Amused and Pomatomus Update

Amused
Got a LOT done today! I started 7 rnds below the join and did about 4-5 inches of ribbing. Many times I've used tubular BO, but not for 2x2 rib. Since the Fall 2008 Interweave Knits has an article that shows how, I plan on using that for the BO, except I won't be doing any tubular prep rows. (So, I guess I should really call it invisible BO like IK does.) Here's a progress pic:

My usual method of ribbing using the combined method is slow going as usual. But, it's worth it. The yarn has been wonderful to work with. I've only come across one felted join, which happened tonight. All I had to do was go back later to the affected stitch and snip it, replacing it with a new stitch from a spare strand of yarn. I can't wait to finish the ribbing and move on to the final parts. I think I'll do the collar first, just in case I run low on yarn. I can always make the sleeves shorter, especially on my short arms.

One more thing. I did decreases on the last row before the panels get joined together. In hindsight, I'd suggest following the ribbing pattern when decreasing, using k2tog and p2tog. So on the right front panel WS: slip 1 p-wise, then use k2tog and p2tog (according to st pattern) across the remaining 24 sts decreasing the panel sts to a total of 13. Use the same decs for the left front panel, purling the last stitch. On the next row (RS), join the front panels as written.

Pomatomus
Got a lot done on these, too. Well, I ran into a problem along the way, though. Last night I began the foot while watching 24. Oopsie -- must've been completely engrossed because I lost a few sts on the instep. I was like, "Heyyyyy, how'd I go from 36 sts to 33?!" I grabbed some dental floss and a needle to thread a lifeline through the last good rnd, which ended up being the last rnd of the gusset. It took a while to do that plus knit back to where I was before! Everything's hunkie dorie now, so I'm happy. I just have to figure out where to begin the toe decreases since 2 inches seems long for my shorter than average toes ;-)

Techno Tidbit: Finally Got My Animated Button To Work

Thanks to someone on Ravelry, I found out that Flickr doesn't support animated .gif Ravelry buttons, just the static ones. So, I joined photobucket to upload the button I wanted. All I had to do on Blogger was to change the URL to point to my Ravelry profile page. The animation works! Yay, problem solved.

Now back to knitting! I dropped a selvage stitch and had to rip back a few rows (grr!) on Amused. So, I'll be fixing that asap. Can't wait to try my new Harmony wood cable needles on Amused -- should get them tomorrow. Pomatomus progress? I'm at the heel :-) TAFN

Queue Thoughts

I just mentioned on my Knit Picks blog what's next for me in sweater knitting after I finish Amused:
1. Tubey
2. Blaze
and now adding a new one here
3. Fifi

Yes, Fifi! You heard me right. If you've followed my knitting, you'll remember this is the sweater that I frogged MULTIPLE times after which I finally changed the neckline CO to my liking. Not only did I change the neckline, but I added long sleeves and lowered the yoke pattern. Looking back, I would keep my version of the neckline, but not lower the yoke pattern or make longer sleeves. There also needs to be more attention paid to the fit around the armhole in front. The raglan seam needs to end in a place where the sleeve depth won't be too large this time. The last time I made the raglan seam short and CO the same number of sts for the sleeve and body. The number of CO sts was too high because I had to decrease rapidly on the sleeve, which didn't sit well with me. The challenge is factoring the alternating cable-rib pattern (an odd multiple of 5) into my decisions. Anyway, I'm looking forward to knitting Fifi again, this time as a spring/summer/fall sweater. Hmm... Comfy, Shine Worsted? I liked elann.com's Sonata, but I'd like to use a different cotton yarn for this. I'm thinking Comfy!

Before Fifi, I'm going to fix my Blaze sweater. It's a nice and cozy zigzag cable sweater with elbow-length sleeves made in Euro Yarns Peru DK Luxury. Too big, though. Oh man, I'll really hate frogging it. Although, I might not have to start completely over -- we'll see.

One more thing. My Harmony wood cable needles are on their way! I ordered those back on January 9th to help with the reversible cables on my Amused sweater. Though I've almost finished the front panels already, I'll still be able to use them on the collar :-)

Non-Knitting News:
I'm almost back into regularly working out. I've gone from once a week to twice a week. Since the Biggest Loser Cardio Max dvd is so hard, I wanted to ease back into it rather than taking on too much from the start. I'll be SO relieved when I can get outside and run again. That will be much easier to stick with, and I won't have to worry about injuring someone who gets too close. I do plan on keeping one or both of the Biggest Loser dvds as part of my weekly routine so that I have some strength training.

Time to knit!

TYC FO Pics and Amused WIP

Pattern: Tangled Yoke Cardigan, Interweave Knits Fall 2007 (great issue!); Size 38
Yarn: Knit Picks Telemark, Persimmon Heather, 14 skeins (1442 yd)
Needles: US5 and US 4 circulars
Notions: buttons from JoAnns
Pattern Notes: I changed one thing: the collar attachment. Instead of doing the 3-needle BO, I ripped that out and sewed it down instead. This eliminated puckering and the annoying ridge created on the WS that would've cut into my neck. Otherwise, I followed the pattern as written.
Additional Notes: To avoid wasting any Kookaburra scent, I'm not going to wear this until knit night! The tea tree oil in Kookaburra is so pleasing.
Note: More pictures can be found on my project page on Ravelry.

Now I have two cardigans, my casual CPH and now one that's a little more dressy. Speaking of CPH, I'm wearing that hoodie OUT. It gets worn almost every day and requires almost daily pilling removal. The WOTA yarn has begun to appear overall slightly felted from all the wear and tear. Eventually, I'll have to think about making another everyday cardigan, maybe next time in a cotton blend for warmer weather.

OTN:
Last night I got to the sleeve separation on my Amused. Yesterday afternoon, I took a picture of my progress, which you can see here :-)

TYC Blocking!

Yay! Except for sewing on the buttons, my Tangled Yoke Cardigan is finally done. Woohoo! It's currently soaking in Kookaburra -- Mmm, can't wait until it's dry! I found some small brown circular buttons that have an orange-brown center. I think they'll be a good match.

There are two more repeats to go and I'll have the yoke done on my Amused pullover. This sweater is going so much faster than TYC since I've jumped from using sport to worsted. It's nice to work with Swish again -- so soft. I haven't worked with merino since Marie's peekabo playground mittens.

In non-knitting news, our DVD player died. All this cold weather has resulted in excessive use. I think we ran it into the ground playing a million kid movies! We're lucky that it lasted this long because it's the first and only DVD player we've ever had. Until we get a new one, we'll be watching movies on the laptop or main computer. OHHH NOOOO, I hope I can do my DVD Biggest Loser workout by laptop! I didn't think of that until now...

Some good news: it might be warm enough to venture outside later this week :-)

My New Tool Tote!

While shopping for buttons tonight at JoAnns, I came across clearanced tote bags. Since I just frogged my needle case and have found the need lately for better organization of my little knitting knickknacks, I decided to go ahead and get this small accordion style tote. For $7.97, how could I not! I'd been considering Knit Picks $19.99 Options binder, but this'll work!

There are three zippered compartments that each contain zippered pouches. One compartment is perfect for my three sets of Options cables. I was able to fit some other circulars, crochet hooks, DPNs, and all my other tools and gadgets in my tote. Woohoo! Check out my pics :-) BTW the brand of the tote is Storage Solutions which is distributed by JoAnns.

Transition Time

Last night, as tradition, I cast on for my next sweater project before finishing my current one: I'm passing the torch from Tangled Yoke Cardigan to Amused. At knit night last Thursday, I took out the three-needle BO on my Tangled Yoke Cardigan's collar and later sewed it down instead. SO glad I did -- it looks significantly better. No puckering or ridging, and it won't cut into my neck. Now I only have the buttonbands left. So, last night I pulled out the Amused pattern and yarn and CO. I got two rows past the provisional CO for the front cable panels. Not a bad start. It always feels nice to get started on a brand new project to have something to look forward to when finishing up another one!

I took a day off on my Pomatomus socks to focus on my needle case. This was on Wednesday. I remember because it was a wasted night of knitting! There were too many little mistakes, all having to do with the twisting at the DK pocket edges. So, I frogged the whole thing and CO again, hoping to be consistent and invisible in my twisting. Well, I still didn't get the twists right. So, I frogged it again and put it away to hibernate until I can find out more about what I'm doing wrong. The designer PM-ed me on Ravelry about a week ago, letting me know I could tell her if I ran into any snags. So after frogging, I did PM her and also posted for help in the Double Knitting group. Now it's just wait and see. I can't continue that project until I learn the proper way to twist pocket edges with MC and CC that lie next to single knitting in MC.

Knit Picks has new Imagination colors! I'll be looking for the stash pictures that show up on Ravelry before I decide which of the new colors I like. You can click on each colorway's thumbnail to see a larger picture and description. But, I'd like to see the new colors knit up. It's not new, but I'm loving Lost Boys right now. Too bad that colorway is being discontinued!

In non-knitting news, I've finally made pizza I liked, thanks to my Pampered Chef stone. I've used it mainly for wreaths and braids. But it's also great for cookies and pizza! Using a "just add water" crust mix, I topped my pizza with Del Grosso New York Style Pizza Sauce as well as pepperoni, lite sausage, mushrooms, onion, and cheese, making sure not to overload it. That stone is like magic I tell you! I'm never using my pizza pan again.

I'm finishing up re-reading the last Harry Potter book, thinking ahead about what I want to read next. My brother Doug and his wife Melissa got me a Dan Simmons novel, The Terror. So I might read that. Usually this time of year, I think about re-reading Unfinished Tales, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion (in reverse, actually). After reading Children of Hurin, I've stayed away from Tolkien for a while since that book is a heavy version of stories told in The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales. It's also been a while since I've perused The Atlas of Middle-Earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad. That book is great as a supplemental reference to any of the stories of Middle-earth and Aman. It's most useful when reading The Silmarillion because of all the numerous story backdrops, journeys, and battles. I love looking at Valinor and the elven kingdoms in Endor, as well as the maps that bridge The Silmarillion and LOTR. Fun stuff! At least for me it is ;-)

Adapting Pomatomus to 2xML Method

Note: To enlarge pics, just right-click and open in another window or tab. The text is quite small, which is why I mention this!

In knitting my Pomatomus socks 2-at-a-time using Magic Loop knitting, I've learned how to adapt this DPN pattern to my preferred method. There were two issues to resolve that I thought I'd blog about here, mainly for my own benefit, seeing as I'm rather new to the whole sock knitting experience (I've made only 2 pairs, Jaywalker on DPNs and toe-up Monkeys 2xML. What can I say, I'm a sweater girl!). But, I also thought this might benefit anyone else who decides to knit these socks 2-at-a-time, especially if they're new to it. Experienced 2xML sock knitters need not read further ;-)

There are several people on Ravelry who've knit Pomatomus 2-at-a-time, but there wasn't much "how to" information on the forums -- until recently. Miraculously, someone else ran into the same dilemma as I and posted her question the same day that I was going to post, asking for help. She wanted to know how to transfer stitches when you're between socks. Thankfully, Raveler LiquidPen answered the question, and stitches have since then been flying off my circular needle! Currently, I'm on the 3rd Chart A repeat of the leg, getting ever closer to the heel. Woohoo! I'm really digging how these are turning out, not to mention how much I like the yarn and its colorway (Knit Picks Imagination - Lost Boys).

Here follows the two issues 2xML sock knitting beginners like me will encounter:

Part 1 - YOs on Chart A Rnd12
How do you make a YO at the end of each sock? Each sock has 36 sts for the front and 36 sts for the back, which means the end of the 12-st pattern repeat coincides with the end of each sock. So, you'll need to make a total of 4 YOs at the end of each side of each sock on Rnd12. With DPNs, you can work the YO as written. For 2xML, it's a different story... Here's how you do it. You wait until you're at the beginning of the next side, Rnd12Side2 and Rnd13Side1, to do the YOs. Make YOs on the back cable at the beginning of each sock before following the chart for that side. This won't be confusing when you do it because the YOs end up on the back cable, out of sight. Thank goodness, right?! The beginning position of your working yarn is below and between your cables (Pic. 1). Move it under and behind the back cable (Pic. 2), drawing it upward. Now you can begin working the awaiting stitches of that sock. When you get to the next sock, you'll do the same thing, moving the working yarn under and behind the back cable.



As you can see from the notes written on Pic. 3 (which I only included because of the notes since Pic. 2 is better), you'll need to make YOs at the beginning of each sock on Rnd13Side1. Don't forget! If you do forget, you'll only have 35 sts for each sock on Side 2 and therefore screw up the pattern!

OK, next issue.

Part 2 - Transferring Stitches
Funny that I only have two pictures for this, considering how this issue was my main roadblock. Anyway... The pattern states that you have to transfer the 1st st on each DPN to the end of the previous DPN. Also, when transferring the 1st st of needle 1 to needle 3, you're supposed to use needle 3 to knit the transferred st through the back loop. how does this translate to 2xML? When you get to the first st of the 2nd sock on each side, there's no possible way to follow the directions exactly as written, thanks to the two parallel lines of separated sts. You're between socks and can't access sts from the other side! LiquidPen from Ravelry suggested a way to solve this problem: USE LOCKING STITCH MARKERS.

When I finished Chart A for the first time, and therefore was at the rearranging part, I realized when and how to lock the transferred sts. Prepare ahead of time on Rnd22: Work and lock the 1st st of each sock on each side (see Pic. 4), dropping these 4 locked sts off the needle.

Beginning on Rnd22Side2, you'll ktbl the locked sts (from Side1) at the end of each sock (see last pic, Pic. 5). Note: You'll also still be locking sts at the beginning of each sock on that side! Double trouble!

Upon finishing Rnd22, you'll have 2 remaining locked sts to transfer to the next side, which will be Rnd1. If you look at Rnd1 on Chart A, you'll notice that the last st is ktbl; this ktbl represents the remaining two locked sts when doing Side1. This will make sense when you get there because you'll be one st short at the end of each sock, necessitating that you pick up the locked st and ktbl. Once you finish Rnd1Side1, you'll be done transferring sts.

Well, I've been wordy as usual! Regardless, this really helps to journal my experience, and I hope that my pictures and explanations are useful to others. One more thing I wanted to mention: Mary Thomas's Knitting Book (1938). Wow! The knitting predecessor of Elizabeth Zimmermann and Barbara Walker sure is one detailed, thorough lady. When she covers a topic, SHE COVERS A TOPIC. I found the sections on decreases/increases, Western/Eastern and Crossed/Uncrossed (8 sts total; and she mentions Combined Knitting), and Stranding and Weaving very informative. Just imagine, SSK hadn't been invented yet! I found a wealth of decreases, single and double, where you return sts to the left needle such as the KRPS (Knit Return Pass Return on knittinghelp.com. I can't believe my library had this book, which BTW is a reprint from 1972. It's in very good condition, even with the yellowing pages!

The other book you see in the picture is K2TOGETHER. I've been wanting to borrow this book since Tracey Ullman co-wrote it. There are a couple of lounging/yoga pants in it that piqued my attention.

Ariel Camera and Knitting News

While shopping for birthday gifts, I happened to find this Ariel play camera for only $3.99. Marie is really into taking pictures (correction: she likes to HAVE her picture taken, the little ham) and trying to access our digital camera. She also loves Ariel, who is her favorite princess. Her eyes lit up when I handed her the camera, and she's been playing with it ever since. I believe our digital camera is now safe (until she gets a little older and wiser). That was a well-spent $3.99.

I'm reading about the Harry Potter Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap. It sounds like a lot of fun. So, I'm trying to decide if I can do it. In the past, I've also looked at some LOTR swaps. But, those were pricey. The HSKS costs $25-$40 and requires weekly participation (see link for details). Hmm, should I use the portkey and enter this? I don't know yet!

I took some pictures of my in-progress Pomatomus socks to show how I'm wrapping the yarn for the yarnovers that land at the end of the 12-st pattern repeat (which coincides with the ends of sides 1 and 2 for each sock. They are done at the beginning of each sock's sts on Rnd12Side2 and Rnd13Side1 by wrapping under and behind the back cable. Once I upload the pics, I'll post them. When I get to Rnd22, I'm going to take pictures of how I rearrange sts with locked stitch markers. The pattern directions are for DPNs, so 2-at-a-time magic loopers have to adapt. 2xML knitters have to do a Ktbl for 2 of the locked sts on side 2. The other two locked sts get worked on Rnd1Side1 at the ends of each sock's sts. Previously, I thought you had to do an inactive row just to rearrange the sts, but that step can be eliminated.

Once I finally finish TYC and then make Amused and Tubey, I might frog my oversized Blaze, the sweater with the zigzag cables. I've been putting that off, but need to do it if I'm ever going to wear it! I also need to get back to making my DK knitting case. I've been focusing all my attention since last Thursday on my Pomatomi!

CO for Pomatomus Socks

Using Knit Picks Imagination in the Lost Boys colorway, I cast on for Pomatomus. Using a German Twist CO, I've finished the twisted rib cuffs and half of the first chart. I'm at the part where you have to put a yarnover at the end of the pattern repeat, which can be a little tricky with one circular. Ask me how I know! My gut was telling me, "You can't end one side with a yarnover!" I made it through Round 14 last night, but had to tink back 3 rounds because of the yarnovers. Unfortunately, I'd been placing my yarnovers at the beginning of the next side. I found out this doesn't work when you get to the next round. Oops! Now I know to trust the pattern and put the YO's at the end.

I'm just glad to be past the CO and the first few rounds of these socks because I don't like doing magic loop cuff down. Toe-up is much simpler. If it weren't for not being completely satisfied with the cuff BO, I'd do all my socks toe up. Although... I do like challenging my comfort zone at times, which is why I chose these socks.

I took a few days off from Tangled Yoke Cardigan to start my Pomatomus socks. The TYC collar needs to be re-done, and I needed to take a little break. I followed the instruction for doing the 3-needle BO, and it doesn't look or feel right. Inside, there is a hard, thick ridge that won't feel good on the neck. Outside, I can tell I didn't pull the collar down far enough to reach the stockinette because the first two rows of the collar pucker. So after frogging the 3-needle BO, I'm going to sew the collar instead. I did see a video on how to do a tuck stitch that might not be as thick as the 3-needle BO, but I think I'll stick with sewing it.

Speaking of videos, I saw one on You Tube that showed how to do the braided trim for the Sienna hat by Knitwhits. What a really cool technique! I've seen it on stranded gloves/mittens or ones with corrugated rib and often wondered what that was.

I've seen a number of knitting blogs with organized grids or mosaics of 2008 FOs. So, to keep with what everyone else is doing, here's my 2008 collection of knits. I thought there'd be more because I'd gotten my knitting mojo back in 2008. With two kids though, I think it'll be a while before the quantity of FOs ever comes close to comparing with 2006 when I first felt like I could knit anything and had a knitting explosion ;-)

I think I've finally caught up on posting, don't ya think?!

Wahoo, It's Here!

Due to snowstorms in Washington and bad weather here in Ohio, not to mention post-holiday giftcard shoppers, I finally received a long-awaited package from Knit Picks! Back on January 9th, I ordered some sock yarn, fixed circulars, cable cases, needle tips, and cables. They were shipped on the 19th and received today, 1/21. I also ordered some harmony cable needles, but they're backordered until 1/30. In the pics, you'll see Marie hovering around the sock yarn. She thought it was really cool and did NOT want me to put it back into the box for safekeeping. Both yarns are very soft and have beautiful colorways. Yummmmm.

Since the Lost Boys and Coney Island colorways (from Imagination and Felici sock yarn lines, respectively) are being clearanced, I HAD to buy some! Those are colorways I've always wanted. The patterns I intend to use are Firestarter and Pomatomus (I think I spelled that right.). I'm so glad to finally purchase some US1 (2.5 mm) fixed circulars for these socks because my Addi Turbos are permanently damaged (i.e., crimped in the middle). My Addis are US2's, which have always been a bit too large. Now I have US1 and US0 fixed circs for socks! Now the question is, which pattern for which yarn?!

The backordered cable needles were intended for Amused. Now that I have the US9 needle tips, I can go ahead with this pattern when I finish TYC. I'm not going to wait on the cable needles. But, I hope they come before I finish the cabling on Amused. Speaking of Amused, I think I know what I'll do when I get to the bottom of the cable panels: a fellow Raveler used p2togs after the join to avoid the pouchy blouson effect created by the changeover to stockinette from cables.

For those interested, here's a You Tube link to the OSUMB in the Inaugural Parade yesterday. When I was in the band, we got to play for Clinton and Gore on the Oval at Ohio State.

Pictures From Battery Park

I'm back from our roadtrip to Charleston, SC! Though it was cold there, we were glad to be somewhere other than Ohio. When we left Friday morning, our pipes had frozen. We drove straight there and got there Friday night. Saturday morning we went to Battery Park, which is next to Charleston Harbor, and walked around until we couldn't take the cold, blustery wind any longer. After that, we got back into the car and drove around the historic district to see all the pretty homes. Every time I go to Charleston, I just love seeing the homes with their wrought iron and brick or stone walkways that lead to backyard gardens or courtyards. My last cross stitch, which I'm not finished with, is of a sunlit passageway between two houses in Charleston (or somewhere in the South).

Remind me not to wear white dress pants when I have my two young kids with me! I'm not sure if they got dirty before the reception, but I'm positive that they got dirty the first five minutes of the reception. They look terrible! Ian's shoes marked them up, and somehow I sat on a small bit of chocolate frosting. I should also mention that wearing 3-inch heels are also not a good idea when having to chase a 16-month-old. It's like walking with your ankles tied together so that you can only take 6- to 8-inch steps. Oh well, my outfit was very nice and I was happy to not wear a dress!

Sunday afternoon, after visiting the bride and groom's house, we drove to Statesville, NC to stay the night. Statesville is northwest of Charlotte and just east of the mountains. Jared has an uncle who lives there, so we visited before we left on Monday.

Luckily we had on loan a portable DVD player with two screens that hang on the back of the front seat headrests. Marie of course wanted to watch Wall-E. Actually, I think that's the only movie that she and Ian watched the whole trip. It was a lifesaver when the two of them got restless or overly talkative. While they watched Wall-E, I worked on my Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I finished the collar, but need to rip out the three-needle BO because it doesn't look right. I think I might sew it down instead. After that, I just have the button bands and grafting the underarms. I better go find some buttons soon!

First Sock Yarn Order From Knit Picks

Thanks to my fellow knitters (or shall we say happy enablers) from knit night last Thursday, I've decided it's time to try Knit Picks' Imagination and Felici sock yarns. I really like the new Felici colorways and thought at first of purchasing from them. But then I thought about how the Gelato and Coney Island colorways were being clearanced. So, I went with Coney Island. For the Imagination sock yarn, I've been pleasantly surprised on Ravelry or in person by colorways that previously didn't impress me as much (i.e., Damsel, Wicked Witch, and Frog Prince). The colorways I've always liked are... well wait, I really like them ALL to varying degrees. Since Lost Boys is being discontinued, I just HAD to get that. That was one of my favorites!

So after choosing sock yarn and knowing that my Addi Turbos were permanently maimed, I felt convinced that it was only prudent to purchase new US1 circulars. Don't you agree? ;-) Next, I remembered that I needed to order US9 needle tips to make Amused. Then I remembered, "Hey, wouldn't it be nice to get an extra set of 40" cables as well as some new 32" ones?" Then I decided to also get some cable cases and wood cable needles (for Amused). Normally, I wouldn't order this much stuff, but I had some Christmas money. Hopefully I'll get my stuff by Monday since my order was received Friday. It sure is nice to live close enough to the distribution center to receive packages the very next day after they go out. :-)

Tangled Yoke Cardigan: I'm there. I'm at the tangled yoke part! When I get a chance today, I'll begin those 18 rounds. Can I say yet again how much I love this yarn and colorway?! I can see why Kelley Petkun raved about it (See her quote at the top of the Knit Picks yarn page.). Did I mention that my 40" cable ends I'm using for this have started to come loose? Last night, one end came loose enough that I purposely tugged at it to see if it would come out. It did, although it took some doing. It also took some doing to get it back into the metal join, but it did stay put. Earlier in the evening, before knitting and pulling the cable out, I bought some Gorilla Glue to prepare for such moments. So, when my cables get too loose and/or annoying, I'll try out the glue.

My double knitted Options needle case is coming along. I'd say well, but there are several small mistakes, ALL having to do with the pocket edges. Last night I figured out a way to make the blips of color not appear: Do the yarn twists between the two colors, just before the actual pocket edges. When I finish this pattern, maybe I'll make it again or make a modified version with some new yarn. It's fun learning about double knitting.

I haven't mentioned My So Called Scarf or my Simple Toe Up Amklets for a long time. I should really change their Ravelry status to hibernate. I plan on finishing them; they're just on the back burner at the moment. I'll be needling the US0 circular I'm using on the anklets for my TYC. So, I might be motivated to finish at least one anklet to free up that needle... I love the yarn and stitch pattern of the scarf. It just takes forever compared to regular stockinette!

My Free KP Yarn Arrived! (and a TYC Update...)

And here it is :-) As I mentioned in my last post, I won this from Knit Picks to make the Knitty pattern Amused. They had a yarn giveaway contest and awarded three people Swish Worsted for Amused, one person Merino Style for Surface, and one person WOTA Kettle Dyed for Everybody Knows. Basically, I had to add a comment to the giveaway announcement post explaining: 1) which pattern of the three I liked best and why; 2) my Ravelry ID; and 3) my blog URL. What luck, huh?! The next contest takes some actual work... see here. Anyway, I'm bumping Tubey down one on my queue so that I can knit Amused after I finish Tangled Yoke Cardigan.

After delving into all possible techniques to be found on the internet for 2x2 rib tubular CO (See Ysolda Teague's page for two different methods. I knit my CHP ribbing using her YouTube video.), I've taken a slight tangent and have been looking into double knitting techniques. Let's see... There's an open or closed cast on. One color or two (Somewhere I saw more than two colors used, but we won't go there!). The two sides of the knitting are usually separated, but you can interlock stitches by switching the front and back yarn. I'll speak more on that in a bit. If you're interested in learning how to double knit, the places I found that helped me: YouTube (You can several cast on methods for double knitting, although not how to interlock sts.); Ravelry (There's a Double Knitting group with a forum, which is where I learned quite a lot.); and Googling it (FYI: not that many people have tutorials on double knitting. But, there's a Yahoo group for it, although I haven't checked it out yet.). Stitch Diva Studios has a nice set of basic instructions with pictures. Start here for that. My favorite thing about their tutorial is they cover all four ways you would have to hold your two yarn strands -- knitting/purling a st in the front and knitting/purling a st on the back.

I CO for a needle case pattern I found on the Knit Picks Options group on Ravelry. This pattern is the reason for my interest in double knitting. The entire piece is knitted, needle slots and pockets, without any seaming. Pockets and slots are created by interlocking stitches and binding off on the front for openings. It sounds cool, but let me tell you, MY HEAD HURTS! I'm sure I've made a bunch of tiny mistakes so far on how to twist the yarn at the pocket edges so that it's hidden. But, I don't care at this point since I've given myself a headache. Here are some pics of my progress, both front (inside) and back (outside). The little blocks of color represent the separated slots for interchangeable needle tips. The green pocket in the middle is for cables.

And finally...a TYC update: I've attached the sleeves and have maybe two inches to go before making the tangled cable pattern on the yoke. I hear that I'll have hundreds of sts on my needles for those 18 rnds. Yikes, I already have well over 200 sts now! Sorry, no progress pic:-( I thought I had one! Oh, can I just say how awesome those KP Options cable caps are?! When I finished the body, I put end caps on and used my needle tips for another cable to make the sleeves. What a time saver. The only thing I don't like about the TYC pattern, and this is something I don't like on all seamless bottom-up patterns, is the sleeve attachment. When attaching and for several rounds after, the stitches near the end of the sleeves get severely stretched. I try to use DPNs (or extra circulars) to temporarily relieve the stress on the sleeve and adjacent body sts. When knitting top-down, this stretching problem does not occur. Yeah, I'm partial to top-down patterns ;-)

Two Reliable Solutions To Share

Solution #1
I failed to mention in my previous post that the TV remote got iced tea spilled on it at the same time as my Tangled Yoke Cardigan. For the second time, I used rice to save the remote. Since this has worked twice, I thought I'd mention it here. If your remote loses functionality on some buttons due to some liquid being spilled on it, you can fill a bowl with uncooked rice and bury the remote facedown in the rice. I usually leave it overnight. Magically, the rice absorbs the moisture from the remote. I'm talking about the moisture inside the remote! Before the latest attempt at saving our remote, the left side buttons didn't work. After sitting in rice facedown all night, those buttons now work. I'm not sure that this would work with pop or anything else sugary, though, since the high fructose corn syrup usually destroys everything it touches as it dries and gets sticky. Ask me how I know (pop on a computer keyboard...).

Solution #2
A useful diaper rash concoction that I recently had to make for Ian:

Balmex (or any other zinc oxide product)
generic Clotrimazole (anti-fungal found in the foot care section)
generic hydrocortisone

Mix together all three ingredients in a small sealable container, using more of the Balmex and less of the hydrocortisone than the Clotrimazole. Does that make sense? Listed in order of ingredient amounts: Balmex, Clotrimazole, hydrocortisone. This works for extremely bad diaper rashes when hydrocortisone is required because regular diaper rash creams won't adhere (ouch!) to the skin. The anti-fungal is optional. It's for "meaty" rashes. I got this recipe from a pediatric nurse practitioner. She said that some pharmacies sell a similar concoction that's supposedly really expensive. That was nice of her to save me some money. Anyway, hope I didn't gross anyone out too much!

Knitting News?
None today, other than I'm working on the sleeves of my TYC :-)

Whew, That Was Close!

I seriously wonder sometimes if my kids are killing off my brain cells little by little. I was already put-a-fork-in-me D-O-N-E when my youngest spilled my iced tea all over some finished pieces of my Tangled Yoke Cardigan and the couch. They were the completed body and one completed sleeve on holders. I ran them downstairs and soaked them in room temperature water, then spun them out in the washer. I can't believe I spun them out in the washer because the body was on a Knit Picks cable with end caps, and the sleeve was on scrap yarn holders secured with square knots! Both pieces dried overnight, and they turned out OK. Thank goodness!

I'm currently on the second sleeve. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to go back and frog half the first sleeve because I just realized that I did 8 rounds too many of the garter rib. In theory, 8 rounds in sport yarn doesn't seem like enough to frog at first. But with my short arms, it just doesn't look right. The garter rib would be longer than the stockinette portion as well as the length of the garter rib on the body. So, off to tinkland I go!

Speaking of the sleeves, good thing I kept track of the length while knitting. The increases are every 14th round, with the last increase on the 16th round followed by some extra rounds of even stockinette. In my case, I made the last increase on the 14th round and stopped there without knitting the extra stockinette rounds because I had 17.5 inches.

Now for some really good news to make up for my knitting near catastrophe: I'M ONE OF THE KNITPICKS YARN GIVEAWAY CONTEST WINNERS!!!!! Oh yeah!!!!! I submitted my Ravelry ID and blog URL in the comments section of the giveaway annoucement, along with my choice and reason behind my choice for one of three new Knitty patterns: Amused, Surface, and Knowbody Knows. Not thinking that I'd win, I didn't check back until 4 days after I'd received word that I was one of the three Amused yarn winners. They chose three winners for Amused and one winner each for the other two patterns. I got to choose between three colors of Swish worsted. Since I already had one of the color choices (Marine Heather) and am currently knitting a Telemark colorway similar to a second choice (Copper), I went with the third color: Lawn. Can't wait to get my yarn and make Amused! Although, I plan on finishing my TYC first.

Finally Got My Mojo For TYC

Though I don't have any pics at the moment, I've been actually getting somewhere on my Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I'm on the waist increases as we speak with two more to go. The long garter rib wore me out and was rough on my fingertips. I had to stop and knit some dishcloths to give my fingertips some time to recover, especially my left index fingertip. There was the beginning of a small hole in it! Yikes! I'm using rough yarn and sharp needle tips, which is why my fingertips have suffered so much abuse. Now that I'm done with the garter rib and doing stockinette, things are back to normal. Although, I've been using more hand lotion ;-)

Speaking of dishcloths, I have some pics to show of those. I made three total: Chinese Waves, Bamboo Cloth Variation 2, and Blissful Moss Rib. All were made from Lily Sugar'n'Cream. I thought I'd try various bind offs for fun. For the Chinese Waves pattern, I used the traditional BO. With Blissful Moss Rib, I used the suspended BO I learned from Stitch Diva on You Tube. For the Bamboo Cloth Variation 2, I used what I was told (on Ravelry) was the Lucy Neatby modified conventional BO (?). Of the latter two, I think I liked the suspended BO best because it wasn't too loose or too tight.

I wish I wasn't suffering from maternal mush brain so that I could also think and write about other topics. It's one of those days where I'm SO looking forward to knit night to regain some sanity! Oh wait, I though of one thing I could mention... Yesterday, I took Marie and Ian to a friend's to paint baked Christmas ornaments and have lunch. The night before, I stayed up late creating our ornaments from salt dough. Let me just say that I'm definitely no artist when it comes to molding and shaping. But, I did have fun attempting to make Tasha (from Backyardigans on Nick Jr.)! Too bad I made Tasha and a few other ornaments too big and too thick. They didn't harden completely and cracked when removing from the cookie sheet. I think they might be too heavy to hang on the tree LOL. Though my first salt dough ornament making wasn't too successful, I'm looking forward to making some more now. Marie really had fun painting!

Oh wait, now I know something else to mention. Sunday night when it was almost balmy here (mid-40s), the family went to Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo. We're members, so we got in free and didn't end up spending a dime, not even for parking. We went after dinner and spent about three hours there. Near the end of our visit, we took Marie and Ian to see Santa. When it was their turn, both of them stared up at Santa and then at the photographer. But Marie remembered to turn and tell Santa, "It's Wall-E!!!!" before being whisked off his lap. Santa said, "Oh, OK." I got video of it with our digital camera, although you can't hear Marie. I think what made me laugh was being reminded of the scene in A Christmas Story where Ralphie remembers at the last second what he wants for Christmas. Marie was so overwhelmed from being in Santa's presence that she didn't think until the last second to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas.

Intarsia ITR EZ Hybrid Shirt-Yoke

Yesterday I came across a new and crass acronym on Ravelry: JFGI. While the F part is a bit much, it is good advice because, truly, that's the only way to learn things is to do it yourself. In the spirit of do-it-yourself learning, let me entertain you by divulging what a glutton for punishment I must be...

I'm working on a toddler version of Elizabeth Zimmermann's Hybrid Shirt-Yoke Sweater. Now enters my dilemma. I've made the sleeves in a different color since I didn't have enough of one color. So... intarsia in the round. I'd never done intarsia ITR and naively decided to knit the first two rounds of the yoke without looking into it (not to mention the fact that I didn't separate each skein into separate balls for each of the four sections -- ha ha ha ha ha). Uh, yeah. Since you work right to left every round, I discovered that the working yarn strands all end up on the left. So when you get to the next round, there aren't any working strands to pick up. Um, duh. At this point, I decided to JFGI. Oh crappola, that took a while. There are many methods of intarsia ITR, and the one that suits my dilemma turns out to not be that bad for my situation, thank goodness. However, all methods have one similarity: you must work back and forth. Ack! That sorta defeats my purpose in making a seamless sweater. But, hey I'm the ignoramus who chose to make the sleeves in two colors. I'm not turning back now!

OK, so I had to frog back to the beginning of the yoke, luckily only 3 rounds. After that, I went to sleep and woke up planning how to gel together the intarsia ITR method I chose with the principles of the EZ Seamless Hybrid pattern, not to mention customizing the saddles and neck opening for a toddler-sized head. After some consideration, I came to the conclusion that I can only do my double raglan decreases on the RS rather than every 3rd round. Crap. OK, so I did the math and figured that I can do a combination of every 4th round at first, followed by every other round which will bring the raglan seam in faster at the top. I'll still be able to do the decreases in the same number of rounds as the original pattern. Yay, score one for me. Next, instead of eating up 1/3 of the front and back stitches when doing the saddles, I'll be changing that fraction to 1/4 so as to leave 50% open for the neck. Due to this change, I'll have to work 3/4 of the back sts rather than 2/3 for the first saddle.

Since I can't be doing double decreases and dealing with yarnovers at the same time, I decided to move the location of the beginning of the round to the back: now it's going to be where I'll end my first saddle, which is close to the back left shoulder. When I've finished the raglan decreases and reached the end of the round, I'll turn, YO, and purl back toward the right shoulder to begin the saddle short rows on the WS. When the short rows and back portion of the right saddle are complete, I'll work the YO together with the first of the remaining back stitches reserved for left saddle consumption. The rest shouldn't be as difficult from there.

Oh wait. Back up. Did I mention that I haven't decided exactly how to follow the directions for the double decreases without screwing up the division of the two colors or the marked stitch? There are three sts involved, two white body sts and one sleeve st. I'm considering using a s1k2togpsso (left-slanting) and ssk-return-pass-return (right-slanting). The trick will be to keep the marked sts the same color, preferably red since that's what will happen on the saddles. This is one of those things where you just have to "do" to find out what works. Knit and learn.

Despite the increasing lack of simplicity in following my first EZ pattern due to my use of intarsia ITR and making it have a larger head opening, I did discover some nice things along this latest learning curve. I'll still be able to mimic the original pattern. I've been introduced to more techniques concerning intarsia (I didn't even know that you could do intarsia ITR!). The best thing I discovered is that EZ knows her math. When I was determining how many sts to pick up in the front and back for the neckline, I used EZ's 2-for-every-3 rule and discovered that these sts together with the front saddle sts add up exactly to 50%. For example: I'll have 27 sts each for the front/back and 9 sts each for the saddles. 2/3 of 27 = 18, so 18+18+9+9=54 which is 50% of the chest circumference for this sweater. Sheer genius that woman :-)

OK, done now. My head hurts!

FOs, Moss Stitch, and Seed Stitch (US vs. UK)

New FOs to show :-) More pics are on Ravelry and on my picture gallery at the right. The mittens are Playground Mittens which have an opening at the palm. I decided to make them warmer by adding some fingerless mitts on the inside. They're made with Swish Superwash. The Tressel Vest you've already seen, but not modeled. The toe-up Monkeys (Los Monos Locos on Ravelry) are finally done!!!! They've been on the needles forEVER.

Now that I've completed all the kids mittens and hat projects, as well as my toe-up Monkeys, I can get on with Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I'm down to three WIPs: Tangled Yoke, My So-Called Scarf, and some toe-up anklets. Don't be surprised if I start a toddler sample size of the EZ Hybrid sweater though because Jared wants that sweater in his size. I thought it's probably best to tackle an Ian-sized version to get some practice making my first EZ pattern. Plus, I'm already thinking that the kids need some pullovers. I don't think I get tired of making them clothes!

Seed stitch, moss stitch. What's the difference?
Finally, I got my confusion about moss stitch and seed stitch cleared up by reading someone's post on Ravelry (Rox). She spent some time in the UK and found out the difference between the UK and the US when it comes to the previously mentioned stitch patterns:

US seed st = UK moss st
US moss st = UK double moss st
US double moss st = UK box st
The UK seed stitch has a stockinette background with more sparsely placed purl seeds. The UK seed stitch does not have any particular US equivalent stitch pattern.