Moving slowly forward

I have had a bit of a problem with Creeping Startitis, as projects call to me, "I'll be quick! I'll make you happy! No midproject snafus with me! C'mon, you know you'll love me!" But at least they were from stash:

I started a Pashmina Cowl from Last Minute Knitted Gifts in Louisa Harding Grace Silk & Wool, four balls of which I bought in 2007 during my huge visit to WEBS. I had no plans but knew I couldn't leave behind this gleaming ruby yarn. Now that it's marinated in my stash for a while, I know that there were no projects calling to me for this yarn. Since my church's Halloween fundraiser auction is coming up, I decided to make the cowl out of this delicious yarn on spec, hoping someone will be excited enough to bid on it.

I also started a Log Cabin Blanket for my minister's baby out of Mission Falls 1824 Wool, which I adore. Soft as anything, machine washable, and great colors. I had four balls of, well, let's say "manly colors," and thought they'd make a handsome blanket for this handsome boy. It really was great fun. I thought I might hate it because of picking up the stitches, but honestly, it wasn't bad at all. I think part of it is that picking up stitches in garter stitch is easier, and perhaps, too, I got better at it as I went along. Hey, maybe this is training for Faina Letoutchaia's Forest Path Stole! My library got The Best of Interweave Knits and I'm so happy to have access to this pattern.

I have been knitting on The Very Thought of Him periodically, but it's still slow going on the fronts (two at once). And then I'll have the sleeves... maybe by next fall!

I've been thinking of picking up the Bell Sleeve Pullover and once and for all tackling the bust darts I want to add to it. I bought little hair clips at Target last weekend for the sole purpose of clipping together the pieces of sweaters for trying on. (Hey, I could also use them for simulating bust darts, come to think of it.)

I've had to set aside the Windowpane Socks because the tiny needles were irritating my tennis elbow, which is finally improving, phew. Of course, now I'm absolutely itching to knit socks.

The top-down Shedir is working quite well. I brought it to an autism presentation last week and found an error in my sketched-out pattern, but fixing it was very straightforward. I really need to get it done; we haven't seen Barbara at church for a month now. :(

I'm hoping to finish the baby blanket in the next few days (I'm doing a seed-stitch border with the remains of the balls of yarn) and give it to them, and continue the momentum with finishing other projects. Go, go, go!

All set for Stitch 'n' Pitch

I just bought our tickets to the local Stitch 'n' Pitch game, which will be on September 14. The Oakland A's will play... baseball. (Texas something. Lone Stars?)

The wonderful gal at my newly discovered LYS (11 miles away as the crow flies, 15.4 miles if the crow drives a Subaru station wagon) has discovered that we are definitely getting goody bags. This was a big selling point at home.

"You know, I bought us tickets to a baseball game."
"No. I don't want to go."
"It's called Stitch 'n' Pitch, knitting and baseball, isn't that cute?"
"So it's like knitting baseball?"
"Um, kinda."
"Cool. As long as it's not the A's."
"Um... it is the A's. But they'll have goody bags."
"Oh, OK."

Should be fun! Even if baseball is deadly boring to me most of the time. I hear they sell large beers. And we can take transit there. Plus knitting? Sold!

219.

Oh, good God. I have just updated my stash photos again, and now have 219 yarns in my stash list on Ravelry. That's 219 types of yarn, not 219 balls. Holy cow. (654 total balls. Holy cowherd.)

I think I'd better get knitting!

Fortunately, the back of the purple "summer" sweater is finally going well. I'm within 2 rows of casting off for the neck shaping. And then I can move on with my life--perhaps with a pair of fronts!

The Windowpane socks are ready for heel-turning, which I may do during G's martial arts class tonight, after I've done a bit of shopping (TJ's is close by).

I'm still a little overwhelmed by the stash thing. My Ravelympics task was to organize my stash, which I have been doing, and taking photos and entering info is a big step toward that end (oh, I just realized I have many more balls of the Finullgarn downstairs, uncataloged. sigh. It's going to be great for stranded knitting, but it is a little defeating to consider!).

I do need to get all the sock yarn together in one place. It's now in at least three. (And yes, I have even more sock yarn than I thought I did. Can't wait for Ravelry to allow subsections of yarn, so I can sequester off the sock yarn and really know how much I have. I had never even entered in the Trekking skeins I have. And some "Hot Socks" that came from I know not where.)

But I am enjoying my projects currently (as they are currently behaving), and seeing a little teeny light at the end of the tunnel. And, as always, itching to cast on still more projects...

Serenity NOW!

Finally finished the back of the purple cardigan, up to the neck shaping--and it was as the Yarn Harlot has said, you knit and knit and knit and you measure and have made zero progress. Then you knit and knit, and you've actually shot past your goal. Well, I didn't shoot past it, but I did make it, and set out to do the decreases for the neck shaping.

Too many stitches. Damn. When I ripped back to make the back shorter, I bound off 8 stitches on each side (God forbid I look at the pattern to double-check) and continued on my merry way.

Small consolation: I should have bound off 11 on each side, and when I redo the top half of the back for the third time, at least it should go faster, as it will be on fewer stitches. (Yes, my math whizzes, 6 whole fewer stitches, but hey, it should go faster, right?)

I have already started ripping. I really want this cardigan to be done!

Here's to being transported

I just started the Windowpane Socks from the latest IK--not that I always pick out a project from the latest magazine and just cast on, but that the needle size & gauge matched the yarn I wanted to knit with, a chocolate-brown Opal 4-ply. The pattern calls for a solid and a variegated yarn, and when I spotted it, I thought of a mainly-orange-toned yarn I'd been given in a swap a bit back. When I got the yarn, I kinda cringed and stuffed it into my sock-yarn box.

But now that I'm knitting with the two, I'm enchanted, absolutely transported. The pattern itself is very simple (and could be more exciting, I think), but it really works so far.

I'm knitting them on two 2.5mm circulars instead of the dpns I was given at Christmas. I think I like it better, at least for stranded knitting.

But I'm looking forward to the solid-color heel!

When you can't knit

I have a hard time with my limited knitting time as it is. Makes me jealous, if just a little, of those who have jobs where they wait for the phone to ring, and kind of get paid to knit. I always want to get more done, more things knit, more things started and finished.

But now, with my lovely lateral epicondylitis, I'm even more fidgety. I knit two rows night-before-last before quitting due to that prickly feeling in my elbow. Dang it.

Maybe I can put my time to designing mom's round-necked pullover on paper instead.

sulk.

Shut up Shut up SHUT UP

Someone just posted on Ravelry that WEBS (not linked on purpose!) is having their summer sale right now. I did not need that!

Thank the goddesses who knit, there wasn't any yarn there that particularly tempted me. I had to laugh at their offering Dive' Zenith at a low price--lovely, soft yarn, great stitch definition, if you can get past the @#*$&ing splittiness. (Good thing I love my sister very. very. much.)

Between that, and the Duffster tempting me with her STR Mediumweight "Fire on the Mountain," how'm I supposed to pay off my sink this month? (And they only charge like $2 to ship STR from Blue Moon Fiber Arts! Damn them!)

Trying very hard...

July is Finishing Month--A Summary

The Ravelry group I started for this trend has done well. 16 knitters joined, several of them posted lists and then updates. I finished 6 items (yay me!), including 2 frogged ones (which counts as finishing in my book, with the added bonus of available yarn for some other project).

I did start one project during the month--my coworker has no sock/case for his iPod, and I had talked about making him an iPod sock and forgotten. Saw him take his iPod carefully out of its original box reminded me. I cast on and finished in a couple of hours a simple one in some leftover Mission Falls charcoal wool. Love knitting with that stuff. Soft and unfeltable.

I'm way too pleased with myself for starting a group and getting people to join. It has been a GREAT thing for me. I may continue to post as I clean up those WIPs I had posted at the beginning (including doing the hard work of planning and executing bust darts on my Bell Sleeve Pullover, and more planning/charting/trying things on my mom's stranded pullover).

But mostly? It's been a very good thing to be restricted to finishing. For one thing, I haven't bought yarn all month! True, Rabbitch did send me yarn, but she will attest, when appropriately soused, that I did not purchase it in July 2008. (Brewskies are in the mail, hon.)

Oh, and a hockey friend says she knows a certain Rabbitch who also knows me! A very cool small-world find.

Knit on!

My wordle art

I've been dropping by my friend FiberQat's blog, and found Wordle. What fun. (Click to, as they say, embiggen.)

I shall try to be a better knit blogger henceforth. (Why do I type 'sq' so very often?)

July is finishing month

I declare July to be Finishing Month for me. I intend to spend the whole month finishing already-started projects. (Thank goodness I have a jillion started projects!)

Sounds like a good time for a rundown! But before I start, I did sew the buttons onto my Must Have Cardigan, crochet across the back neck a la Yarn Harlot, and weave in all the remaining ends. I love it more than ever. Yeah!

OK, projects in need of finishing:
0) Science Teacher Socks. I shall do my best to finish these by Friday, or next week at the latest. I've finished one and am past the wording on the second. Many inches of boring leg, endless heel, boring foot, and interesting toe to go.
1) Graham's stripey socks. Put aside in favor of the STSs. Partway through the second. I'll need to re-find this one.
2) Shetland Triangle in the cranberry bog lace. I think once I settle down with this one, I'll love it.
3) Birch in smoke Kidsilk Haze. Not sure I'll love this one, but I'm willing to give it another go. With about a million stitch markers.
4) Good behavior bear--the Baby Bobbi Bear in Sugar & Creme. I went down a needle size but fear it'll still be too lacy. We'll see.
5) Orange stripey sweater ("Bell Sleeved Pullover"). I've already changed it by adding waist shaping, but plan to also add bust darts and a v-neck. Not sure about those bell sleeves, either.
6) Mom's stranded grey wool sweater. I knit about 4" worth and hated the way the ribbing was folding up on itself. A wonderful reader (thanks Tamar!) suggested adding a bit of seed stitch in between. I'll try that this time.
7) Clapotis. Folks think this is boring; I find it maddening... maybe I'm just too stupid for this pattern, but I always, always ended up a stitch short or with an extra. And I never did learn the end stitches so that I could just do them by rote. When/if I finish, I do think I'll love it, though. The yarn is fantastic.
8) Socks in the caramel-colored Biagio sportweight. Not sure if I'll continue the Twinkle Toes pattern, but I do want to finish socks. And as they're on 4s, they should go fast.
9) Blue v-neck cotton sweater. It's an old Vogue pattern, and the decreases are just freaking odd. I need to write them down and ask for advice on Ravelry. I really want to finish it, as I still love the pattern.
10) Tubey. Need to do more and decide whether to do the front differently (higher? bust darts?).

There are a few more hibernating, but I think that'll keep me busy for July!

Updates on projects

Tiny update on the Must Have Cardigan: OK, I bought buttons. And embroidery floss with which to attach said buttons!

Yeah, that's it for that update.

I started and am nearly finished with Sock #1 of the Teacher Socks for G's teacher. My right wrist is sadly killing me, though, and school is done next Friday. I could maybe get the toe done tonight but man am I gonna have to knit fast to finish in time.

I got my orange fuzzy "Bell Sleeved Pullover" done up to the armpits, where I should do bust darts if I'm going to. And I'm chicken, so nothing has happened on it. (The back is done, so once I finish the front, it's on to the sleeves and get finished.) sigh Oh, I also want to do a V-neck instead of the slit neck. So I have to figure that out myself too.

I don't even know where my mom's stranded sweater is. I mean, I know it's in my bedroom, but I can't remember how far I got on the waistband when I cast it back on. Or maybe I haven't yet. Another sigh. I'm remembering how it was folding up at the waist. So freaking irritating.

I'm also contemplating a summer sweater to knit, one of my waiting choices in a cotton blend. I'm torn between The Very Thought of Him (link opens a PDF) and Rosemary's Swing Jacket. One is comfy, the other stylish. Feel free to ring in if you like.

Hm, other news... my sister, she who finally saw the light about knitting, is now saying she doesn't want a stash. And is accumulating a small stash. Hee hee. Revenge is sweet (for her exclaiming about the quantity of yarn I've amassed).

She's also saying she'd never learn to spin. Hee, hee.

I don't have enough yarn

(OK, in this case, I really don't!)

Previously posted on Ravelry, reposted here for posterity:

I just figured out I don’t have enough yarn for a project and thought I’d share my methods. Feedback welcome. (I’m sad that I can’t make it, but happy I figured it out now rather than partway up the front and having to quit _then_…!)

I had several skeins of Worsted Border Leicester/Corriedale in “Black Orchid” from Rabbitworks Fibre Studio. She had also thrown in a swatch/scarf she’d started in the wool, so my first order of business was to frog that, skein it, wash it, and hang it to get rid of the wigglies. Once I did that, I counted the strands at one end of each skein to get the yardage (my niddy-noddy measures 1-yd skeins).

So now, I had 84 + 76 (the two frogged skeins) + 60 + 130 + 130 (the labeled skeins) = 490 yards.

I grabbed the smallest skein, cast on about 5” wide in stitches, and began knitting for a swatch. A little more than halfway through the ball, I realized that it would be more useful to knit up the entire thing and measure it for my intended project, Boogie Vest. It knit up quickly on 8s, so I kept going, and the end product measured 8x12”.

Since we know 60 yards made 8x12” of fabric, we can extrapolate from that to estimate yardage needed for a vest.

I used the measurements from Ann Budd’s Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns to estimate fabric needed. I drew a rectangle for the lower half of the vest, and then modified rectangles for the upper part (narrower width on the edges to show the armholes, and a v-neck in the middle). For my size, I would have

Front:
                   lower rectangle 22 x 14 x 1 piece = 308 square inches (sq in)
                   upper rectangle, the square outer part 4.75 x 10 x 2 of these = 95 sq in
                   V-neck part consists of two triangles, so we can do width x height once
                   to get the area for both: 7 x 10 = 70 sq in
                   Total: 473 sq in for front
                  
                   Back:
                   Roughly, one big rectangle
                   22 x 24 x 1 piece = 528 sq in
                  
                   Grand Total: 1001 sq in needed.

My knitted piece is 96 sq in from a 60-yd skein, yielding 1.6 sq in per yard (96/60 = 1.6 sq in).

So my 490 yards at 1.6 sq in per yard would yield 784 sq in, more than 200 sq in less than I need.

Of course, this is all estimated, but a back-of-the-envelope calculation can certainly give you the answer you need (but don’t want): don’t even start it.

Oh, and by the way...

Must Have Cardigan, DONE!
Originally uploaded by RenaissanceWomn

Dude, I so love it. The Harlot says she lives in hers--and I wore mine for about the whole next week. Still needs buttons, but I love love love it.

And... on to the next sweater!

No appropriate project? Huh?

I went to a memorial service on Saturday. I found myself nearly frantic as I got ready to go--because I couldn't find a project that was A) portable (which ruled out my Bell Sleeve Pullover, now with waist shaping and V-neck), and B) simple (which ruled out G's sock, on which I needed to do toe shaping; the Teacher sock, which was due for the SCIENCE IS GREAT stranded knitting part; and my lace project, while small, which required a chart to look at each row).

Just realized yesterday, after the fact, that I could have brought my latest Magic Scarf, which has been started and is thus simply knitting around and around. And just now as I was typing the above, I realized I could have brought G's reward bear, which I've restarted in size 7 needles.

It didn't matter anyway--I didn't want to knit during the service, but rather during the sit-down period after, and by the time the service was over, I had to head out to pick up G after his tennis lesson anyway.

G's sock is done to the point where I need to Kitchener the toe. It turned out BRIGHT and very cute. I'll start the other one soon. That'll be the second set of leftover sock yarn from kid socks. It's possible I could even get two kid socks out of one skein, esp. if I did them toe up. I have been using Ann Budd's pattern from Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns, which I love but is top down.

I had been itching to start a new project, and when G and I brainstormed on what to do for his wonderful teacher for the end of the year, we came up with the Teacher Socks: I chose a blue Trekking XXL skein that I had, as well as a skein of soft white Regia Silk. G came up with the words: SCIENCE IS GREAT! to which I had to add two hearts ("Those don't look like hearts" he adds helpfully. My charting is not the best.) Honestly, I think the letters came out terrifically.

After 1" of ribbing, I did the words on a st st background. Now I've started the seed stitch and side cables of the Spring Cable Socks that I've wanted to do anyway. I hope they are at least noticeable in the variegation of the yarn.

Now I have the lovely task of picking out which projects to take to Asilomar to work on there. My first time, I finished the Leaf Lace Shawl and was so happy with it. There are always meetings and they always seem to be of the type where I can knit and still concentrate/participate.

Lately, knitting has been such a source of serenity for me. Knit on, friends.

What do you do? You start more projects!

If anyone wants to email me a butt-kicking, feel free. Instead of blocking and finishing my MHC, I've started two more projects. Small projects, but still...!

The first is another Magic Scarf, for I Know Not Whom. I found some Patons Cha Cha in a yarn basket, bought I Know Not Where, and grabbed my ridiculously large Speed Stix and cast on 25 stitches. Slipped them onto my bamboo 16" size 15 circulars, and started knitting. The mindless project. Cha Cha is very soft and fluffy and the color, Soul, is a pretty brown.

The other is the pair of socks I'd threatened to start in my last post. I pulled out the yarn and started knitting. Love the bold stripes of color (5261)! But the ball I used had a strip of pink before any other colors, and with my loose cast-on that I do intentionally so the socks slip on easily, it looked like a little pink frill at the top of my boy's sock. Nope! Frogged, snipped that part off, cast on again. Much better. The yarn feels a little, hm, dry, but the red and green stripes are really nice. My boy had chosen this yarn himself; I think he'll like these. I'm done with the cuff on the first sock already. The two may even match--I pulled out the start of the other ball and it seems to be at the same place (sans pink).

On other fronts, the Merino Stripes (Chili & Chocolate) pullover I started has been frogged. It seemed very wide and I was afraid it would be boxy and unattractive. Serendipitously, this month's Vogue Knitting has an article by Lily Chin on waist shaping. I charted my own numbers and started over. I am much happier, but still have a few bundles of not-yet-reknit yarn, which makes me a little crazy, of course. I'll put in a normal V-neck instead of the slit neck they did.

And my poor Must Have Cardi sits, ignored... I hope to block it tonight and set the fan on it so it'll dry by Saturday. We're going to the Maker Faire and I'd love to have it wearable by the time I speak to the Harlot again. I bought her new book last night. It's sweet but kinda tiny!

In other fibery news, I'm making plans to teach G's class how to spin on CD spindles. Those bundles of white, two posts below? They're the 4#4oz of fiber I got back from the processor's last week. Very soft, still a tiny bit of vm, but very, very spinnable. (And clean, finally, which I could not manage.) I made one spindle as a test and it was quite easy and I managed to learn how to spin on it in an evening. Yay! (It helps to have had a spinning wheel already, and predrafting ROCKS.)

So I asked his teacher, and she is all ovah that. My water polo class ends in a few weeks and my Tuesday and Thursday lunches will be free then. Yeah!

Mega Boots Stretch socks - DONE

Mega Boots Stretch socks - DONE
Originally uploaded by RenaissanceWomn

Finito! I am wearing these socks as I type. They are comfy and beautiful. I'm terribly amused that I seem to be following the Yarn Harlot's steps (Mega Boots Stretch socks in an orangey color, Must Have Cardigan), and am fighting the urge to write her to ask what we'll be working on next.

I'm taking up my mom's stranded sweater. Chances are that damned Harlot will do something just the same, custom project and all!

These are patch-toe, toe-up socks. I'm glad I was able to knit the cuffs just as long as I'd wanted. Well, in the end, it was just as long as I could stand it. I had yarn left and could maybe have done another inch, but by God, I was done, done, DONE.

Next up, another pair for my little munchkin. Yeah, the one who's nearly up to my chin, bless his pointed little head.

Two posts within one month!

I wonder if I start a new project each time I blog. The latest one is that I started the Bell Sleeve Pullover from the 2007 (or maybe 2006) Pattern "A Day" Calendar in Merino Stripes in the "Chili & Chocolate" colorway. This was because I wanted to go to our LYS's knit night, and felt obliged to use yarn I'd bought from her. And I'd rather be working on a sweater than something small these days. (I do have some balls of sock yarn and some more Taos for felting left.) The other sweater-sized set of yarn I have from her is Plymouth Encore in a delicious charcoal grey (color 520), from which I plan to make the Charcoal Ribbed Cardigan (scroll down) from Interweave Knits (because I have no imagination and can never envision a sweater in colors other than those in which it's presented).

So I have like 3 rows done on the BSP and it looks... fine. I'm still mixed on the yarn. Is it too orange for me? It looks good next to my skin but I don't choose orange much.



As for other projects: The Must Have Cardigan is coming along well. I'm in the sleeve cap shaping now (YEAH) and it is close to being done--the knitting, anyway. I'm a little concerned about having a lot of sleeve to fit into a normal-sized sleeve cap opening, as I increased a lot to make it big enough for my arm size. I'm decreasing like mad to get down to the last 13 stitches, which all get bound off at once. Then it's massive sewing and the knitting of the button bands. I do need to find buttons for this one.

As TheAmpuT mentioned in the comments, I'm very close to being done with Captain Underpants. Here he is so far:



Am thinking of teaching G how to knit i-cord and set him loose on the arms. The Bernat Soy is really quite pleasant to work with. Not splitty at all despite its being very stranded looking.

And the Meilenweit Mega Boots Stretch socks are nearly done! I had been thinking of knitting the cuffs till I ran out of yarn. I think they would be practically knee socks if I did that. I will probably finish them this week. They look great to me and feel even better. I can't wait to start another pair, maybe out of Rabbitch's yarn this time.



Another reasonably active project is Tubey, on which I've started a second ball of yarn. By my calculations, the 10 balls I have should be enough (I'll still put the sleeves on waste yarn and knit them top-down last). It is a lovely yarn. I am still concerned that the front will be SuperSlut low on me with my high bustline. Maybe I'll massively modify the pattern with bust darts, waist shaping, and a higher neck. It is a cute pattern as is but... anyway, here is the fabric of the back (st st):




What's up next? Well, I do want to get my mom's pullover (top-down, round yoke, FI-style patterning with Noro Kochoran 34) done. Since it'll be on size 9 or 10 needles (as opposed to my Must Have Cardi on 7s), it should be quick. Also, I seem to knit stranded knitting lightning fast. I'll probably finish it by her birthday in early July. Perfect summer wear, eh?

Back to the knitting! When I'm done with this pesky work thingy.

Couldn't be prouder

Tonight, I had an opportunity to go to our LYS's knitting night. G had said he wanted to make a dark blue scarf, so I got out the ball of Cascade 220 Superwash that I had, size 8 straight needles, and packed them up for him.

At the LYS, I cast on 18 stitches (he wanted a scarf about 4" wide, and the stated gauge is 4.5 sts/in) with a long-tail cast-on, knit the first row, and taught him. He learned fast. Got a little frustrated at times, but really caught on.

My boy knit two rows tonight!

Could I be prouder?
Does Rabbitch hide out under beds, cradling cashmere? Well, actually, she does...

Good Lord, I skipped March

Oops, no March posts at all. Well, there wasn't a lot to post. I moved forward on my car knitting, which was my pair of Meilenweit socks. I'm halfway up the ankle and still loving them. I challenge red lights with them. I say, "OK, I'm touching my knitting, light. I'm knitting a stitch." Usually, I just have to think about picking it up and the light changes.

I knit on them at Disneyland and OH was I glad I had it with me. We did well with lines, getting there early, but at times, it was a lifesaver.

I also knit way up the sleeves for the Must Have Cardigan... and then ripped them out completely. My beefy arms simply wouldn't have fit. Plus, as I was ripping down to the cuffs, I remembered that I'd forgotten to use the smaller needles on the ribbing for the cuffs, so riiiip, I started over. And increased much more rapidly. Tried 'em on a few inches ago, and they were comfy but a tad snug. Am hoping blocking gives me a bit more room. I'm not ripping them again. I shall have to wear it over turtlenecks if they're still a bit snug. I'm still loving the pattern, but more than ready to be DONE DONE DONE with this one.

I finished the first ball of Plymouth Suri Merino for Tubey. I measured it to calculate if the 10 balls I bought from DiscountYarnSale.com would be enough. I do think it will! I will, however, stick with my original idea of putting the sleeve stitches on waste yarn and knit them last, to whatever length they work out to. I am concerned that the construction of the sweater will mean the front is way too low for my high bustline. I do want to wear this sweater in public without looking like Busty McSlutty. I may knit the front higher than the back if necessary. I'm also going to knit the pieces separately and seam them, as I read someone else did; when she picked up the stitches, she said it looked sloppy every time.

I found the started "Captain Underpants" toy that I thought I'd lost at church one Saturday. I didn't care quite so much for my time (or the cheap yarn), but I did care about losing a set of the dpns from the Options nickel set my sister got me for Christmas. I was happy to find 4 of the 5; happier still to find the last one behind the couch. I finished embroidering the body (underpants stripe, face, and nipples), stuffed and finished knitting the top of the head. Now I just need to make arms, legs, and a cape, and I can move on with my life.

I did start the Baby Bobbi Bear for G during vacation. I love the yarn (Sugar & Cream from Beverly's on sale); the color is perfect and it's plenty soft. But the gauge is going to be pretty different. I had used the stated 8s, holding the yarn double; too thick and awkward. Started again holding the yarn single (I do think it qualifies as a worsted rather than a sportweight); the fabric is just too loose. I think the stuffing will show through. I'll try again on 7s and then 6s if need be. I found one gal who did it on 4s! That's a little too serious.

Hm, what else is there? Well, when I'm done with the MHC (seaming and button bands after I finish the sleeves), I'll start my mom's sweater for real. It'll be a pullover, perhaps seamless, with fair-isle type patterns in the yoke and maybe the cuffs and waist. On size 9 or 10 needles, and mostly st st, it should go way faster than the MHC, which is on its third month now. I've read of folks who aim to make 12 sweaters in a year! I hope to finish 4, and realize that's a lofty enough goal. Some day, I'll even get back to the tape-yarn sweater I started and then realized I hated the inverted "V" at the front. I don't think I even finished frogging that one.

I do want to finish more socks soon. I've been looking over my sock yarn and it is still quite extensive. Time to use up more!

Oh, and I did one row on the Shetland Triangle the other night, as G finished reading before bed. chuckle I do love lace, but I guess I'm much more intent on finishing other stuff these days.

At least I'm not starting on a new craft, like weaving, like some crazy hares I know...

Another project update

I finished the back of the Must Have Cardigan. I put the stitches on a holder but am heeding the Yarn Harlot's recommendation to crochet a chain across the neck to stabilize it. The fronts are started and I'm hoping the few changes I've made to the right front will make the cables mirror each other. (Just realize that if I have made the changes to the left front by accident, the cables will still mirror each other, just turn away from each other rather than toward.) I'm on row, hm, 9, I think, and it's going well. I'm using even more stitch markers than last time, setting off the 3-stitch wrapped-stitch column as well as Pattern Panel A and B and the moss stitch. I love doing both fronts at once, as it means I don't have to jot down any notes to make them match. And when I'm done with both, well, they're done. If you see the trend from the two-socks-on-two-circs thing. (Ditto for the sleeves. They'll be exactly the same length, too, another bonus.)

Still working away at the Mega Boots Stretch basic toe-up socks. Still loving (loving!) the colorway. I took these to Stitches West as my unthinking knitting project. I was tempted to bring the Must Have, at least for the train, but I forgot how much I enjoy talking and how talking and knitting anything complex are not easily compatible. My seatmate on the Stitch & Ride is the RPM designer--how cool is that? And on the way back, I chatted with some women who, it turned out, were from Alameda. The "Gail" they were talking about is Gail T from our somewhat new Alameda Yarn Company, our LYS that I hope will stay.

Still can't find Captain Underpants. Annoying! I do think I left it at church but haven't been able to find it anywhere there.

To document my haul from Stitches West:

I walked up one aisle and there before me was the guy from the Fair Isle book I have at home, and have drooled over many a time. In the Philosopher's Wool booth, surrounded by all those gorgeous sweaters. And knitting on one. And what I didn't realize: it's worsted weight! I could finish it within my lifetime. So lovely Carol in their booth helped me try on several sweaters to find the one I wanted. The first one just didn't do it for me. The second, even less so. The third had my heart racing (that's Carol modeling it). So beautiful. I whipped out my credit card and was given a lovely knitting bag with the kit and so much encouragement. They even said that if you finish your sweater and write them, they'll send you a pattern for a matching tam as a "congratulations." Apparently, there's enough wool for most sizes in the bag, so you don't even have to pick it out by size. It's big like a jacket, too, which is perfect, as the wool is certainly on the itchy side.

Next, I went by my friend Maia's booth, Tactile Fiber Arts, which was partnering with Brooke's company, A Verb For Keeping Warm. As I am into the dark, dark, dark these days, I was able to pass up plenty of spinning fiber that was just too pale, but she had some bundles of way dark wool in the back, and as she was writing up two of them, I reached out and felt a bundle of nearly black alpaca and had to add that in. Oh man, so soft. I managed to ignore the right-hand wall of beautiful handspun wool in lots of colors and fiber mixes. (so beautiful, my glance told me.)

Next, when I visited the YarnDogs booth for a Ravelry passport stamp, Lucy Neatby was there, in all her multicolored-hair, high-energy self. They had all of her DVDs for $9 off the usual $29 price, so I quizzed her on which one would be right for me. I settled on Socks 2 (but she did mention I could benefit from Socks 1 as well) and bought it. By the register, they had tiny sock blockers... and sets of tiny dpns (like 3" long, 0 or 00 or 000) to knit tiny socks with! Insanity. (I managed to resist, but just barely.)

The last purchase was at the Purlescence booth. They're all the way in Sunnyvale, so it's about an hour's drive for me. I wish I could patronize them, but it's hard to justify the gas plus the yarn cost in general. So when I saw yummy sock yarn, Claudia Handpaints no less, I went for it. Black walnut, so gorgeous.

Thankfully, I was given the pass to attend a free class, which prevented me from doing more shopping... my budget is grateful.