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Monday, September 25, 2006

finally getting somewhere

I woke up with a start at 8am on Saturday, after four measly hours' sleep, and said to myself, "Self, I'm gonna write the animal cracker pattern this weekend." I rolled back over, snoozed for a half-hour, then went on a six-shop yarn crawl (similar to a pub crawl in just about every way -- and certainly just as expensive -- but the sense of temporary euphoria doesn't destroy brain cells). To wit:

And then, I wrote a pattern. Just like that.

Of course, my real goal was not just to write the pattern, but also to test-knit the sizes (there's four, 'member?), do my photo shoot, and be writing my unveiling post right now. I was actually on track, too, and then a deadliney project popped back up (no, I can't say what it is; yes, you'll certainly find out eventually; and of course I'm evil, that's not news), so I switched over to that.

Oh, and I also shot more yarn porn! At this juncture, I'm fairly certain that yarn falls into the same category as baby animals, sunsets, and British rockstars: It just doesn't photograph badly.


animal cracker makings...


...and the resulting hat! this is actually the one I knit last summer, but the final pattern is the same. see how the Shannon yarn makes the top all variegated and jawesome?


yesterday's Koigu. the gold's not nearly so bright in person, and looked even less bright in the store. not complainin' -- I like bright!


Frog Tree alpaca in the foreground, DB Alpaca Silk in the background. I hadn't planned it, but what an alpaca-y picture.


this isn't new, but it is sexy. Rowan Yorkshire Tweed 4ply, which had been earmarked for cabled socks for Jon. I don't think his new girlfriend would take too kindly to an ex knitting for him, so I have no idea what it'll be now.


Kaalund Classic Two, laceweight wool. would you be shocked to hear that I bought it in late winter? :) I think it might become the IK Icarus shawl, if it's not too busy to hide the border.


Vee! I'm a bit further now, and I'm getting a bit terrified of running out of yarn, even though the math says I should be fine.


see how smushy and wrinkly it is right off the needles...


...and how smooth and drapey it is after it's blocked? that's silk for you, I guess. we loves it!


haven't posted about this before, I don't think. this is most of my hipster hat, 2 skeins of Classic Elite Intrigue -- metallic cashmere! the yarn was a congrats-on-permanent-employment present to myself in March.


you can't actually tell, but it's a couple inches short of being done. I was mid-decrease, too, so it'll be a bitch to get back into. I love the way the waffliness shows off the metallic thread. actually I love it in general, I'll be picking my winter coat around it.


a heavily tweaked one skein wonder -- half-length sleeves, allover butterfly lace, and an attempt at a short-rowed shawl collar. I got bored before the collar was actually big enough to fold over, but I still like the fit. (a couple skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca Silk, which had been bouncing around my stash for ages.)

and finally...


new shoes! I was actually looking for shoes suited to knitted socks, and wound up with so-ugly-they're-cute hipster shoes. (they'll still make a nice foil for anklewarmers, so I didn't absolutely fail my mission, riiiight?) my love knows no bounds.

okay, that's it. :)

(Aaaand commenting should be working here, now, so no need to link LJ! You'll need to be register for a Typekey account, if you don't already have one -- sorry for the fuss, but this is the only way I can find to stop myself from getting comment-spammed to death again.)

Lauren posted at 0.11 on 09.25.06 comments (5)

Saturday, November 26, 2005

oh, and happy thanksgiving too!

I know, I know, I disappeared again. For what it's worth, I pretty much disappeared from the entire internet in the past month, mostly because of work (even with the holiday weekend I still managed overtime this week, and the previous three weeks were all 50+ hours), but also because of...

...new apartment!!!

I didn't really want to move when I did (which was three weeks ago) but in retrospect I'm so glad I did, and I LOVE my new apartment. I'm in a 2-bedroom share in this funky doorman building on the Lower East Side. It's pretty much my dream apartment, and it's in my price range and everything! My fingers are crossed that I'll become permanent at work (which is going really well still -- we hired three new temps, so once they're trained, my workload should come down) by the time my roommate's lease is up, so that I can take it over. I have a ~10'x6' window that runs the length of my room, so I have plennnty of light if I want it (and pretty purple and gold curtains when I don't). AND I'm right around the corner from Downtown Yarns -- not necessarily a good thing, because it means I wind up dropping $50 on two skeins of Kaalund Expressions in Pacific when I run out "for pizza." But for all the OT I've been doing, I think I deserve a treat!

Knittingwise... the Kaalund is becoming my new Kiri, which is a much happier excursion than the (frogged) previous effort. The Alpaca Cloud from that is earmarked for the Peacock Feathers Shawl (though I may exchange for a new color -- I'm understandably sick of that shade of blue now :p). And in between, Ivete talked me into knitting a green-to-pink Charlotte's Web (it was inevitable!), which will be done as soon as I pick up a second skein of each of my last two colors. Stash reduction? What?

I'm embarrassed to say that I haven't seen GoF since it was actually released, but I did manage to see it twice before that :D -- one media screening and the NY premiere (after covering the red carpet for FictionAlley). I loooooved it, cried over the same part everyone else did, and I definitely must see it again. I have tons of knitting notes filed away in my head (house unity scarf! new Weasley sweater! twinhat! Ginny's woobie orange hat!) but 6am is not the time to get into that.

Since I've had a few emails, the animal cracker hat pattern is on hold until I'm actually out of work early enough to go to School Products to restock the Lamb's Pride that I used up at TWH. I can't even remember the last time I left early enough to be done yarnshopping at 6! sigh.

okay... back to bed for me.

Lauren posted at 6.38 on 11.26.05 comments (0)

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

hellooooo from salem!

Yeah, so... Witching Hour, then! My mom and I got in at 1am last night, thanks to a train disruption between New York and Boston. (I wound up taking a shiny new Acela train for the first time for cheaper than a regular train, so it wasn't all bad.) Just got back from volunteer orientation, and I gotta tell you, this thing is gonna rock. Under my front of exhaustion, I'm really excited.

And naturally, the first thing I did this morning? Scouted out the LYS here, Arabella Yarns. :D It's actually really close to the Salem Waterfront Hotel, where we're staying -- it's part of Pickering Wharf, which is immediately behind the hotel. They've got a decent selection of DK and larger yarns, including several nice Hatmione candidates and exactly the right blue Lambs Pride I was hoping they'd have. At some point (tomorrow or Monday I guess) I want to hit some yarn shops in Boston, because hi, nice yarn == souvenir. ;)

And why did I want blue Lambs Pride, you say? Because I made an animal cracker hat on impulse last night to wear this weekend, and I need blue for the braids. It's supercute and awesome and stays on just fine. whee.

So, everybody who's headed here this weekend -- if you see me, say hi! I'll probably wear a punky Gryff uniform on Friday, Ravenclaw Quidditch on Sunday, not sure about the other days. Look for the needles. ;)

Lauren posted at 17.24 on 10.05.05 comments (0)

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

pwnage!

At some point last year, I plotzed all over LJ about the way that Jany Temime has the Trio rewear clothing during the course of PoA, as though it's their favorite outfit -- Harry's navy tracksuit jacket, Hermione's pink zip-up, and Ron's Fair Isle Sweater of Hotness come to mind first. I was really tickled to see that level of attention being paid to the development of the kids' different styles, especially since the casualwear in SS and CoS was pretty disinteresting.

But now Jany's one-upped herself, because Fred and George's offwhite-and-blue hat from PoA is set to make an appearance at the Quidditch World Cup. Not only does that make me all sorts of happy as a geek in general, it ought to light a fire under my knitterly butt about finishing off (or, really, getting started on) the pattern for it. If the animal cracker hat turns up too, I give you all permission to prod me daily, because I'm sorta stalled out as it stands now.

(Also, plz to nag me about sending my camera for repair. I've got the funds -- about $200 -- set aside, I've just been too lazy to go get it packed and sent. I feel like a very bad person.)

Speaking of stalling out... apparently all I needed to do with the vest for String was bitch about it a bit, because I cast on the front on Saturday and finished it this afternoon. The ladies really like it, so I'm happy. I get my next project tomorrow or the day after, although I ought to start knocking out the super-cabley turtleneck my landlady wants. (She's got all this sportweight alpaca she bought in Bolivia and insists on paying me -- don't gotta tell me twice!)

The rest of this post will be spent replying to comments on the last few entries, so if you think it's awfully conceited when bloggers do this, you might as well scroll...

Laurence directed me to her free Kiri shawl pattern, which is currently duking it out with Peacock for the right to come into existence. I think Kiri may win, and not only because I shouldn't be spending $9.50 on a pattern right now. I think Peacock deserves to be done in some opulent variegated hair-of-some-sort/silk blend. I'm trying to be responsible for now, but I'm sure I'll be casting on in no time, because me? willpower? nuh uh.

Suzanne says that Alpaca Cloud is thicker(?!) than most laceweights, which makes me quake visibly in my flipflops. I'm sensing this is a very slippery slope, and one I'm likely to wind up at the bottom of in no time.

Knittingnurse asks which shade of Alpaca Cloud I got, and the answer is Stream. It took a lot of effort not to go with a shade of green, but I'm pleased with my choice. And as far as the Flirty Ruffles shawl goes, the ruffle is exactly the part that I like. I have 1760 yards of yarn, so I may just tack a ruffle onto whatever I make. For a girl who wears predominantly t-shirts and jeans, I sure do like my girly things.

And last but certainly not least, Karen encouraged me on the job front, which is muchly appreciated, because I've felt a bit woe-is-me the last few days. I have two interviews with temp agencies tomorrow (which doesn't quite explain why I'm up now blogging instead of sleeping) and an appointment about a permanent position on Wednesday, so fingers crossed. I know these things take time, but dammit, I need a job yesterday!

Lauren posted at 2.41 on 09.20.05 comments (0)

Thursday, August 18, 2005

when fandoms collide

Yeah, so Franz Ferdinand fandom ate my brain for a few days there, sorry about that. It was due mostly, though not entirely, to this - the video for their new single, which used several dozen New York-area fan extras in the dance scene at the end.

You know where this is headed. Fourth row back on the right side. Look for shoulders; that's my Cleaves I'm wearing there.

If I've done little knitting this week, I think I preemptively made up for it last weekend. It was absurdly hot in the city so, rather than run my ancient A/C, I grabbed my iPod and my Knitpicks (it came on Saturday) and hid out in a coffeehouse in Park Slope. I also put in a few hours at Knit New York, where I chatted with a couple older Indian ladies, one of whom was teaching the other to knit. I got most of the TWH Hatmione done, and quite a few rows of Jon's socks when I needed a change from cabling.

And can I just say? Cranberry Andean Silk is perfect for the Hermione set. It knit to gauge on the first try (on 7s, per the pattern). I haven't checked it against the DVD just yet but I think the color is spot-on, and the yarn itself... oh my god. It's so posh and lovely. Y'know how I'd been worried about the cables showing? Well the alpaca fuzz does obscure them a bit, but the silk adds enough shine that the contours are still quite visible. It's really subtle, and I loves it. My only beef is that the dye isn't sticking in the yarn - it'll stain fingers and (more seriously, I think) porous needles. Bamboo's been fine, but my birch cable needle is pinkish now. So, prewashing is probably not a bad idea.

I finished the hat as I was walking from the subway to work this morning (can now add gathering stitches to the list of knitting things I can do while walking), and it's so gorgeous. Probably gonna start the mittens this afternoon while I'm waiting for a concert (Death Cab/Decemberists/Stars in Central Park, sweeeet). I'm not sure if the three skeins I ordered will be enough, but I guess I'll find out, won't I?

Animal Cracker is coming along. I finished the full adult hat and it looked great; adult beanie is knit just past the Fair Isle. I'm torn about the earflaps - they certainly seem black, but it looks funny. I'll probably just do them in green.

I'm behind on updating the GoF reference page again. Got my wireless DSL working at home last night, finally, so it'll be easier to update from here on out.

Lauren posted at 12.43 on 08.18.05 comments (0)

Friday, August 12, 2005

this hat will eat your soul

A note to anyone who ever plans to knit an animal cracker hat:
Never work on it before bed. Ever. I know it seems, between the big gauge and the kiddie crayon-sized needles and the simple color chart, like you can just knit a couple rows and then stop.

You can't. You may never be able to stop.

No, instead you'll knit into the wee hours. You'll get a handful of hours of sleep -- and fitful sleep at that, because your mind will be craving another quick fix of super-bulky Fair Isle. You'll wake up feeling hungover and withdrawn*, and as you hurriedly get dressed and run to make your train, you'll contemplate shoving the hat in your bag even though, with 18 balls of yarn joined at once, it's possibly the least portable knitting project ever to grace the earth.

Aside from that, the hat's looking great. :D

I stopped by School Products after work yesterday, where I wanted to kiss the clerk for actually having dark green Lamb's Pride in stock. I left with a skein each of aran, sunburst gold, ruby red, Turkish olive, and onyx, all in worsted. I'd've preferred a slightly darker red, maybe raspberry or spice, but they were out of stock (Lamb's Pride, out of stock? never!) and the bright red looks just fine. I'm knitting a triple strand at the same ~2.5 sts/in that the Shannon knits at, and everything is pretty much ducky so far. A bonus of Lamb's Pride versus Cascade 220 is that the 15% mohair content helps fill in any, shall we say, handknitted charm in your Fair Isle. ;) Once again, if I had a working camera, I'd show you all the frightening 18-ball (6 colors x 3 small balls of each) mess on my sofa.

It also occurred to me last night that the reason no one can ever see the earflaps on the hat... could it be because they're black? There's no stitch detail to be seen in the black zigzag, even when you lighten it, while there's plenty in the green stripe. The shot is dynamic enough, I think, that if any light at all were reflected by the yarn as Ron moves around, we'd be able to see the earflaps themselves, not just a patch of obscured neck with a braid hanging from it. I'm gonna try it and see how it looks, but the more I think about it, the likelier it seems.

While I'm raving about the hat, I figure I might as well explain why I'm still working on the pattern now that djinnj has posted hers. The bottom line is that I want to fill in some of the gaps on the wearability of this beast. The movie-canon hat is a little beanie-like thing that must they must've pinned to Rupert's head to keep it on -- I know a hat won't stay on me unless it comes down over my ears. So I've got two color charts -- the canon one, for anyone who wants to go that route, and a slightly taller one that ought to at least partially cover the ears so that it stays on in regular winter wear.

I'm also gonna play around with using two strands of each yarn and a slightly larger number of stitches to make a child size, since this hat in particular (warm, colorful, and HP-related) is ideal for kids. The color pattern is 8 stitches wide, and the adult size is 48 stitches around, so I'm expecting the child size to be either 56 or 64 stitches at more like 3-3.5 sts/in. The beanie/full hat thing will happen here as well, since kids are crazy and will knock hats off themselves in two seconds.

So when I start talking about frogging and reknitting the hat over and over... that's why. :)

Djinnj also ordered some color cards from Knitpicks to pick HP colors. She got Wool of the Andes, Merino Style, Andean Silk, Andean Treasure, Sierra, Ambrosia, Panache, and Shine. The results are posted here.

For anyone planning a Beauxbatons uniform, there was a quick but helpful conversation on the topic here on hp_costuming. There's also a new picture in this week's Entertainment Weekly, which IMHO is most helpful because of Fleur in the background. Looks like there's a matching cornflower blue blazer with navy edging on the collar that's worn over that dress. I'm a sucker for blazers, so I love it. :)

In Soleil news, I think -- knock on wood -- that I've got a successful start after a week of trying.

First attempt: finished lace and realized it was too small. (The maternal unit and I are basically the same size, so fitting it is easy.) Frogged and increased a size.

Second attempt: that freakin' dyelot problem. Seems, naturally, to have only been the ball that I started with that doesn't match, and four skeins of Cotton-Ease is still way more than a sleeveless shell requires. Frogged and set aside mismatching yarn.

Third attempt: meant to cast on 160 sts but only cast on 150. I counted twice. I have no idea how this happened. Had finished lace and started increasing when I realized it. Frogged.

Fourth attempt: what on earth is left to go wrong?? I finished the second lace repeat on my way to work this morning. And I never thought I'd say it, but I really like knitting with cotton when it's so hot out. I'm already contemplating what I'll do with the leftovers.

Aaaand... I think that's it out of me for the time being.

*It's possible that this feeling may also be related to the 85°-plus-humidity weather that you tried to sleep in. This is the same weather in which you knitted with super-bulky yarn. This is further proof of the hat's evil addictive powers.

Lauren posted at 11.57 on 08.12.05 comments (0)

Monday, August 08, 2005

best. LYS. evars!

This'll be a quickie as I need to run to the subway, but I am SO EXCITED WHEEEEEEE and I have to share before I explode, which seems disturbingly likely right now.

That superbulky forest-green-and-yellow twist yarn I was wishing for? I fucking found it! I stuck my head into The Point an hour ago -- I've never been there before and I'll definitely be headed back; they have soy silk yarn and Crystal Palace needles, what more could I ask for? -- and I discovered my 92 yards of bliss in the form of Tahki Shannon, shade 003. It's worsted weight (4 sts/in on 7s) but since it's single-ply and just a bit variegated, it looks great tripled.

I'm freaking out here. For serious. There I was, bracing myself to dye yarn in an apartment with no counter space or microwave, preparing for weeks of work and tons of money wasted before I got what I wanted, and poof, here it is! I really need to find a way to post some pictures to show you all why I'm practically dancing a jig around the NYU student center. This was never gonna happen. It couldn't possibly exist. But it does! whee!

My only dilemma - and I've knitted a sample already and decided, despite the cost of more yarn - that I'll need to switch the solids to either tripled Lamb's Pride Worsted or one strand of Bulky, to match the texture. S'alright, it'll be worth it.

omgyay!

Lauren posted at 17.27 on 08.08.05 comments (0)

Thursday, August 04, 2005

various and sundry

Okay, first off, omg I want one. I'm fairly suspectible to the charm of gadgetry as it is (zoom in on 2 PDAs, sexy cellphone, iPod...), but knitting gadgets? Sign me up, baby.

Secondly - and I'd sworn to myself I wouldn't do it this time around - meet the Goblet of Fire costume reference page. I'd hoped it wouldn't be necessary, but two new, wholly different schools and twelve competition uniforms, not to mention a slew of new adults, mean there's actually so many new costumes that I can't believe no one's beaten me to the punch. As a bonus, my hosting package is now so beefy that I can spare the resources to host the full-sized high-res images that Warner Bros has been so generous with, this time around. I may be a bit slow in updating it, due to my limited internet access, but I'll do my bestest.

Thirdly, I've hit a new impasse with the animal cracker hat - I need to find a superbulky (~2.5 st/inch) forest green and yellow twist or tweed yarn for the top of the hat. Two colors of 220 held together just won't cut it, no matter how many times I try it. Yeah, I know. Good luck.

But! I've made some ridiculous headway on Jon's Koigu socks (nicknamed "Breakup Sox", haha). I've ditched the purl ridges in favor of a mistake rib, which looks really excellent in the brown/olive/burnt orange colorway I'm using. I started on, uh, Monday I think, and I'm already two inches past the heel. kasgofjsadhuio I love Koigu, especially after using Lion Brand for a few weeks.

And for anyone who doesn't knit but is itching for a Hatmione/Hermittens set nonetheless, I'll be knitting a set for the Witching Hour's auction during the Fall Festival. Be there or be, well, a bit chilly all winter. ;)

Lauren posted at 15.52 on 08.04.05 comments (0)

Thursday, July 28, 2005

but hey, at least dumbledore likes knitting!

Hey, so I hear some book came out a few weeks ago? With, like, magic and snogging in it?

I can't say I was blown away by Half-Blood Prince. (I'll keep this spoiler-free, since there's no way to hide spoilers in an RSS feed.) I can say, though, that I read it so quickly (roughly 14 hours start to finish) and when I was so tired (I'd been up 21 hours when I started reading, do that math for yourself), that I don't really trust my first reaction to it. I got bored toward the middle; I was strangely underwhelmed by the ending. But we're well set up for book 7, and I can't wait.

But who cares about the book when there are costumes to talk about! I'm afraid that I dropped the ball (as always) on getting nice dignified costume pictures, but fortunately my friends and I wound up in the freaking NY Times (zoomed version here), so you can see our costumes decently there. I took some bad pictures of my Quidsocks, and in this one you can see my Quidditch sweater pretty well. I wound up not wearing my sweater sleeves at all - it was stiflingly humid, as July in NYC is apt to be, and I was sweating enough in just the sweater-vest. In case anyone's interested in more pictures from Union Square, all my pictures from the day are hosted here. Most of them are vaguely embarassing, but such is life.

As soon I'd recovered from HBP, I was knee-deep in preparations for moving to my new apartment in Brooklyn, which I did last Wednesday and Thursday. I'm fairly settled in, though not completely unpacked, and I still don't have internet access at home. Nor have I been at work, because on Saturday, in a show of spectacular klutziness, I slipped on wet tile and pulled a muscle in my back. So, instead of being productive, I've spent the last four days holed up in my room, propped up in a loveseat with little mobility from my waist, reading (I finished Tom Robbins' Jitterbug Perfume and am most of the way through The Hobbit; I can only deal with Tolkien when it's my only course of amusement). I only just picked up my knitting yesterday, to turn the heel of the second candy sock (I finished the first one while waiting for HBP and am wearing it here). I'm still waddling around with a grimace on my face, but between my PT (yes, I need physical therapy 'cause I fell three feet; how lame am I?) and the excellent care provided by my mom, I'm at least back in the office today, and much less grouchy to boot.

The one bit of good news I can report is that in the few days that I was internetless and uninjured, I finally got the Quidditch sock pictures off my camera (which, you might recall, broke in a most untimely fashion). They're now color-balanced and set into the pattern, which will officially be finished once I confirm my gauge. Once I have internet at home, I'll fiiiiinally be able to get the pattern online. About freaking time. :p

It's also cooling down a bit in the city, so I'm hoping that this weekend I can pop in my PoA DVD and take a couple last notes to get started in earnest on the animal cracker hat. I think I can deal with bulky-weight wool when the high is 76°, at least.

Lauren posted at 13.02 on 07.28.05 comments (0)

Friday, July 08, 2005

on a roll

I cast off my second Quidditch sweater sleeve last night. whoooohoo! And maybe I've come completely unhinged, but I actually think that my pair of bright blue ribbed, past-the-elbow armwarmer-like things looks sorta cool. Not like I need another pair of armwarmers, since I already have three pairs in yarns ranging from unplied merino to sari silk, but hey. I think I want to dye some elastic (if I can - anyone know whether the casing on thin elastic cord is nylon or polyester? I won't waste the dye if it's poly) and thread it through the inside of my ribbing, because I have a *ahem* slight tendency to flail uncontrollably when confronted with new Potter, and I don't need my fake sleeves falling off in the process.

I'm a few inches past the heel on my candy-colored socks using the Magic Stripes I bought upstate. I'm working four 2-stitch cables around the leg, so it's quick but not too boring. It's a little hard on my fingers, but I think I want to finish at least one sock before I go starting again on Jon's Koigu socks. Gonna just do some purl ridges on those, nothing fancy. I'm still a bit surprised he consented to a non-solid yarn in the first place. :)

Oh! I found my notes for Ron's animal cracker hat last night while hunting for another chart (my duplicate stitch letters, which I also found). I forgot that I'd only charted one repeat of the pattern, and on the same page that I started charting the twins' blue-and-white hat. Another project to work on instead of being even remotely responsible. Score!

My sunburn still hasn't gone away, though it's stopped being outright painful and started peeling instead. Great huge patches of new pink skin peeking through what had finally faded to a rather nice tan. It's just as attractive as it sounds. :p Especially sucks because it's actually been cool/rainy in New York the past few days, and I'm stuck in tank tops without a single cotton sweater to wear (wool seems like an inherently bad idea). Might hafta suck it up and do something about that sometime. O;)

eta: Eruantale is gauging interest on the weasleysweaters LiveJournal community in an HP knitting Room of Requirement (an informal meetup of attendees with a shared interest) at The Witching Hour symposium in Salem this October. Naturally I think it's a fantastic idea, and if you think so too, go leave a comment! You can comment anonymously, so it doesn't matter whether you have an LJ or not.

Lauren posted at 10.30 on 07.08.05 comments (0)

Sunday, June 12, 2005

while staying in and knitting

I have the absolute worst knitting ADD right now. I'm trying to be responsible and finish the sleeves for my Ravenclaw Quidditch sweater. I didn't have a chance to finish the sleeves for last Halloween, so I added armbands at the armholes to make a vest, and wore what I'd done of the sleeves - just shy of my elbows - separately. It was actually quite comfortable, since a full ribbed sweater in Encore Worsted is way too much for almost any season in New York, so I'm gonna leave the sleeves separate like that. I want to finish the sleeves for the HBP book release, though - knit them up past the elbow, then switch to 1x1 rib with some elastic for a while so they stay up. Should be snazzy.

Anyway, my ADD. I'm trying to work on the sleeves, and it's just not happening. I feel like knitting something complicated and summery, or at least something in a nice yarn - definitely not 3x1 ribbing in a wool blend. ugh! There's a skein of gorgeous green and pink handpainted DK cotton (and a matching solid cotton of the same gauge) calling my name from the closet, and it is killlllling me. I keep telling myself that a mini-Clapotis would be 1) ill-fated in cotton, and 2) not much more exciting than the ribbing. Or I have a half-dozen socks' worth of Koigu, or or or...

Figures that I lost temporarily misplaced my notes for the animal cracker hat. Then at least I could feel responsible in starting another project.

Lauren posted at 0.55 on 06.12.05 comments (0)

Friday, January 28, 2005

cast on, cast off, repeat until thoroughly bored

I wish I had something fun to report, but (at least as far as knitting goes -- real life is a different story) it's been the same old, same old since I released the mitten pattern. (It seems to be going over quite well, and so far, so good where revisions are concerned. I know I've mentioned this to a few people, but I proofread the pattern in a much more thorough way this time around, so... well, I won't jinx myself. Anyway.)

I actually tried to make some progress on the Ron hat today. After work I brought an extra skein of yellow Cascade to Knit New York to exchange for the US 11 DPNs I need for the hat -- I'm tripling the yarn so it'll knit up fast and warm -- but alas, they were out of stock. Regardless, it was my first pleasant experience there -- I actually stopped for a cup of mint green tea while waiting for a friend -- so maybe I'll give them a fair chance in the future. Purl and String still own my knitter's heart in the meantime.

I realized I need to read more knitting blogs. At the moment I only read friends', and very few at that. So, give me recommendations! Plug someone else's or plug your own -- I certainly don't discriminate against people who can toot their own horn.

Speaking of self-promotion, the new book Ravenclaw (blue/bronze) Wizard Ties came in last week, and they're gorgeous, if I do say so myself. Go on, my fellow geeks studious housemates, get one. ;)

Lauren posted at 2.58 on 01.28.05 comments (0)

Monday, January 03, 2005

i know, i know, i swore i wouldn't post yet...

...but I've been up to some pretty snazzy stuff recently, if I do say so myself.

Firstly, I'm almost finished with the Hermione mittens I've been working on for Gidget. I knit the left one first and then transcribed and reversed that pattern for the right hand, and I'm about up to the finger webbing on that one. They've knit up surprisingly fast considering I haven't really dedicated any blocks of time to them, just spare moments. Anyway:

They fit a bit snugly on me, but my hands are pretty big. Plus, they're still unblocked, so that'll help with the sizing, too. Just like the hat, they're Cascade 220 in #9404 ruby, but knit on #6s this time so they're denser. I'm trying to finish the pattern sooner rather than later, so keep your eyes peeled!

I've been stopping myself from working up a pattern for Ron's animal cracker hat for a long time because other folks keep putting dibs on it, but AFAIK no one's come through yet. So, I give! I spent some of New Year's picking Adrienne's brain about her Ron hat observations, and I threw together a test swatch last night:

It's Cascade 220 again, but knit as a triple strand on #11 needles. I'm getting about 3 stitches to the inch so even with the Fair Isle, it knits up pretty quickly. I kinda really hate the green/yellow mix at the top though. I thought that might've been what's going on because -- well, it's too complicated to explain, but that'd been my best guess at the top of the hat -- but it's really distracting and fugly. So, it's back to plan B, which involves both Fair Isle and duplicate stitching for a few rows. Sigh.

Also, I spent last week working at String on the Upper East Side while NYU was closed, and I took advantage of my discount (yays!) to buy some Koigu for socks for Jon:

The variegated yarn will be the body of the foot, with the brown (it's brown and not black, the light in our apartment is crap today) at the toe, heel, and maybe cuff, and I'm planning to use the stranded stitch from Crusoe. Mine will be toe-up, of course!

Lauren posted at 13.55 on 01.03.05 comments (0)