interannette knits

swap!

2007-08-17T22:57:00.000-07:00

today i packed up and mailed out my first ever swap package! it's so exciting! i took pictures! but, i'm paranoid about posting them until my partner gets the package. don't want to ruin the surprise!

knitting firsts

2007-08-17T00:41:00.000-07:00

this pasted week i did two (knitting-related) things i never thought i would do.

1. i succumbed to the siren song of silk and pretty colors.

while i always thought recycled sari silk was pretty, i'd heard only bad things about the actual quality of the yarn. pieces of hay and sticks, over/underspun, too grippy, smelly, etc. and they were all true. but it's just so pretty!

i'm making my own version of knitty's unbiased. so far i've made it smaller (i only bought one skien) and am knitting in stockinette instead of garter stitch. because even in the most uneven, crazy textured yarn, i still can't stand the look of garter stitch. i am seaming up the body now, and that is where the flaws are really getting to me. it is really hard to seam when you can't see the stitches and you can't even get the yarn in the eye of a yarn needle. so far there's been a crochet hook and lots of tugging, and cursing.

2. i started ripping out an entirely complete project to make changes and start over. and it was a sweater no less!

i decided my lucy cardigan was just too tight and started ripping. i have plans of a top down raglan with some sort of patterned yoke using the light blue swish i have left.

as you can see, i haven't gotten very far in the ripping/winding process. but the hard part is out of the way. mentally, and physically. i ended up just cutting out the neckband, because it was just too hard to figure out what was going on, and i still have a few extra balls of black swish that i can use, so i should need to worry about running out.

Coachella for Lollapalooza

2007-07-29T10:20:00.001-07:00

Well I made my goal and finished my Coachella in time for Lollapalooza, with a week to spare.

I really liked the pattern. I didn't quite get gauge so I made the small instead of my actual size and they canceled each other out, because it fits great. I am undecided on my opinions of Wick. It is really soft and squishy and machine washable, which is great. But it is such a smooth yarn that it really shows any mistakes, of which I have many. I think part of the problem was that I was knitting it at a looser gauge then the yarn was really meant for. Other than that my only complaint is that the back was shorter than the front, probably because I dont think they were the same length when I jointed them after the arm holes. I thought about doing some short rows on the back to make it longer, but decided to finish it up and try it on then rip back if necessary. Right now I am leaning towards it not being necessary, but we'll see once I wear it out of the house.

Wool Hat in July

2007-07-19T10:39:00.000-07:00

I finished Center Square within like 6hrs of starting it!

So right now I am wishing it was colder. Both because its awfully hot, and now I want to wear my hat! Ah well, come January I will be cursing the cold. I really enjoyed this pattern, probably because it was big needles and double stranded worsted weight. The color work was easy to memorize, but interesting enough to keep me interested. I used some of my left over Swish from my Lucy In The Sky. I guess that's all there is to say about it, really.

Indian Jones and the Knitting of Doom

2007-07-18T22:41:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my recent troubles with my Coachella, I decided to take a break and start something quick, easy, and fun. After a quick browse through my ravelry queue (Have I mentioned how much I love ravelry yet?) I cast on for Center Square and popped in my netflix.

One viewing of Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom later, I am about to start the crown decreases and feeling much happier about knitting. Size 10 1/2 needles are great! Nothing like instant gratification!

Too bad it is disgustingly hot out and I'll have to put my hat away for a few months before I can really enjoy it.

the universe is against me! or at least my knitting

2007-07-14T22:05:00.000-07:00

last night i had the depressing experience of ripping out a half done project! i dont think ive done that before, usually i just chug along and hate the end product. but i got to the point in my coachella where you can try it on, and the cowl was hanging wicked low. so i tore it all the way out. on top of that, i lost my size 7 circular which was only needed for the beginning! so i spent this afternoon going first to walmart, then our crappy joann's, and finally finding one at michael's so that i could start over.

i cast on again, this time in a small, which seems so not my size, tonight while watching desk set with my parents. on the plus side, the drape was good and i liked it except for the horrible fit. i fly back to madison tomorrow and should be able to make up for lost time on the plane.

in related knitting misfortune news, my dollar and half cardigan is still sitting on my floor waiting to be seamed. i got one shoulder set in, but it looks pretty crappy and is not motivating me at all!

2007-07-09T21:04:00.000-07:00

i'm not usually such a hater, but this knit iphone keeps popping up and all i can think is, damn that looks awful. i could make one way better. so, i think that is on my list of things to knit, after finishing up my dollar and a half and starting on my coachella.

fickle

2007-06-26T18:44:00.000-07:00

so remember how i quit my dollar and half cardigan? well, i changed my mind. i only had one sleeve left, and nothing else was calling to me, so i went ahead and finished. i am down to the button bands and assembling. i am predicting disaster for the set in sleeves. but, i checked out a book on finishing techniques from the library so maybe i'll learn something.

once this is done, and i get my paycheck, i plan on starting coachella. i just need to find a good yarn substitute, because i don't do suede anything.

i quit!

2007-06-18T17:17:00.000-07:00

Having complete all but one sleeve of my dollar and a half cardigan, I quit. It's coming out way too big. I've actually blocked everything but the sleeves, and blocked them to the correct size, but I should have gone the next size down. I was smack dab in the middle between two sizes. (A 38 while the choices are 36 and 40.) I went with the bigger, but that was a mistake. I really need to learn this whole ease concept I guess.

I have two whole and one partial skiens of cotton fleece left so I am thinking of making Green Gable. I might have to cannibalize the not yet blocked sleeve, but would have enough yarn. But I don't have the money right now to buy anything unnecessary, ie knitting patterns. And I'm not really feeling the color of this yarn for any kind of clothing. So for now, I guess both will go on hold, and I will go in search of some much needed instant knitting gratification from somewhere in my stash.

Entrelac Scarf

2007-05-04T16:38:00.000-07:00

I finished my entrelac scarf just in time for the cold snap we had a few weeks ago. The while yearn is Lamb's Pride Worsted in Creme and the green is Tahki Yarns Donegal Tweed Homespun color 809. I used size 8s and the tutorial in the Spring Interweave Knits. It's a little bit short, but I knit until I ran out of the donegal tweed. I really enjoyed the entrelac, with the exception of having to weave in all the ends. I managed to cut down the number by knitting the tails in with the working yarn whenever possible. So it worked out that I wove in all the whites as I went along, but had to do the greens at the end.

Lucy In the Sky Cardigan

2007-03-19T13:36:00.000-07:00

I started this over winter break and just finished it up this past Friday, just in time to wear it to late night knitting at The Sow's Ear with Christelle and Meghan. The pattern is Lucy in the Sky Cardigan from cosmicpluto knits. I made the size for 37 inches. I changed the seed stitch on the hem and cuff to ribbing, but other that that followed the pattern pretty much exactly. It looks pretty funky where I had to attach the neck band along the back. It reminded me how much I hate finishing, and to avoid anything that requires applying neckbands. I wasn't very impressed by the pattern. I feel like it would have been easier to use a basic top down raglan pattern and insert the diamond pattern. I paid for the pattern because I thought I would need help figuring out how to do the decreases in pattern, but it turns out it really wasn't hard to figure out, and it wasn't written in the pattern either, it just said decrease in pattern.
I used about ten balls of Knit Pick's Swish in black. After blocking I got gauge pretty much spot on with size 6 Audi Naturas. It was looking a little small while knitting, but blocking made it much more reasonable. It's still a little to tight around the upper arms, and I would make it longer if I were going to do it again.
Overall I'm pretty happy with how this came out. There is the pretty glaring mistake on the neck, but I would definitely wear the sweater in public if it weren't for that. And heck, I'll probably wear it in public anyway. So it's good to know that maybe someday I'll make a whole sweater I am proud of.

In other news I started an entrelac scarf at late night knitting. I scrapped the Danica idea and am just using the tutorial by Eunny Jang in the Spring Interweave Knits. Speaking of which, I think I am finally going to get myself a subscription seeing as she is the new editor and I love her stuff.

Long Time No Post

2007-02-16T20:54:00.000-08:00

Even though I haven't posted in forever, I have been knitting. And I taught other people to knit too! Currently I'm about half way into Cosmic Pluto's Lucy In The Sky Cardigan using Knitpick's Swish Superwash. I'll post more about that when it's done. In the meantime, here are some things I've finished over the past couple of months:

My first pair of Toe Up socks. Knit in Patton's Kroy Socks yarn.

A pair of basic mittens out of Manos del Uruguay.

A basic crewneck raglan sweater for Afghans for Afghans. THe stripes are FIsherman's Wool that I died myself using koolaid!

Swell

2006-07-30T16:52:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Swell in size M.
Yarn: Dale of Norway Free Style that I bought at late night knitting at The Sow's Ear. The entirety of one skein of the red, and about half a skein of the purple.
Needles: Size 7 dpns and a 16" circular.

I have to say I really didn't like how this came out. The colors didn't look as good together as I thought they would. Plus it just didn't fit my head right. Or maybe it did fit my head right, it just isn't very flattering to my head. Either way, I don't think I would wear it much. So, I think I'm pretty sure I'm going to donate it somewhere, probably afghans for Afghans. I could of course frog it, but I don't have enough to make an entirely red, or entirely purple hat, so I'd still be stuck with the two colors together. And, I knit it over the course of a day and a half and am pretty much sick of looking at it now. And, I'm just stubborn and refuse to undo all my work, especially since it's a perfectly functional hat, I just don't like the way it looks.

This was part of a plan I had going in my head. I was going to make a bunch of hats out of various superwash wools. With the goals of trying them out and finding a nice one to make a sweater out of, and having a bunch of really cool hats in the winter. I'm still kind of on a hat kick, they are quick and fun and break up the winter monotony of wearing the same winter coat everyday. But, I finally got around to using the gift certificate Sam's parents got me for graduation, and so have a bunch of really need stuff coming my way. I'll post pictures and my ideas once the yarn gets here.

Swish!

2006-07-17T21:24:00.000-07:00

I am always torn about using wool; I can't deny it's wonderful natural fiber goodness, but I can't put it in the washing machine! So I really hope this is as awesome as I think it is.

Shedir

2006-07-14T18:19:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Shedir from Knitty Breast Cancer Awareness Issue. There is one typo in the pattern, I think. I liked just working directly from the chart. By the end I started to get and understanding of how the cables were working, and was able to catch said typo, so I'm pretty proud of myself.
Yarn: Knit Picks Andean Treasure in Lagoon. Approximately one and a half balls. This yarn was really nice and soft, though possibly not the best choice for cables. Especially since I was trying out cabling without a cable needle, which means I was pulling at the stitches a lot. But I kind of like the fuzziness, I think the cables looked a little too harsh in the picture in the pattern.
Needles: Size 3 dpn (I think?)

Perdita

2006-07-13T15:29:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Perdita. The lilac variety. Size small.
Yarn: DMC Perle Cotton, less then on skein. I don't know the name of the color; it was on clearance at Michael's for 50 cents.
Needles: Size 1 metal dpn from my sock set.
Notes: This was nice, quick, easy, and fun. It was my most successful attempt at lace to date. I don't like the buttons I choose, but they were the best I could find at Michaels. Other then that my only complaint is that it's already curling pretty bad. I pulled it really flat during blocking, but after only a few wearings its curling like crazy. But, I still have a few other skeins of Perle Cotton that I bought and I will probably attempt one of the other lace patterns and see if maybe they curl less.

Mittens, And Hats, For Afghans

2006-07-10T17:24:00.000-07:00

Three days later and they are finally dry!

Grand Total: 5 pairs of mittens and 4 hats!

All out of Elena lopi. I can't find much about this yarn online, all I know is that my grandmother bought it on a trip to Canada years ago. And I hate the stuff. It's very 'rustic', read, scratchy, full of sticks, and breaks easily. That said, I think its got to be very warm. I used almost all of five skiens, that little ball in the middle is all that is left.

Other then the crappy yarn I am really happy with the project. This project was really good for learning basic mitten and hat construction. I now feel comfortable that given measurements I could easily whip up a basic pair of mittens and hat! Plus it was very easy knitting, which is what I needed. And quick too. I don't recall exactly how long I was working on it, but I aimed for either a mitten a day or half a hat per day and made it no problem.

The only other thing is that I accidentally, sort of, felted them a bit. I had washed and blocked the first pair of mittens and they took days to dry, so I wrote off washing the rest. But when I was finishing the last of them I realized the washed and blocked pair felt much much softer then the rest. And since the yarn was so scratchy to begin with I decided I should break down and wash them all. After I had washed them, I only had 3 days left and thought I might be cutting it close for drying time. Our dryer has an air dry setting, so I thought I would give that a try. I figured since it didn't heat up it wouldn't felt the mittens. But I guess the agitation was enough, because there is a distinct difference between the original pair and the rest., which were put through the dryer.

No dryer on the left, dryer on the right.

Thankfully I realized it before too much damage had been done. So it was back to real air drying. Everything finally dried out Sunday sometime., so I was able to ship them off today. Perfect timing.

Knitting All Nighter

2006-07-06T22:48:00.000-07:00

It's 1:45am and I just finished my last pair of mittens! Four pairs of mittens and four hats are all knit, washed, and drying. When they are all dry, which should be in two days or so, I'll ship them off! Final counter, pictures, and details coming soon. Now it's time to sleep.

Stash Sale

2006-07-03T10:16:00.000-07:00

It's all gone! Thanks to everyone to bought something!

I'm moving on the 10th, so it's stash sale time! Orders must be placed by July 10th, after that I'm gone.

The Yarn

SOLD ~~Knit Picks Merino Style~~
One full, untouched ball of Hollyberry. One full ball of Vanilla, swatched with then unraveled. About a third of a ball of Vanilla. About a quarter of a ball of Dusk.

$4 for all of them.
Approximate shipping: $2

SOLD~~Cascade Fixation~~
Cool hot pink color. Two full balls, still wrapped in plastic. One almost full ball, maybe a few yards missing. I started to swatch, but changed my mind about the whole project and undid the swatch.

$12 for all three.
Approximate shipping: $2

SOLD ~~Endless Summer Collection Luna~~
Five full, untouched balls in Raspberry Wine. Really nice soft stuff.

$10 for all of them.
Approximate shipping: $2.75

SOLD ~~Plymouth Encore Worsted/Lion Brand Wool Ease~~
Encore: Almost full skein in pretty muted pink/rose, bottom row left. Almost full skein in a light grey with an almost purple undertone, bottom row right. Small amounts of white and a heather purple, left middle. These colors look great together as stripes.
Wool Ease: Full skein plus about small ball of Wool Ease in Oxford Grey, bottom center and top left. Small part of a ball of Green Heather, top right. (I think it is officially called Green Heather, but it is green and it is heather.)

$6 for all the Encore; approximate shipping: $3.25.
$3 for all the Wool Ease; approximate shipping: $1.75.
$8 for all of both; approximate shipping: $4.25.

SOLD~~Plymouth Wildflower DK~~
One full skein and the majority of a second skein both in black.

$2 for both.
Approximate shipping: $1.50

SOLD ~~Target Fluff~~
Light grey, very soft and fluffy novelty yarn from Target's Dollar Section a couple months back. One mostly full skein and a little bit of a second.

$1 for both, or I'll throw them if for free if you are buying something else.
Approximate shipping: $1.50

The Details:

Colors:

For best color accuracy, all photos were taken outside in natural light. The background is black canvas. Any two balls of the same color are from the same dye lot.

Prices:

I am flexible. Prices are negotiable, especially if you are ordering more then one set. If you only want one skein from a set, I can do that too.

Shipping:

Approximate shipping prices are provided as an estimate and are based on USPS first class shipping. Once you email me with your address I will give you give you exact shipping costs. I can ship priority mail or express mail through USPS if you prefer.

Payment:

All payments must be though PayPal. Email me at acidwashedpants AT gmail DOT com with your selections and address. I will email you back with exact shipping costs. Once I receive payment via PayPal the yarn will ship within one business day.

All yarn is from a smoke and pet free home.

afgans for Afghans

2006-07-01T17:02:00.000-07:00

I have been running out of creative steam with my knitting lately. It's too warm to think about starting a sweater. And I can't stand the feel of knitting with cotton and other warm weather fibers. So I started on a sock binge. But, to date I have completed exactly one and a quarter socks. What I really needed is some instant knitting gratification. At this point I am also limited by the fact that I am at my parents house and all my stash is boxed up in Tempe. The only yarn I have is a bunch of half skeins of Plymouth Encore and Wool-Ease in various colors and six skeins of Elena Lopi my grandmother gave me. My grandmother keeps asking me if I have made anything of it yet; and is sure to remind me that there is enough to make a sweater. The Lopi is a muted pink with flecks of white. It's really not that bad but for some reason I just don't like the color one bit. So, it's definitely not becoming a sweater, at least not for me.

Since I had all that machine washable acrylic blend, I thought maybe I'd knit up a few baby items for charity. A search for charitable knitting organizations quickly turned up afghans for Afghans. When I went to their website I found they are looking for children's mittens, hats, vests, etc. And only wool can stand up to harsh the harsh Afghanistan winters. The catch is, it takes so long to get to Afghanistan that they need these items by July 21st.

Well now I have a goal: I am going to use up every last bit of all six skeins of the Elena Lopi for hats and mittens. And I'm going to do it before July 11th when I fly back to Tempe. I have a free priority mail flat rate box sitting under my makeshift desk waiting for mittens. Current count: two pairs of mittens and one hat. I figure it I make a mitten (or half a hat) a day I should make it.

Oh, and if emptying my stash wasn't good enough, if you get the donations in by July 21st, you are entered to win a $50 gift certificate to Yarn Market. I'm a sucker for prizes!

Deep V Argyle Vest

2006-06-27T17:11:00.000-07:00

I finished Eunny Jang's Deep V Argyle Vest a few days ago, but just now got around to taking pictures.

The Basics
Pattern: Deep V Argyle Vest
Yarn: Knit Picks' Merino Style in Hollyberry (6 balls) and Vanilla (4 balls). Plus some of the same in Dusk for the steeking.
Needles: Size US 5 Addi Natura 32" circular and US 5 metal dpns.

The Details
This was a lot of firsts for me. First pattern I paid for (that wasn't in a book). First fair isle. First real swatching. First blocking. First steeks. First wool garment. Probably more but we'll stop at that.

I bought the pattern on a whim, because I loved Eunny's original so much. I figured it was way out of my league knittingwise, but that I would keep it around until the day when I was finally worthy. But then I got bored with the rest of my knitting and decided to do something crazy and start it. I bought two balls of Merino Style (in Dusk and Vanilla) and started (and finished) swatching the day it arrived. Fair isle came pretty easily; it wasn't hard to adapt to my usual knitting style. And I am still a bit fair isle obsessed, I've already cast on for a hat with fair isle snowflake pattern.

I originally started with Size 6 needles, but after a few rows it was already inches longer then it should have been. So I swatched again with size 5s, which actually had the right gauge after blocking, as opposed to the size 6s which had right gauge pre blocking, but not post.

After that it was pretty smooth sailing. I did start the armcycle shaping a few rows early, because it was still looking awfully long. And I had to take a break inches from the end because I was out of Hollyberry. I ordered two more balls and was on my way. Thankfully the new ones were the same dye lot as the old ones.

Steeking was surprisingly uneventful.

I think I did pretty well mastering fair isle. What this really taught me was that I need to work on my finishing techniques. The biggest flaws are where I picked up stitches for the arm and neck bands.

Considering how many firsts this was for me, I am quite happy with the results. My main complaint is the fit. I actually liked the fit better before I blocked it; I feel like it is too loose now. But I'm sure I will appreciate the looseness come winter in Wisconsin when I'll want to layer things under. It's just no longer cute-sexy-vest but now practical-warm-vest, which is ok too I guess.

Progress

2006-06-22T21:22:00.000-07:00

I've been making a lot a knitting progress lately, though none of it is actually finished. The vest is currently blocking. I am up to the ribbing on the first two up sock. The cabled purse is knit, just waiting for me to sew in the lining and assemble.