have to weave in some ends, knit some ties and attach them, and give the (weirdly made but gorgeous) collar a good press. And seriously, I take back all of the whining and all of the bitching and everything bad I’ve ever said about you, Tulip. You are the bomb.

As it turns out, both the mirror and the mannequin were lying.

Once pinned and slipped on, it was in fact a bit too low-cut. Honestly, not by enough to matter, given that I’m going to be wearing a camisole underneath, but that wound up being moot. Because, as it turns out, the slope of the neckline and where the slope of that neckline falls really, really matters. And the neckline I had fudged was just too steep, without enough boobage holding it in place, and it gaped like all get-out. Really, it looked awful.

So! Third time’s the charm.

On the bright side, I really do think it’s going to work this time. The (tentatively) right solution wound up being the one I discarded at first for being “too simple to work right”: knit the neckline as specified in the pattern, fiddling only with what row of the sweater I started it on. On the other bright side, I can say with confidence that this yarn rips and re-knits like a dream! On the third bright side, I’m almost done re-knitting. I think I’ll have the front pieces out to re-block tonight (have already blocked the back and sleeves), and tomorrow I can start on the collar trim and the tie.

I’m thinking that I’ll need to insert some kind of fastener on the inside of the sweater to hold one, and possibly both fronts, in place. The yarn is really slick, and I don’t see the tie being as foolproof as I’d like when my tummy is involved. :) What do you folks recommend for that? Snaps? Velcro?

This project has certainly tested mine! In a way, I’m pleased with my perseverance. It stands as a testament to my progress as a knitter–certainly, I would have let my doubts get the better of me even just a year ago. For while I’m not letting them talk me into abandoning this project, I sure have them.

Which is a very long-winded way of saying that I’ve finished the back and both fronts of Tulip! When I hold them up to myself in the mirror, they look fine, but their appearance on the dressform is not exactly inspiring.

It’s a little low, don’t you think? Even if I want a tank to be necessary? Also, there is gaping on the sides that I’ve not shown in that picture. I’m not ripping out, because when I measure myself I see 3.5 inches of length in my torso that the dressform is lacking. And the mirror tells me all will be well–the waist of the top sits at my waist, even if it doesn’t sit at the dressform’s. I know the rational thing to do is finish the sleeves, which won’t change in any case, pin the thing together, and just try it on.

But still, I’m nervous. Tell me stories of sweaters you’ve been worried about that worked out well in the end?

Ah… that’s going to be much, much better.

My dressform is sadly more short-waisted than I am, so you’ll have to imagine taller shoulders, there. But I think the new decreases are going to work out wonderfully and I’m so happy I took the time to rip and re-figure. I’m starting to look forward to finishing Tulip–this will be the last really fiddly part of the modifications. The right front is mirror-image to the left, and I’ll just be using the Ann Budd book for the sleeves. Wish me luck!

*****

I’m not usually one for memes–too much time on livejournal a couple of years ago, maybe–but this one was fun enough to make me bend my rules. That, and I got tagged three separate times. Okay, okay already! :)

The rules: List seven random facts about you in your blog, then tag seven other people, making sure to let them know. So here goes!

1. In college, I was a member of the Discordians and had a reasonably healthy obsession with Eris the goddess of chaos going on. It lasted until my computer (which I had named Eris, because sometimes I am stupid like that) failed in a spectacular way. But I still have a nostalgic fondness for all things Discordian.
2. I have directed three plays as an adult: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee, Long Day’s Journey Into Night by Eugene O’Neill, and Lemon Sky by Lanford Wilson.
3. I adore road trips, and will turn any vacation into one given the slightest provocation. It’s something about the open road, the land, and freedom. My latest was our cross-country drive last summer, when the three of us moved here to CA. I hope to drive up to Ashland for the Shakespeare festival this year.
4. I love the cinema, and am notoriously un-picky when it comes to movies. I can and do derive just as much enjoyment out of a terrible film as an excellent one. This drives my husband bananas.
5. Speaking of the husband, I am married to my high school sweetheart. It’s impossible for me to imagine spending my life with anyone else, and I think I must be the luckiest person in the world to have found him so quickly. He even has great taste in yarn!
6. I love love love to dance. Over the years, I’ve studied and enjoyed ballet, modern, swing (East and West coast), lindy hop, Argentinian tango, various waltzes, foxtrot, rhumba, cha-cha, mambo, and bellydance.
7. I make challah with Jacob every Friday, without fail. I started when we moved here because there’s just no good commercially-available challah on the peninsula; now I treasure it as an experience that will be woven through Jacob’s childhood. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, every week. This week’s efforts:

So there you have it! A random slice of my life. You’re next, Gina, Diana, Erin, Amelia, Cara, Ashley, and anyone who hasn’t played yet!

So this past weekend, two of our three computers (our desktop and one of our laptops) suffered fatal disk errors.

(Really, world. Don’t you understand that my knittng is at stake here?!)

Being rather uninterested in purchasing our next computer system right at this very moment, we’ve come up with workarounds. I’ve given up my laptop to hubby’s consulting business, we’ve relocated the desktop and it’s now booting happily from our external drive. The workarounds are fine, and will keep things functional until we’re ready to upgrade the systems. But people! The lost knitting time!

I whine here because when I say such things to hubby, he tends to look at me like a screw has come loose somewhere. But I’m sure you understand.

Anyway! Though understanding, I’m also sure you’re far more interested in Tulip progress. At first glance, things seem to be going pretty well:

But then you look closely at that picture, and you think to yourself, “even though it’s curling like a motherf**ker, isn’t that neckline a little, erm, low?”. And of course, you’re right.

Both pictures lie a little, since I actually don’t want it as loose as the gray shirt, and it really is curling a LOT in the first picture. But even with those points in Tulip’s favor, I need to rip out to the arm shaping and make the top of the neckline more gradual. I’m not too upset–there are so few stitches left per row at that point that it’s only an hour of work at most.

As I was telling one of the ladies at my Tuesday knitting group, I’m really glad I dove into this project without thinking too much about it. The modifications to the back were totally easy; the front modifications, not so much. I’m definitely going by look and have already ripped part of the front once. Math just didn’t seem to help all that much in figuring out how steep the neckline needed to be in what places, given that I’m both mucking with the sleeves and lengthening it. I think if I’d started with the modifications to the front, I just would have found another pattern for the yarn. And I’m really glad I’m going through this–it’s given me more confidence as a knitter and even had me sketching out thoughts about some designs a few times.

Why is it always the case that good-for-you things involve plenty of hair-pulling? *grin*

(Oh, and hey! I know I’ve totally over-used the italics in this entry, but you should go see how well-behaved that damn Koigu was for Ashley. Such beautiful socks!)

(**With apologies to Becky…)

The best contests, I’ve always thought, are the ones that prompt us to do something wonderful. To not only try and get the prize, but improve life for ourselves or others in some way, too. Well, Claudia is the current queen of such contests. In June, she’s participating in the National MS Bike Ride, and she’s providing us all a little incentive to help the cause.

Yup, you read that right. Every $10 in donation to Team Claudia gives you one chance to win a fabulous prize. MS is a terrible disease, and research is actively making a difference in the lives of the 400,000 Americans currently living with it. Last year, the Ride raised $67M, almost $18,000 of which was thanks to Team Claudia! This year, she hopes to raise $20,000. Pfffft, I say. The Harlot has helped encourage knitters to raise over $300,000 for Doctors Without Borders. Surely, we can help Claudia zoom right on past her goal. To sweeten the pot, I’m offering up part of my Stitches haul as one of her many fabulous prizes:

One hank of Jade Sapphire Cashmere-Silk 2ply, in the “Forest Glen” colorway. It’s yummy stuff. Trust me. And a chance to win it (or something else in the huge prize-pool–I’m hoping for the laceweight cashmere, of course ;-) is yours for just a $10 donation to a supremely worthy cause. Or 5 chances to win it are yours for a $50 donation. And so on.

So go ahead. Do something for the good of your fellow man, and go for the goldcashmere, all at once.

*****

In other news, the weather has turned cool and foggy here once more, and Tulip now has a back!

I’m feeling much more hopeful about the rest of the sweater, now that the back looks like an actual sweater-back and not like the Frankensteiny horror I feared. I still like the way the color is playing out, and I only had to rip once! The modifications for the front were a little trickier, but I’m still hopeful that some time in May I’ll have some new spring duds. Hooray!

…have certainly brought May flowers to this neck of the woods!

I’m loving my Tulip so far. The yarn has a very silky feel, the color changes remind me of the ocean in a very pleasant way, and the twisted edging is so clever! Every six stitches you rotate your left needle counter-clockwise. So easy, so clever, and with such a lovely result. I’m taking copious notes on my progress on the back, since I’ll need to match my modifications when I do the front pieces.

I fully admit that it may just be the lovely weather outside…

…but I’m really hopeful for this project!

I finished the indoor cap for my grandpa. It’s too big for all of us (which is good, since he has a ginormous head!). So, you get an in-progress shot.

This isn’t even big enough to warrant an FO page, really. Tubular cast-on the correct number of stitches, rib for awhile, put in stripes if you want, knit until you’re done. I hope it keeps him just the right temperature! I really really liked working with the Wool Cotton. It’s gotten me all excited to do the Basalt Tank again. Maybe this summer!

I sucked up and finally did the math for the back of Tulip. I’m really deviating from the pattern, I hope it works out well!

I’m making it longer, I’m adding waist shaping, I’m changing it to set-in sleeves. Wish me luck on this, I’ll need it. :)

Risa pointed me at Ravelry, and since then I’ve seen it everywhere. I signed up for the wait list immediately, of course–hopefully it will be ready soon!

Just in time for rainy, foggy, cold weather!

Pattern: Wendy’s generic toe-up socks

Yarn: J. Knits Supersock Me, color “Iowa”

Time Elapsed: One week, almost exactly

Modifications and Notes: It’s such a generic pattern, I’m not sure there *are* modifications. :) I added some stitches to the leg of the sock for fit.

This was my first toe-up sock, and it probably won’t be my last. I loved the ease of trying on the toe-up sock vs. a cuff-down. I used a picot bind-off at the top, and it probably is the last time I’ll do that. I briefly considered ironing it to stay flat just for the photo shoot, and lazed out. I think ribbing with a sewn bind-off would be much more comfortable.

(Of course, Jacob had to help with the pictures. More sock multi-tasking on the FO page.)

I love the J. Knits yarn, especially since it’s been washed. The nylon was a little… I don’t know the correct word, maybe crunchy? …before washing, but after a nice soak the socks are super soft and cushy. It’s a little splitty, but then again, so is most yarn when you use super-pointy tiny metal needles. The color is phenomenal, and didn’t pool a bit.

I’m not all that crazy about the short-row heel. I like the way it doesn’t interrupt what the color is doing, but it doesn’t seem to hug my feet in the same way as a heel flap does. So I’ll probably use it again, but only for handpainted yarn.

*****

I had hopes of doing the Shetland Triangle from Wrap Style in some Richesse et Soie I have in the stash and Tulip in May, but my Grandpa gave me a priority interrupt requesting an indoor cap, and it turns out I don’t have enough Richesse et Soie. Poo. :-/ So, Tulip is definitely on the agenda, and probably something warmer, too. Maybe the Slimline Jacket from Debbie Bliss’ “Out of Town”? I have Cashmerino Astrakhan in black for it…