It's Growing!!!

Blueberry continues to grow. I've already reached the increases! I'm really loving the pattern this verigated yarn is creating, and the lace is still centered.

The Return of the Blueberry

I finished Hermione's second sock!  Yes I still haven't woven in the ends, but that bit won't take long. 

I've finally returned to Blueberry. It was painful, but I knew I wouldn'tlove this   sweater if the lace was off center so I ripped it out. I'm being very careful in the set up and  so far everything is looking good. 

Back to Knitting

The past couple of weeks I haven't been very excited about my knitting which means I've been focusing on quilting. Ordinarily this isn't a big problem, but in the fall is when I start most of my quilts. Since I don't have a big stash I've been ordering lots of fabric. While waiting for the fabric to arrive I read quilting magazines which results in shopping for more fabric. It's a wicked cycle, but since it's all been ordered with a plan I know that it will all get used. Once the fabric arrives I'll do a post of everything so that I have a record some where of my plans. Yesterday I was a bit shocked to see a post on facebook that Christmas is 100 days away. Eek!!! Since Christmas usually means lots of knitted gifts I've been focusing this week on finishing up those languishing projects.

The fronts of Blueberry are done! (Even better is the fact that they look nice and are the right size so I won't have to rip those out.) Has anyone had to rip back an entire piece of knitting before? I'm trying to figure out if I'll need to wash/soak the yarn from the back piece before I reknit it.

I've finished the heel flap on my "Father's Day" socks. My sister invited me to go to the Renaissance Fair in Minnesota this weekend so I'm looking at several hours in the car on Saturday. I should be able to turn the heel before then and this will make some great car knitting. Who knows, maybe I'll even have time to cast on a mate for Hermoine's Sock.

Distractions

Blueberry's fronts are still on the needles, but I'm not really feeling guilty about it. When I started to dream about being a quilt designer I decided that knitting would be a hobby. I love knitting and yarn, but I don't wake up at 4 in the morning with a sweater that has to get out of my head before I can sleep. Last week the quilt design I've been working on for my guild's mystery quilt decided that it wanted out of my head. I've made several sketches of it on paper and EQ7 and have a pinterest board devoted to it, but there are some quilts that hit a point where the design decides it wants to become real. Last Monday I woke up at 4 and knew that I wasn't going to rest again until I had a quilt top. I managed to go to work and sleep, but by Saturday I had a finished quilt top. Sadly I can't share pictures until my guild has received all of the steps.

On Friday I went to the library and got "The Spymistress" by Jennifer Chiaverini. I've loved her Elm Creek Quilt books for years, but my library doesn't have very many of them. I was really excited to see that they finally got  this one. It has nothing to do with quilting (although there was a scene where two of the characters sewed pillowcases,) but I'm still loving it. "The Spymistress" tells the story of Elizabeth Van Lew who lived in Richmond, VA during the Civil War. A staunch Unionist she established a network of unionists who worked in Libby Prison, Jefferson Davis's house, and gathered information throughout the city. Although the book is fiction, I was really excited to learn that Elizabeth Van Lew and many of the other characters in the book are real people who really did operate a spy ring in Richmond during the Civil War. I keep finding myself saying that I'm going to quit reading after this last page and then reading 20 more. 

The last thing that has distracted me from my sweater this week are these flowers. I found a bundle of silk flowers when I was shopping and decided to bring a touch of fall into my home. I tore up my fingers trying to cut them with jewelry clippers and office scissors, but I smile every time I see them. I even had some extra flowers left over and was able to make a mini bouquet to put in our bathroom. I think my husband is still trying to figure that one out, but it makes me happy.

Almost there

Today's post is going to be short so that I can go back to knitting. I'm almost done with my front pieces for blueberry. The problems with the back still bug me so I think this weekend I'll be ripping that out so I can reknit it. After finishing the back piece I realized that this sweater is smaller than I thought it would be so I made the front pieces in a larger size. The fact that I'm changing more than just the placement of the lace panel makes it a lot easier to face the task of making the sweater back again. 

Slow Knitting

This week's progress has been slow. (I suppose that happens when a complicated bag takes over your attention.) I love that every little stitch adds up. There may not be much progress from last week, but the sweater has still grown. Knitting reminds me to keep at the harder things in life. It may not look like much right now, but every little bit adds up to make something beautiful. Sweaters definitely aren't instant gratification, but they're worth the time.

Double Trouble

One of the things I love about blogging is being able to see progress. For me knitting feels like a slow process. I love sitting in the morning with my coffee or at the end of a long day at work and relaxing while I play with my yarn. I focus on each stitch and row as it comes so I sometimes forget how much I've accomplished. I was about to write that this week has been busy so there's not much progress, but looking back at last week's posting I realized that my sweater has nearly doubled in size this week.

I'm so glad I chose to make both fronts at the same time. I messed up and repeated one of the rows. I didn't discover it until I'd knit three more rows. It's not a major mistake (if you look really closely at this picture you might see it,) but I know that if I was knitting one piece at a time I'd have frogged it. Since I knew the mistake was minor and was the same on both pieces I decided to leave it. I still love my DPNs so I probably won't use this method for socks, but I definitely see using it again for sweater fronts.

Two at a Time!

When I first started knitting socks I tried using the two at a time method. I'm not sure if I chose patterns beyond my skill level, used the wrong sized needle, or just didn't have the experience but my socks were terrible. They had huge ladders up the sides and were way too big. I fell in love with sock knitting after trying DPNs and swore off the two at a time method as not for me. I've decided to give this method another try for the fronts of Blueberry.

I was worried about my fronts matching perfectly and this method ensures that even my mistakes will line up. It's taking some extra concentration from keeping my yarn from twisting, but otherwise everything is going smoothly.

Math Problems

Let me begin with a confession. I'm not good at math. I can fake it fairly well with a calculator, but it's never been my strong point. When I cast on for the back of this sweater a little voice in my head pointed out that 59+19+59 probably didn't equal the 126 stitches I had cast on for my sweater. I dutifully checked my pattern and saw that I had highlighted the line that said purl 59 stitches for my size to set up for the lace row. If I was a little better at math I may have realized that the number next to the 59 that wasn't highlighted was 51 and that 51+19+51 just so happens to equal 126. However I failed to notice this. I checked my pattern and the nagging voice asking if something might be wrong was satisfied. I happily knitted away, dutifully taking pictures and blogging every week about the progress of the sweater back. I'm baffled how I completely missed that my lace is an inch off center. 

I'm following my husband's advice and am putting this in banishment while I work on the fronts. I'm going to see how I feel about this in a few weeks, but I think I'll probably redo it. I love this pattern and yarn and know that if I leave the lace off center I won't love the finished sweater. 

Out of the Black Hole

I can't believe that last week I was complaining about the never ending sweater and this week I'm 3" away from the end. I think last week I'd fallen into one of the knitting black holes where you knit and knit without it growing. Then one day you add one more row and discover your sweater has grown by 6 inches. I'm hoping to finish the back over the long weekend, but I know I have several quilting projects that will take priority. 

I'm debating whether I want to work on the front panels or if should be good and finish dad's Father's Day socks (yes I know Father's Day in the US was June 15th, but he likes me and doesn't wear wool socks in the summer.) 

This weekend I did cast on for the second sock. I got to go see my sister play oboe and english horn for the Cherokee Community Theater's performance of Les Miserables. We had to arrive at least half an hour early to pick up our tickets and it's an hour drive over there so I had some quality sock knitting time. I'm still in awe of how great everything was. I reserved tickets the week they went on sale so we got to sit in the front row right by my sister. I've seen my her perform in band concerts several times, but it's been a while since I've heard her by herself. I still remember the days of learning where she sounded like a dying duck, but that was almost 15 years ago. I couldn't believe how amazing she is. I've heard my dad say that my talent is with quilts and hers is with music and it is so true. Sorry for all the gushing, but I'm so proud of my baby sister and the amazing woman she's become. 

Insert Fun Never-Ending Sweater Blog Title Here

I hate coming up with blog titles. It feels like there are so many people out there who just whip up these funny titles that suck you in. (Okay so they probably they spend several hours thinking about it while working on other projects, but I'm still not one of them.) Even without a great title my sweater is looking really good this week. As of last night I have three more inches to go before I start decreases for the arms and neck.

I love the lace detail running up the center of the back. It's so simple, but adds the perfect bit to this sweater. Not sure why my camera is acting up this morning, but this detail also gives a better idea of the true colors of my sweater. 

I'm using KnitPicks Stroll Tonal in Blue Yonder and Anne's Cardigan also from KnitPicks. For full details please check out my ravelry project page here.

Blueberry Progress

I had hoped to share my Supernova blocks today. I've been waiting to show the blocks until I know my partner has gotten hers and since my block from her is in the mail (hopefully it will come today) I'm switching things up this week. I feel so much like a little kid waiting for Christmas. Even now my biggest problem with waiting for Christmas isn't the impatience to see what I got, but the excitement to show everyone what I got them. It's taken so much discipline not to share pics of my blocks until I know my partner has seen it first.

Friday my quilt guild had a workday starting at 1:00. I made arrangements with my boss to leave early and got to spend the afternoon and evening sewing. I just have to add borders and my pink quilt top will be finished. Sadly I forget how easy it is to zone out at these work days and put in eight hours of sewing with only a brief break to walk to the quilt shop and another break at super time. My back was so mad at me this weekend. I did a little sewing, but mostly the couch and I were very good friends. Since I couldn't work on quilting from the couch my knitting got some attention. This weekend I got past the waist decreases and am about half way done with this sweater back. I probably should have worked on the second sock for Father's Day, but I needed to switch it up a bit. I think when I finish this piece of the sweater I'll go back and make the second sock. Thankfully my daddy likes me and is willing to wait for hand knit socks.

Sneaky Blueberry

The Father's Day socks are progressing very slowly. Not sure why these socks this sock is taking so long. I was informed yesterday that Father's Day this year falls on June 15th. For some reason I had it in my head that I had until the 21st. (Not that a week will make that much difference.) It might be time to start looking for an alternative gift and throw these in the box of Christmas presents. 

If you're wondering what that blue little ribbon of ribbing is, that is blueberry. I have my pattern for these socks on my ipod and was listening to it in the kitchen this weekend. I was feeling lazy and didn't want to go get my ipod so I cast on for blueberry. I had toyed with the idea of knitting blueberry in one piece, but I realized I'd be stuck with the paper pattern and wouldn't be able to read it on my ipod. When I pulled what I thought was enough yarn to cast on the 250 some stitches for the whole piece and only had enough yarn for the 120ish stitches for the back my decision was made.

Dancing the "Happy Knitting" Dance

Today I'm definitely dancing the "Happy Knitting" dance. I finished the first Hermione sock. The pattern uses a different heel and toe then I usually do. Erica did a great job of walking me through each new step which made it easy and a lot of fun to try something different. 

In more "Happy Knitting" dance news I finished the second sleeve for Blueberry. It feels like I've been working on this forever, but looking at my Ravelry page I finished both sleeves in 6 weeks. Considering all of the quilting I've been doing in those 6 weeks that's really pretty good time.

Last night I even cast on for dad's Father's Day socks. I'm using the Old Joe pattern by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee for these socks. It's the first time that I've knit socks on 3 needles, but since the pattern is repeated 3 times it makes sense to do it this way. Unfortunately it means the socks don't lay flat when I'm not working on them and there's no good way to get a good picture. My goal (in all of it's insanity) is to make a sock a week for the next four weeks so next week there should be enough progress to get a good picture (even if the sock isn't finished.)

If you're wondering I'm using Knit Pick's Stroll Fingering in Midnight Heather. It reminds me of a blackbird in that it's almost black, but has hints of greens and blues depending upon the light.

Still here

I've finished the secretive quilting project so my posts should go back to a more normal schedule. Since we use my sewing machine cabinet as our computer desk my husband and I haven't been online much the past week or two. Turns out that one week of internet silence results in a phone call to confirm life. I'll try not to do that again (or at least give warning the next time it happens.) I've actually had some time to work on knitting this week. The sleeve still isn't done, but it's getting closer.

I think part of the reason why the sleeve isn't done is because I've been distracted by Hermione's Socks lately. I realized that Father's Day is coming up about a month away and I really need my sock needles. Since I learned to knit socks I've started a tradition of making socks for my dad. I have yarn and a pattern picked out for dad's Father's Day socks, but all of the needles that are appropriately sized for me to make socks have yarn on them. I just need to finish the foot and toe and will be done with the first Hermione sock. It's not the order I like to do things in, but since there's a deadline I'll probably knit a pair of Father's Day socks before this little one gets a mate.

Yarn Along

This past week has been super crazy. I've been busy working, but can't share any real pictures other than this one. That bowl contains the trimmings from the blocks I had to square up, and the thread of 120 blocks that I sewed backwards. I'm going to paraphrase a quote from Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (aka Yarn Harlot) that's been running through my head this weekend. "The only difference between experience and novice is that the experienced person makes bigger mistakes faster." If I wasn't so confident I would have checked my first block against the pattern and would have discovered that I was sewing it together backward. Instead I glanced at what came out of the machine, saw that it resembled what I remembered the finished quilt to look like and plunged ahead. (I'll explain later why calling it "creative license" wasn't an option with this quilt.)

My plan for this week had been to share my finished Mystery Quilt today, my usual yarn along post on Wednesday, and 2 Farmer's Wife blocks on Friday. Because of the massive amount of unpicking I had to do wind storm we got I wasn't able to finish take pictures of the Mystery Quilt. Things are settling down so I should be able to finish attaching the last two sides of the Mystery Quilt tonight and will be able to photograph it tomorrow after work. I might even be able to sew a Farmer's Wife block one of these evenings and will have something to share on Friday. If everything goes according to plan (it's early in the plan phase, please don't point out how many ways things can go wrong with this plan) Wednesday's post will feature Mystery Quilt and I'll make my April deadline for a lovely year of finishes. Since quilts are taking over Wednesday's post I'm sharing my yarn along post today.

I finished the increase section of blueberry and just have another inch of regular knitting before I start the shoulder shaping. I can't believe I seriously thought I could knit this entire sweater for the ravelympics. I'm not sure how those knitters finish a sweater in two weeks (or even those who do the sweater in a month thing in November.) Maybe one of these years I'll set a goal of learning to knit faster. For now though I'm going to stick with the idea that knitting is a hobby and hobbies should be enjoyable. The sweater will be finished before fall and that will be good enough for me.

Finding Balance

I've done a lot better this week at finding balance. I've chosen one time of the day that I play the video game and the rest of the time I focus on things like knitting, reading, and quilting. I'm not done with the 6 round increase section, but I have finished 7 of the 12 rounds. I knew when I set the goal of 72 rounds in a week it was a bit lofty so I'm still very happy with the progress made this week.

Yarning Along

I made a mistake. I bought my husband a Nintendo DS for his birthday (really I've come in way under budget on gifts the past few holidays so I took all that savings and spent it on the gaming system.) He loves it and has been playing it a lot. The mistake is I got the Brain Age game. It's really fun, but requires you to log in every day and play to earn these little virtual stamps. Still not seeing the mistake? He's being a nice husband and sharing so I find myself playing video games when I should be knitting. I'm sure in a little while I'll be able to find balance, but right now the sleeve on Blueberry is still rather short. I have gotten past the increases every 4 rounds and have moved into the section where I increase every 6 rounds. Hopefully next week I'll have found balance and will be past the 6 round repeat section, but I won't be too mad at myself if that doesn't happen. There's still a lot of last minute stuff to get finished for the quilt show next month so I know knitting time will be precious.

Machine Work vs. Hand Work

I'm a bit surprised that I have any knitting to share this week. I hear the clock ticking on my quilt guild's annual show (I have 41 days left. Eek!) Usually my knitting and quilting don't get in the way of each other because in my mind machine work is separate from hand work. Machine work gets done in large chunks on weekends and the occasional mornings when I wake up super early and inspired. Since my sewing studio doubles as our kitchen I don't set up my machine unless I can dedicate a minimum of an hour to work. Hand work gets done while I sip coffee in the morning or am watching t.v. with my husband at night. Normally hand work is knitting. However right now I'm buckling down and sewing on some long waiting bindings. (Unless it's part of a workshop or the mystery all of our quilts have to be completely finished in order to hang in the show. The grace period in this is that there's no deadline of when we have to start so any quilts that don't get finished in time can hang in next year's show.)

I'm not sure how my knitting post has turned into a quilting ramble. Back on topic. Last week I had two cuffs and this week I've got stuff attached to both cuffs! You can tell Blueberry hasn't gotten much attention this week. I am feeling a bit more confident with the pattern and aren't tied so closely to my stitch counter or pattern. (I think that will change when my increases move from every 4 rounds to every 6, but I'm right now I'm just appreciating that little bit of lace that's grown above the cuff.)

I'm really late to the party with Hermione's Socks. I know lots of people have knit them before, but there's a good reason for that. This pattern rocks! It takes me a long time to memorize patterns (please note that I'm still using the pattern for blueberry when there are only two lines where anything happens.) I had Hermione memorized after only three repeats of the pattern! Granted the pattern is only 4 stitches wide and only 2 rows have action, but it's still memorized. I love that this sock can go into my repertoire of easy sock knitting when I want something that's just a step above vanilla. I also enjoy the fact that it will work great with hand painted yarns. I never know what to do other than vanilla which doesn't seem to do justice to those lovelies. This pattern is even basic enough that I can see using it for my husband or dad with a more masculine yarn color. The pattern only gives directions for a women's sock, but since the repeat is only 4 stitches wide it won't be hard to change.

Casting on some Cuffs

I finished the first sleeve for Blueberry and cast on the second one. I finally managed to get a good picture of this yarn. I love the subtle color changes in KnitPick's Stroll Tonal sock yarns, but my camera doesn't. I don't have pictures to share of the first sleeve, but my gauge is perfect. I still don't understand what's going on that I'm using needles three sizes smaller than the pattern, but I guess that's why we're supposed to make swatches for everything.

I also finished my orange socks and cast on for another pair. I'm trying Hermione's Everyday Socks for this one. It looks like a fairly basic sock which will fill the need for mindless knitting, but it's a step above a vanilla sock. I'm using Deborah Noville Serenity Sock Yarn in Lavender Topaz. This was actually one of the first skeins of sock yarn I ever bought. Someday I might share pictures of my first "pair" of socks. When I started knitting socks I didn't realize that a skein of sock yarn didn't necessarily make a pair of socks so I bought two different skeins of sock yarn with the intention of making two pairs of socks. I finished one sock with a very small foot and a sock leg and then ran out of yarn. I've made several pairs of socks since that first attempt, but I've never come back to the second color I bought. Since JoAnn Fabric sells this yarn it wasn't very hard to find a second skein. The dye lots are different, but they're socks for me so I don't think this will matter too much.