Wordless Wednesday Eve: New Knitting

Okay, since it's not really Wednesday, I don't feel the need to be wordless.  I wanted to share a picture of the sweater-in-progress.  I love the fabric!  It's very pretty, stretchy enough that I'm not all that worried about the fit, and  an easy enough pattern to work while watching telly.

#17 Cable/Lace Cardigan from Vogue Knitting Early Fall 2010, 

Patons Classic Wool in Royal Purple colorway

Vogue is rather unimaginative with their pattern naming.  The description refers to it as an feminine update to the smoking jacket.  I'm currently wavering between calling mine my Nonsmoking Jacket or my Nonsmoking Cardi.

Summer Socks

Although I didn't knit at the cabin, I did finish a pair of socks before I left.

Summer Lovin' pattern (Ravelry link),

KnitPicks Felici yarn in Rainbow colorway (discontinued colorway, I think)

I often have trouble finding patterns I like to go with self-striping yarn. I really like this pattern though.

 

 
The designer said she designed this as part of a Cookie A class.  It makes me think...

A Holiday

Andrew and I had Thursday and Friday off.  Thursday we went to the Cabin, and I spent three and a half days on my bum.  I didn't knit a stitch.  I read three books and several magazines.  I sat on the deck in a pink plastic Adirondack chair and drank coffee and rubbed the dog's belly.  Occasionally I'd take a walk.  It was glorious.

On Thursday afternoon when we got there, Andrew and I cleaned like banshees.  The cabin belongs to my Grandfather, and it belonged to my Grandma's parents before that.  I never check with Grandfather to see who has been there last, and it's always a bit of a crapshoot in terms of cleanliness and supplies.  We're not clean freaks by any stretch of the imagination, but at home we know it's our dirt.  At the cabin, well, you're just not sure what you'll find.  For example, this trip we found one flip-flop, one little girl's Hannah Montana shoe, and this:

Yes, the couch is hideous.  I don't understand where they come from.  I don't remember anyone in my family having a couch this ugly, yet all the couches at the cabin are atrocious.  It's a mystery.

Another mystery is why, when I lifted the cushion to vacuum, I found a zoo of plastic organisms.  One plastic organism is understandable, but I can't believe that anyone accidentally lost a couple ecosystems down the couch cushion.  This leads me to believe someone put them there on purpose.  It would appear that someone in my family is part squirrel--hiding things and then forgetting where they are.  Part of the challenge of sharing a space like this is that we don't want to throw away other peoples' things, which is why there is now a Hannah Montana shoe and a bunch of plastic organisms on the mantle.

Liars AND Tormentors

Everybody knows that swatches are liars.

Much has been written on the subject in the knitting world.  You knit a swatch--a small sample of fabric--and measure it to see if your measurements are the same as those called for in the pattern.  If you don't pay attention, your knitting will screw you.  The truth is that even if you DO pay attention, your knitting will screw you.

Yet, I continue knitting them as an offering to the Universe.  It appeals to my sense of fair play: I make a swatch to show I'm serious.  The Universe then rewards that action by allowing me to knit a product that actually fits someone.  (I choose to ignore the fact that the Universe has a different perspective on fair play.)

Tonight I started swatching for this sweater (ravelry link).  I faithfully knit a swatch larger than the 4" square required in the cabled pattern.  I bound off.  I prepared to measure.  I checked the pattern for the number of stitches required for the 4" measurement.

Huh.

The gauge swatch was supposed to be knit in stockinette.  It was supposed to be flat, not in the cabled pattern in which the sweater is knit. 

It's okay.  I can take it.  I didn't read carefully, and this is what happens when I don't read a pattern carefully.  I just need to rip it out and reknit. 

So I did.

Ready to measure, I checked the pattern for the correct number of stitches.  I counted. 

Huh.

Not the same.  Okay, well, that's certainly possible.  Just because I'm using the needle size the pattern recommends and the exact yarn the pattern recommends doesn't mean I'll get gauge. 

Still.

I take a more careful look at the pattern.

Stockinette, right.  4", right.  15 sts, right.  21 rows, right.  Pattern #18.

Wrong.

I had knit the first gauge swatch correctly.  When I went to check those measurements, I read the gauge instructions for the next pattern in the magazine, ripped out the correct work and reknit something that is completely wrong.

Even I underestimated the swatch's power and its inclination toward evil.

I'll start again tomorrow.

Karmic Balance

Friday after work I steeled myself and headed to Goodwill. 

I hate shopping in general, but I carry a special loathing for clothes shopping.  I'm not terribly good at getting dressed at all and feel like the whole thing would be much easier if we all wore comfortable uniforms to work.  But recently I have been convinced of the wisdom of shopping at Goodwill.  I summoned my inner Rachel, reminded myself that a) buying clothes from Goodwill feels more socially responsible than buying clothes from a big box retailer, b) it certainly would be cheaper, and c) I have had good luck there before.

One of the things I enjoy about Goodwill is that I can pretend to be someone I'm not.  Have you seen the Target commercial about the woman buying a hat?  That's me at Goodwill, except the hat costs me $3.  Yesterday I bought a fantastic beaded sleeveless shirt that someone much more stylish than me would wear to the symphony.  I go to the symphony.  There's no reason I couldn't be the sort of person who would wear a fancy beaded shirt, and I'll get the extra kick of knowing that I spent $4 on it.

That wasn't the real success of the trip, though. 

I do want to warn you that what I'm about to say is quite shocking.  You will assume I'm a liar.  I would do the same if I were to read this on your blog.  What I'm about to say is utter madness.  The Universe simply doesn't work this way.

The first and only two pairs of jeans I tried on fit.

I'm hoping this is karmic balance for work being so crappy the past few weeks.  Either that or I'm about to be hit by a bus.

You can cremate me in jeans and a beaded top.  I'll pretend to be the kind of person who can pull that look off.

Market Bag

I really like the idea of using reusable bags while shopping.  I always fail to remember to bring enough to handle a serious grocery trip, but I do find that I use the single one I keep in my purse quite a lot.

I've been looking at the various knitted bags for some time now.  I just finished a Knitpicks pattern with some very inexpensive Sugar 'n' Cream yarn.

Montavilla Market Tote in Lily Sugar 'n' Cream cotton, Summer Splash colorway 

The pattern itself is fine.  The color choice is not.  I have some washcloths I've knitted out of this colorway, and they're lovely.  However, this much color on this large bag is just no good.  I keep trying to think of someone who would adore yellow, lime green, and sky blue in a market bag.

Huh.  Reading the colors, I would like that bag.  But looking at it.... no.

Despite the color problem, which is obviously no fault of the pattern, I like the concept of this bag.  It has a five-row lace repeat for the sides, which makes it very stretchy.  The bottom is a square worked in a woven stitch I don't think I've ever used that creates a very sturdy fabric.  That same stitch is used again to work the band around the top and the handles.

The handles are pretty snazzy in that they're worked like giant buttonholes.  Everything is knit in this project.  Often patterns for bags have you knit the handles separately and then sew them in.  Not only is this a pain in the tukhus because you're knitting tiny rows and constantly shuffling the project, but it's not very sturdy.  I'll be interested to see how these handles hold up.  Conceptually, it seems to me that they have a better chance of survival.  They certainly were more enjoyable to make.

Without working hard at all, this bag held a jar of peanut butter, a bottle of olive oil, a canister of bread crumbs, a box of Clif bars, and a leek-- you know, everyone's weekly grocery list.  There was plenty of room for more even with all that loaded.

Now if I can just remember to carry it into the store....

Still Here

I'm still here, in case you wondered.  This is an unpleasantly busy time of year at work, and my brain is mushy when I get home.  I've been walking, knitting, watching baseball, petting the dog, and eating frozen food.  That's about all I can handle.

It'll be over soonish, and then I've got a sweater to show you!  (And a bag, but I believe I don't like the color of the bag.  I'm nearly done with it and still trying to convince myself that I do like it.  Not a good sign.)

Reminder to me:  Buy buttons.  Sew them on.  Take pictures.