FO Friday - the hubba-hubba edition

I will apologize in advance if the pictures are a bit blurry. Churchable was in the middle of dinner prep and only took the time to snap a few. My face was blurry in many so that is why it is missing.

Pattern: Notorious by Annie Modesitt in Romantic Hand Knits Raveled here
Yarn: Berroco Comfort in Olive (2 skeins) for the body & Berroco Comfort DK held double in white (1 skein) for the sleeves
Needles: Knit picks Harmony Interchangeables US 9 on the body, US 8, 9, & 10 on the sleeves

Mods: Wow this one got the mods up the wazzu. I did not start to mess with the construction till the underbust area. I did shorten from hip to waist by 1 inch and waist to underbust by 6". Since I really liked the idea of the I-cord at the front, I continued it around the back so that I could also run the cording around the back for extra support. I added HBD (aka short rows) to the front so that my girls would have room especially since I had seen some projects on ravelry where the underbust cut the boobs in half. After the HBD, I knit in the round for 1" to what I called the underarms. The back was knit in stockinette to match the front of the garment (picture below). I did all the decreases the same and the height from underarms in the pattern. The front was knit and ripped twice because the first time I knit it and added a sleeve. I tried it on at this point to see if anything was a miss. It was. I would have to be an H cup and try to channel a medieval bar wench who did not mind showing everything. So I messed around to figure out what the fix was. I realized that I needed to remove 18 stitches from the front to achieve proper coverage. So I removed those 18 stitches by decreasing on every row at both ends. The sleeves were also a bit strange they turned out narrower than the picture. I added 2 rows before each short row set and 2 rows before the bind off for a total of 6 rows. I still did not have flutter sleeves but I had run out of yarn so I had to live with the results. I used cording for the underbust and the center rueshing.

Facts to remember: Double check that your center stitches are marked properly before you start the HBD instead of an inch after you have finished them. Also that the sleeves might not always turn out the way the picture says they should. If I made this again (which I doubt because who needs this much sexiness in another garment) I would knit the 35" like I did for the lower half and switch to the 25" for the bust area. Both the front and the back were a bit loose at the size written.

Things I Love: How sexy I look. This was knit with the Sexy Knitters Club KAL so I think I got the results everyone was looking for.

Thursday - Yarn Tastings

Matsuri by Noro
5 sts/inch on US 7s
87% Cotton, 13% Wool
159 yards. Color: 3
Matsuri on Ravelry

The Noro Matsuri is a unique yarn. It is a cabled construction similar to finger weaving done by children out of sewing thread weight yarns. The wool strand gets slubby in places but I think that is the joy of this yarn. As a cotton yarn, this is very easy on the hands. I barely noticed the cotton at all. I got a half stitch per inch more than what was recommended on the info included about it. I loved the color I got. It was multi-dimensional. Most likely from the wool and cotton mixed together. My sample seems to have come from the same stripe so I was not able to get the feel of the color change within this yarn. I do wish this yarn came as a single color because it would be such a nice dimensional color. I did not notice much of a change when I washed and blocked my swatch.

I think my color came from Colorway 2 not 3 because I have not seen the turquoise color in 3.

WIP Wednesday - a bit late

Man o Man has time marched on. I promised you my mojo eater ideas. So here they are:

1. All my projects are boring to me. Too much stockinette stitch and ribbing.

2. The crud came knocking this weekend. The unknown beginnings were messing with me.

3. There is a new knitter in the house. My boy is knitting me a love scarf, since we all know I don't do scarves.

Which one do you think it is? I will let you know what I think later in the week.

Now on to the WIPs. They have not gotten much play this week. I did knit on all of them a bit each. I even forgot when gathering them up today what was on the needles.

BILs sock is coming along nicely. I forced myself on Thursday to finish the cuff and BO and CO for the second sock so that I felt like I had made some progress.

The pink sock and I are spending a bit of time together but not too much or else the pink might rub off on me. I am enjoying the process of praying for my swap partner while I knit. I just hope this one does not have as much angst as the last prayer sock.

I pulled out the Firebrick mitten last night since my test knitters are done with their first mittens and I am still trying to get past the thumb divide. It should be a bit easier now. This mitten hung out and watched "So you think you can dance?" last night. They really grooved with Twitchington.

Thursday - Yarn Tastings

Since I have not received this months yarn offerings, I thought I would show my hang test for the swatches. Not much changed but the white fingering weight yarn that I talked about 2 weeks ago. It grew by 1/4" in length.

I think that these yarns did not change much because they were not large enough swatches to get an accurate showing of what the weight of the yarn plus gravity would do to the overall look of the yarn.

If you are curious which yarns are which, I put notes on the photo in flickr so click on the pic and it will lead you to the answer.

After a month of staring at these yarns, I am in love with the white fingering and the dark grey fluffy ribbon.

RIP Wednesday

Do you ever have those weeks were nothing gets done? Well it seems like that was last week. I have either had no time for knitting or no desire to knit. The mojo is gone. Here is how last week went:

Thursday - 12 hours of errands in Portland so maybe a row or two waiting in line

Friday - Helped churchable get ready for his weekend away and um.... went to bed early

Saturday - straightened up the patio after churchable had power washed it the day before and sat and enjoyed the backyard

Sunday - church (I started a sock) and churchable came home early so we trimmed the giant tree in the yard

Monday - um .... have no clue other than maybe lots of ripping of barely started projects out on the patio till it started to rain.
Tuesday - well I emailed with test knitters and my tech editor and finally got to sit and knit at night.

Projects started and RIPped:

Pair of shorts to sleep in out of Berroco Comfort - too small and I did not feel like adjusting the pattern. (maybe I will write my own pattern)

Mitten thumb tips for the firebricks - I was not there yet on my second pair so I just did a faux thumb to figure it out.

Several swatches that did not work out just right for my desire and so they have been frogged.

Basically I have zip to show you. I will show you that sock that I started on sunday. It is turning out nicely. It is for the second version of the sock swap that I participated in this fall.

Also along with this no knitting, I have had little desire to do much. I don't want to eat, I don't want to knit, I don't want to clean, I don't want to leave the house, I don't want to check ravelry, I just want to get outside and exercise. I have not been hyper obsessed with working out since 1997-1999. So I guess it is about time that I get my butt in gear. Maybe I can fit into those shorts that I frogged (haha I think those legs were twigs and I have never even in my days of anorexia been twig like in the legs). I have been walking about 10-12 miles a week and this week I started the couch to 5k program. I was amazed at what I did yesterday, which was my first day of the program but I think I will stick with it. Churchable, the runner in the family, is cheering me on to do good. He was impressed with my form and pace and is encouraging me not to push myself too hard but not to give up too early.

Don't worries there are designs running around in my brain. I just need to have the time to figure out yarns and exact patterning. I might not want to knit but designs are always pouring out my my brain. There are a few that won't leave me alone.

close ups of the loot in my flickr account so click and view

I also need to thank my Monkey sock swap pal for my package. I wore my monkey socks on my run last night and I have been using the bag that came with it since this weekend. I was so spoiled by this package. It made me feel special. It is why I love swaps. Thanks Rebecca for organizing this swap and to Kary for sending such a lovely package and pair of socks.

If my mojo has not returned by next week I will finger the culprit. I think someone has been stealing it for their own uses but it is too early to tell.

FO Friday - 3 for the price of one

My hair behaving just right

Pattern: A Better Bucket (PDF) by Amy Swenson Raveled here
Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Merino Worsted 92 grams (199 yards) Burgundy
Needles: US 8 (5.0mm) Harmony Interchangeable
Mods: Used solaris' mod for a larger brim and hat so that I could fit all my hair under it. I also knit the crown an inch shorter because it looked a bit too long.
Facts to remember: This is a super simple hat. I tried the provisional cast on to another needle instead of waste yarn, but the cable kept getting in the way. Also I waited a whole week to sew on the ribbon and button. I should realize that avoiding finishing can take longer than the finishing.
Things I Love: Everything. The yarn is cozy, the flair is just right, the button allows me to put any flower in it or leave it empty, the color looks great on me.

Close-up of the button with flower

Ohhh look another plain black hat for Matt

Pattern: A Hat Fit for a Boyfriend by Stephanie Nicole Raveled here
Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Merino Worsted 53 grams (115 yards) Black
Needles: US 7 (4.5mm) Harmony Interchangeable
Mods: I knit this exactly like the previous hat except to the full outer length since the first hat was a little bit short.
Facts to remember: That a guys head is longer than you think
Things I Love: The yarn of course.
Reaction of the recipient: Well hopefully just as good as the first hat went over.

Argh me matey

Looking all Airy

Pattern: Koolhaas by Jared Flood Raveled here
Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Merino Worsted 64 grams (139 yards) Tortuga
Needles: US 8 (5.0mm) Harmony Interchangeable
Mods: I knit the man's size on US 8s and the pattern was exactly the measurements of the pattern.
Facts to remember: I need to remember that there can be hazards in a photo shoot. Click on the final photo for all the details.
Things I Love: I loved this so much more than the glazed carrot Koolhaas (scroll down)
Reaction of the recipient: We will see when he gets it.

Click to find out why this is here

Thursday - Yarn Tastings

Filosophy by Trendsetter
4 sts/inch on US 8s
55% Cotton, 45% Polyamide
110 yards Color: 103

The final ribbon yarn of the month is Filosophy. This is an interesting yarn made up of a mess nylon ribbon and a matte cotton ribbon that are connected as one yarn. The ribbon did not snag while on the needles. It smoothly knit. It felt a bit like suede yarn because of the drag factor across my wooden needles. It created a pleasant stockinette texture but not my cup of tea. It created too thick and dense of a material for my liking. This yarn was the most off in proposed gauge to the gauge that I attained. I got a full inch more per stitch at 5 sts/inch.

WIP Wednesday

I only have one active thing on the needles. They are BILs socks for Christmas. I am almost done with one sock and then will get onto the second one. I hope to cast on for Labyrinth later this weekend. Churchable is gone all weekend so I should have lots of time to knit while he is gone.

I am also working on a really cool pattern idea. I woke up at 4:30 AM and could not get any sleep. I had finalized the stitch pattern by the time Churchable left for work.

Churchable has currently been working on another project. The final untouched portion of the house has been ripped out.

Coffee Swap package

I got my Spring Fling Coffee Swap. My pal was Helen from the UK. I got lots of cool snacks from the UK that I have never had a chance to taste or see in my many trips there. There is some lovely green yarn that I don't know what I will do with it. The bag was handmade by my pal.

The coffee is awesome. I have been having trouble drinking coffee lately. I just discovered today that I am having trouble drinking flavored coffees. I get instantly sick after having a mug. I started the day off by heading over to Tully's and got some Madison Blend. Today was the first was the first day that I have had more than half a mug without getting sick. I had an entire pot.

The coffees are Monsooned Malabar & Kenya AA. Kenya AA is one of my favorite coffees. It was the first bean that I was able to drink black.

FO Friday - What is real here?

Pattern: Beet by Norah Gaughan Raveled here
Yarn: Berroco Comfort DK - Lovage 2761-61yds, Rabe 2754 -50yds, Teaberry 2730-29yds,

Beetroot 2760-25yds

Needles: US 4 (3.5mm) & US 6 (4.0mm) knit pick's harmony interchangables.

Mods: I did not do anything different unless you consider threading pipe cleaners through the stems of the leaves.

Facts to remember: That the pattern might suggest something not possible like stuffing the body of the beet with stuffing and a squeaker after finishing the body. I placed the squeaker in the beet after the straight knitting portion. It might have been nice to have a casing that leads from the stems up the leaf so that pipe cleaners can be threaded through so that they have the stiffness of an actual beet with leaves.

Things I Love: How little yarn this takes. The fun photos that i can take with this piece and what pictures will be taken by our zany friends when they get this gift.

Reaction of the recipient: This is to be determined. We are giving this as a baby present to our wedding photographer and his wife who is a chef. The baby is due in June so we might have to wait till the baby is born.

Thursday - Yarn Tastings

Manipur by Karabella Yarns
7.5 sts/inch on US 3s
100% silk
190 yards color: 150

Being not a big ribbon yarn fan, I expected to dislike these yarns this month. This yarn surprised me. I loved the feel as it flowed through my hands as I knit on it. This is definitely a yarn that would create lovely texture within a stockinette fabric. It is not difficult to knit with. The ribbon bits do not get snagged by the needle. My gauge was almost spot on the recommendation at 7.6 sts/inch. In hand it has a crunchy feel that is delightful. The patterns to support this yarn are all lace stoles. Since I did not have more, I was not able to try out what it would look like in lace. I think this yarn might enter my stash as a single skein to be swatched with further.

WIP Wednesday - a bit late

This week has been hard. I have barely knit. Maybe a few stolen stitches here and there, but not many since I got back from our anniversary weekend. I have finished a WIP from last week but mostly I have only touched a few things so I will just show you what has changed since last week.

These socks have progressed since last week simply because they were plan stockinette stitch and that was something easy to pick up and put down when I had the chance.

This is the last of my popcorn knits. I really wanted to work on it over the weekend but it was so hot. Malabrigo might be yummy and all but it feels yucky in 90 degree temps without air conditioning. I hope to have this finished soon. I should since we have alot of driving this weekend when we go to visit our friend in Bend.

Lastly I have gathered my yarn for the Labyrinth pattern which is one of the Sexy Knitters Club patterns this time around. I am so excited. We have moved to ravelry and I was asked to be an administrator. It is super exciting but right now in the transition period as we set up the new group site there is a bit more to be done.

FO Friday - The End of the endpaper

Pattern: Endpaper Mitts by Eunny Jang Raveled here
Yarn: Knit picks Gloss in (3/4th skein) Woodland Sage & (2/3rds skein) Serengeti
Needles: US 3 (3.25mm) knit pick's harmony fixed circular for the body & US 2 (2.75mm) knit pick's harmony fixed circular for the ribbing. One bottom ribbing was done in US 0 (2.0mm).

Mods: I used a different tubular cast-on because I could not figure out the suggested one. Otherwise I think I knit these according to the pattern. There was not much to mess with.

Facts to remember: That I need to remember which hand has what color. I knit my color work with the main color in my right and the contrasting color in the left so that I can knit faster. I have done this since my first project. I did not know this was not standard. I did noticed that there is one row at the palm of one mitten which was knit with the strands switched. Most likely me knitting in the car in the dark. Also if increases are made at the edges, a lifted bar increase or a L-rink looks better. One mitt used lifted bar increases and the other I could not remember what I used since it had been 5 months since I did the first mitt, so I used a backwards loop M1. The backwards loop M1 is messier looking than the other mitt.

Things I Love: They fit like a dream. The silk /wool blend which is not too warm or heavy but allows me to do a lot with them on. If I fold the top ribbing inside, I can knit without snagging the mitts. Which is perfect because I knit these so that I would have mitts to wear in the house when it was cold. I like to keep the heat down because we have central air and when I am designing all day I tend to sit in one spot. I find it a bit silly to heat the whole house when I am only using a small corner.

Bobbie: Do you recognize your sweater?

Thursday - Yarn Tastings

Bamboo splash by Wisdom yarns
5.5 sts/inch on US 6s
100% Bamboo
87 yards. Color 106

This is a machine created variegated yarn. You can tell by the regularity in the pooling. I love bamboo and hoped that I would like this yarn. It was a disappointment. It was too heavy. The gauge I got on US 6s was a bit smaller than the stated gauge and as you can see I ran out of yarn before my swatch was done. I got a gauge of 5.75 sts/inch. Maybe at this gauge it will not drag too much. The recommended patterns for this yarn are cabled sweaters. I could see that the stitch definition would definitely show with the smooth thick yarn.

WIP Wednesday - a big day

Today is churchable & I's 3rd Anniversary today.
This is a WIP that I hope to have for my whole life.
I love you sweetheart and here is to many more years!

I have been busy making upgrades to the blog and making things work again. We found the archives so those should work again and a google search box will soon be living on the blog sidebar so that you can find useful stuff within the blog.

I also have been getting submissions ready for Interweave. See they are all done and packed up to go early.

Now to my actually knitting WIPs, I don't have many far along because I have really been into popcorn knits. I am getting really high off all the FOs that are flying off the needles. You will see them soon.

First up the Beet that made turtlegirl be interested.

I am pretty sure I am in love with this pattern, I just can't seem to take it every where since there are several balls of yarn to use.

Next up:

This is the second sock for my BIL. He asked for Camo socks last year and loved them so I decided I would make them again. Well basically I will keep making them till he is sick and tired of camo socks.

Lastly

I have been working on a Firebrick Mitten.

I am doing this so that I can answer questions for my test knitters if they ask one where I can't remember what I did and I don't say in the pattern.

We have moved

Welcome folks,

Pursuit of Fiber the blog has officially moved to its new place on my website. I am checking to see if the RSS is working. There is a little rerouting issue that will take you from the website to blogger and then back to the blog. That is being sorted out.

If you experience any problems please let me know in the comments. And yes I know the comments are missing. I am on top of that one. One way or the other comments will come through. Right now we are back to the blogger comments.

The construction might be a bit busy for the time being but hopefully Matt will be done soon. All hail the great Matt, which reminds me I owe him another hat. So I am off to knit the mighty web designer a hat.

FO Friday - Monkeying around

Pattern: Monkey socks by Cookie A Raveled here
Yarn: Butternut Woolens Super Sock Yarn (this yarn is being discontinued so no extra facts)
Needles: US 2 (2.75mm) knitpicks harmony fixed circular

Mods: I knit a short row heel with the pattern flowing down into the heel. Since I took my FO pics this week, I was unable to get my heel in the picture. I also allowed the pattern to descend into the toe a bit more. I really had fun working the decreases in the toe along with the pattern.

Facts to remember: You might "know" the pattern but do you really. I somehow forgot half the pattern and made the repeat about half as many rows. I kept wondering why the pattern was flowing so fast and stiffly. Then I figured it out and groaned as I ripped out 2 repeats of the first sock. My DPN gauge and magic loop gauge are just a bit off, enough that one sock pooled and the other barber poled. Also I need to remember there is a too tight sock gauge. I first tried this on US 1 (2.5mm) needles and was confused at the cardboard texture. I think it did not help that I was knitting a woolie wool in Houston as the weather begins to heat up. The yarn was more enjoyable to knit once I was back in the NW.

Things I Love: Doing a simple easy pattern that allows me to design while knitting and that flew off my needles when I neglected it so much.

Reaction of the recipient: I don't know yet, but these and a whole mess of packages are being shipped out on Monday.

Thursday - Yarn Tastings

This months yarn tasting is ribbon yarns. At the end of the month, I will be putting up a drag report. All the swatches are hanging on my bulletin board in the studio to determine if they will grow from the gravity.

Tiziana by GGH yarns
4.25 sts/inch on US 7s
75% rayon, 15% silk, 10% nylon
132 yards. color: 006

This ribbon yarn was pleasant to touch. I loved the texture created, but it is not a yarn to sit back and zone out with while knitting. The looseness of the ribbon weave causes the needles to poke through and pick up the stitch in the wrong place. I definitely think this will jazz up a plain stockinette pattern by adding texture. All the patterns, I have seen have been lace. These are the patterns GGH decided would best display the yarn. I would like to say that was a poor use of a lovely lofty yarn. Part of me feels that this could be a great lightweight yarn for worsted weight garments. I might even go up to a US 8 needle since the 7 gave me about .5 stitch more per inch. This is something I could see designing with. I just am not sure if it will survive the season with such poor pattern choices.

WIP Wednesday - UFOs

Well I have not had too much time to knit away but I have been plugging along on my endpaper mitts. I really want to finish these since I want to wear them. The pattern is so easy to follow and understand.

I hope to be finished with these by next week. Then I can cast on for some new projects. Hopefully my skirt and a giant Beet.

I hope your week is going well, I am plugging along on some swatches. I think it is interesting that I don't mind knitting a project with tiny stitches if I am making progress but a large square swatch makes me want to hurt myself. The pains of designing.